Specks of Dust, Points of Light by Micheal Barnes (DIGITAL DOWNLOAD)

Specks of Dust, Points of Light is written and dedicated to my teacher, Jim Culley. This piece was inspired by Psalm 8 and my time spent at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. It reflects a shift of my aesthetic approach to music during that time — Micheal Barnes.

Total duration is ca. 9 minutes.

Instrumentation (3 players):

• P1 (bass drum, 3 snare drums, 2 suspended cymbals, crotales, triangle)
• P2 (bass drum, 3 snare drums, tam-tam, bells, 2 suspended cymbals, triangle)
• P3 (bass drum, 3 snare drums, chimes, 3 triangles)

Specs: Specs: Score format, Digital Download PDF (compatible with all devices that read PDF files), 1.1 MB, 5 pages, Advanced level.

Full performance video here.

About the Composer:

A faculty member of Southwestern Oklahoma State University, Micheal Barnes is an in-demand performer and educator. He has been an invited performer at the National Conference on Percussion Pedagogy, the Percussive Arts Society International Convention, National Flute Association Convention, and International Clarinet Association ClarinetFest, and is actively working to grow the repertoire available to percussionists, having premiered and commissioned over two dozen works to date.

Micheal has presented his research on percussion pedagogy, embodied cognition, and conceptual metaphor theory at various national and international conferences and has composed works for solo percussion, percussion ensemble, and steel band. His published articles can be read in Percussive Notes and Rhythm! Scene. In 2018, Barnes was awarded the American Prize in Solo Instrumental Music and has been a featured soloist with many groups including the University of Oklahoma Symphony Orchestra and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music Chamber Choir and Chamber Orchestra. The Barnes Duo (Carly Barnes, flute) was awarded second place in the 2022 American Prize for Chamber Music.

Micheal holds an MM in Music Theory and an MM in Percussion Performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and a BM from the University of Oklahoma. He is pursuing a DMA at Temple University. Micheal is a Vic Firth Educational Artist, Marimba One Educational Artist, and Zildjian Artist.