Invitation to be: new and commissioned works for percussion

Music for percussion has experienced significant growth over the past century, evolving to incorporate a diverse range of instruments, styles, and techniques. Commissioning new music encourages collaboration between composer and performer and provides opportunities for underrepresented composers to contribute to the expanding percussion repertoire

This recording project is focused on a high-quality audio recording of eight new and commissioned works for a variety of percussion instruments. The aim of this thesis is to highlight the collaborative process between composer and performer while promoting diversity and inclusion in the field of percussion.

The compositions include solo works, duets, and trios composed by Julia Petrongolo, Lucy Shirley, Tanner Porter, Yaz Lancaster, Charlotte Otto, Adam Grim, and Brendan Sweeney, as well as an arrangement of a composition by Caroline Shaw, works that represent a variety of styles. The pieces on this album were written between 2023 and 2024 and feature a wide range of percussion instruments including marimba, vibraphone, tenor steel pan, multiple percussion, a mallet duo, concert toms and piano duo, marimba and steel pan duo, and a snare drum trio. Invitation to Be, a recorded album by McKenna Blenk, celebrates collaboration and hopes to serve as a gentle reminder to find meaning within dissonance and do the things that bring you joy.