Not Far From Here by Blake Tyson is a percussion ensemble piece scored for 8 players. This piece also exists in a version for SATB choir and percussion quartet. Instrumentation:CrotalesGlockenspielVibraphone 1Vibraphone 2Marimba 1Marimba 2Marimba 3Marimba 4Marimba parts may be doubled. Marimba 1 and Marimba 4 may share an instrument. If only one 5 octave marimba is available, the piece may still be performed by making only a few small changes in the Marimba 3 part.From the composer:Not far from here was originally dedicated to Jesse Milam (a student of Ben Finley at ECU in Oklahoma). His mother had a number of battles with brain cancer, and after one particularly rough semester for Jesse, a friend of his emailed me asking if she could commission a short piece that could be presented to Jesse as a gift from his friends. I agreed, and asked her to get all the friends that wanted to commission the piece together, have them give what they could afford, and then find a local charity where a little money could go a long way. It went to a local food bank in Ada, Oklahoma.So, I wrote the piece for someone I barely knew, knowing that he probably wouldn't have his mother here with him much longer. I wanted to, in some way, communicate the idea that she would still be here, and that because of her love for him, she would live on in him. They tell me that Jesse was pretty happy when they gave him the piece (he played it on his recital last year). This past summer his mom couldn't fight the cancer anymore. I've gotten to know Jesse a little better since I wrote the piece; his mom raised a great son.Our time here is limited. I've been okay with my mortality for a long time, but I find it difficult to be okay with everyone else's. I've come to deal with it by understanding that people live on in the lives they touched while they were here. It's the idea that my grandparents, parents, teachers, and friends are always with me because I wouldn't be who I am without them. If all goes well, they will be here in the lives I've touched, even after I'm gone. That's what the piece is about, for me.When John Parks asked me to arrange the piece in memory Brandon Wood, I didn't want it to just be an arrangement of a pre-existing piece. I wanted to find a way for it to reflect Brandon and his life. The introduction and opening countermelodies are built from the letters of Brandon's name. The 'Amen cadence' at the end might seem cliché to some, but for me it is a reflection of Brandon's life. Brandon's faith in God was a defining part of his time here. Those two chords have come to represent so much to so many people. Among the things they represent to me are faith, hope and acceptance.The ensemble version of Not far from here was commissioned by Dr. John W. Parks, IV in memory of Brandon Wood.
