Remember those shoebox dioramas we made in Elementary School?  Those quaint handmade relics of a pre-digital world?  I always found them inspiring–a chance to imagine a complete world with limited resources.

This collection of works emerged from my continued interest in mallet percussion, and embracing a wider timbral territory.  I have always been fond of John Cage’s Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano, and this piece owes a dept of inspiration to Cage’s fierce vision as expressed in that piece.

There are currently 5 dioramas written with a plan for 5 more to make a set of 10.  The first two dioramas were commissioned by percussionist Jonathan Ovalle and the next three were commissioned by Garrett Mendelow.