Castles in the Clouds

Castles in the Clouds was composed in 2018 after many hours in the car driving to Virginia from Iowa for the HMFestival held at VA Tech that summer. To stay awake I would listen to loud disco/club music or EDM from time to time. It inspired me to write a piece for the Heartland Marimba Quartet based on this style. Once I began composing, elements of ‘video game music’ crept in. The technique of mallet shafts on the edge of the bars is used frequently throughout to provide an edgier more percussive quality to the composite sound. ~ M.C.