Marimba Steps

program note

 Jonathan Leshnoff and Barry Dove have been colleagues and friends for many years. When Dove started making his own brand of marimbas in 2020, he commissioned Leshnoff for a solo marimba work specifically written for younger players. The result was Marimba Steps, written for the inaugural Dove Marimba Competition. It is a six-minute work that is both spunky and pedagogical. The 4.3-octave marimba version was vetted by several marimba pedagogues to facilitate its practicality for younger players. A 5-octave version is also available.

Marimba Steps is in three movements. The first movement grooves to a syncopated beat in a single line. The second movement is a slow ascent of lush and harmonically rich rolls. “Loure,” the final movement, references Bach both in style and quotation.