A Taste of Orange for solo snare drum
Print size: Letter (8.5 x 11")
Review from Percussive Notes (2026):
It is difficult to create a captivating snare drum solo that can keep an audience engaged. A composer must be creative in the timbral language of the drum and the presentation and treatment of thematic material so that the audience hears the desired art, rather than simulated popcorn. Isaac Pyatt has accomplished this in “A Taste of Orange.” The sonic vocabulary and overall energy of the piece is certainly a work worthy of our attention.
This solo, dictated to be played “with reckless energy,” shoots out of the gate. The opening section immediately catches the attention of the listeners with ambitions, intricate rhythms, and one swelling gesture after another. This section makes use of a vast sound library, which includes four styles of rimshots, cross-sticks, buzz strokes, and double strokes, among others. The density of rhythms and sounds of this opening salvo grabs the audience, while the thematic and sonic elements that follow will keep them captivated.
The middle section is written as an indirect palindrome. Instead of writing this section as an exact mirror image of itself, Isaac Pyatt reflects the rhythms almost directly, but he alters the reflected timbres. Where in one portion of the palindrome there are buzz rolls, the mirror has tremolos of alternating stick-clicks and rim-taps; where one section features the friction of rubbing sticks together, the reflection employs a double-stroke roll. The core of the palindrome is in a cadenza style, employing much more space than any other portion of the work. The piece ends with a recapitulation of the beginning thematic material, concluding with a final utterance of the first three measures of the work, as if answering the question posed at the top of the page.
This is a skillfully written snare drum solo, particularly the palindromic portion. The care and specificity that Pyatt put into all sonic instructions and the progression of the thematic material makes this a captivating and exciting work to see live. Performers need to have incredible dexterity on the instrument, being able to accomplish all the different rimshots accurately, and be capable of performing the incredibly intricate rhythms. In the hands of a skilled snare-drum player, “A Taste of Orange” will be a great way to start a recital of contemporary music.
—Kyle Cherwinski
