Video: “Concerto For Accordion and Percussion Sextet, Opus 49” (2016) – composed by Peter Jarvis for Dr. William Schimmel 70th Birthday Concert presented by WPU and Composers Concordance, September 19, 2016.
Performed by: New Jersey Percussion Ensemble, Peter Jarvis – Director, Conductor
Michael Aberback, Paul Carroll, Sean Dello Monaco,
John Ferrari, Payton MacDonald, Gary Van Dyke
Dr. William Schimmel – Accordion
About the piece, Peter said,”Concerto for Accordion and Percussion Sextet” Opus 49, was completed on June 16, 2016 and is happily dedicated to William Schimmel. This is my third concerto for percussion sextet and soloist. The first, from 2011, is with vibraphone solo composed for John Ferrari, the second from 2016, is with frame drums solo composed for Glen Velez and this; my third is with accordion and was composed for William Schimmel. All three pieces were composed with the New Jersey Percussion Ensemble in mind, which silently shares the dedication.”
Peter Jarvis is a percussionist, drummer, conductor, composer, music copyist, print music editor and college professor. He is Director of New Music at William Paterson University. He teaches percussion and chamber music at William Paterson University, Connecticut College and Bergen Community College in New Jersey. He is an Associate Director of he Composers Concordance and has over 100 compositions. Over the decades, he has performed popular and unpopular music with equal enthusiasm.
He has performed as a soloist, chamber player, Broadway musician and as conductor/player with numerous chamber music ensembles, orchestras and choruses.The proliferation of percussion literature is extremely important to Jarvis, and nearly 100 solo pieces have been composed for him, which he has performed on multi percussion, timpani, vibraphone, marimba, solo snare drum and drum set.
Peter was nominated for a Golden Globe and an Academy award for “Best Score” as part of the composing team for major Hollywood films. As conductor, he has appeared with the Saint Luke’s Chamber Ensemble, The New Jersey Percussion Ensemble, Composers Concordance, and many other groups. He records extensively as soloist, chamber musician and conductor and his compositions are heard on several labels. His compositions are published by Calabrese Brothers Music LLC, Indian Paintbrush Productions and L-T Music Publishing and he is a member of BMI.
When asked how he became interested in composing for the accordion, Peter replied, “Well, I became quite interested in composing for the accordion after an opportunity offered me by Composers Concordance, a group I have been associated with since the 1980s. Composers Concordance often assembles an ensemble and then commissions composers to write specifically for that instrumentation. All the composers perform in the ensemble. One such commission/project included accordionist William Schimmel. After that project, Bill invited me to compose a solo piece for him. Since then we have continued to collaborate composing pieces for each other; now between us there are approximately ten pieces. We have discussed the possibility of recording all of them together. Accordionist Rocco Jerry, from the Hudson Valley area, has since asked for pieces and we have collaborated on several solos and duos.”
Peter shares, “Opus 108, “Music for Accordion and Drums – Perhaps Electronic” was composed at the request of accordionist Rocco Jerry who champions my accordion music. He will perform it 2 times in July, and we will see from there. The “Perhaps Electronic” in the title refers to the freedom and option given to the accordion player (same as a percussionist when performing live) to create an electronic version of the drum part, varying sounds, while maintaining the rhythms and dynamics as notated in the score. Rocco will premiere the piece on July 6, 2019 at the Morton Memorial Library as part of the Hudson Valley New Music Concert Series.” (See article in this publication)
Peter’s new CD “Jarvis and Friends, Volume 2” will be released on Composers Concordance Records and distributed by NAXOS. The volume has 4 sets:
– David Taylor (bass trombone and vocals) and Peter Jarvis (percussion)
– Kevin Norton (vibraphone and percussion) and Peter Jarvis (marimba and drum set)
– Gene Pritsker (electric guitar) and Peter Jarvis (drum set)
– Payton MacDonald (marimba) and Peter Jarvis (drum set)
Engineers: David Kerzner and Daniel Iucci,
Art: Mark Kostabi
Compositions which include the accordion:
“Sextet Op. 27” (2013) – for soprano saxophone, drum set, vibraphone, electric bass, piano and accordion, dedicated to Dan Cooper, Milica Paranosic and Gene Pritsker. Premiered by the Comp Cord Ensemble: Dan Cooper, Peter Jarvis, Milica Paranosic, David Rosenblatt, Bill Schimmel and Demetrius Spaneas; conducted by Gene Pritsker, at the Cutting Room, New York City, November 10, 2013.
“Controlled Improvisation Number 3 Op. 34” (2014) – for accordion and drum set. Composed for and dedicated to William Schimmel. Premiered by William Schimmel and Peter Jarvis at William Paterson University, November 10, 2014.
“Accordion Music Op. 37” (2015) – for solo accordion. Composed for and dedicated to William Schimmel. Premiered by William Schimmel at the Tenri Cultural Institute, New York City, New York, August 7, 2015.
“Accordion Music Two (Bill) Op. 45 (2016)” – for solo accordion. Composed for and dedicated to William Schimmel.
“Concerto for Accordion and Percussion Sextet Op. 49 (2016)” – for accordion and percussion ensemble. Dedicated to William Schimmel, composed for William Schimmel and the New Jersey Percussion Ensemble Bill’s 70th birthday concert.
“Bellows and Wood Op. 62” (2017) – for accordion and wood block(s). composed for William Schimmel.
“Triangular Accordion Op. 83” (2018) duo for accordion and percussion (3 triangles.) Composed for and dedicated to William Schimmel.
“Lament Op. 87” (2018) for solo accordion. Composed for and dedicated to Rocco Jerry.
“Sotto Voce Op. 88” (2018) duo for accordion and guitar. Composed for Rocco Jerry and his Progression Ensemble, dedicated to Rocco Jerry.
“The Cello and the Accordion” Op. 94 (2018) for cello and accordion. Composed for and dedicated to The Progression Ensemble Oslo.
“Bellows and Wind Op. 103” (2019) accordion and clarinet. Composed for and dedicated to Rocco Jerry.
“The Accordions Hat Op. 106” (2019) accordion and hi-hat. Composed for and dedicated to William Schimmel. Peter shared, “It is a duo for accordion and hi-hat, which I composed for William Schimmel. We will premiere the piece in July, during his annual symposium at the Tenri Cultural Center. Bill and I now have about 8 pieces, between us, and are closing in on enough music to make our planned CD of our accordion and percussion” music.
“Music for Accordion and Drums – Perhaps Electronic Op. 108” (2019) accordion and 2 tom-toms or electronic percussion. Composed for and dedicated to Rocco Jerry.
Percussive Notes – Vol. 57, No.1 March 2019 – review of Jarvis and Friends Volume 1: “This is a collection of 21 tracks of improvisations divided into four sections. The recording is well-conceived and executed, giving the listener a window into the musicality of Peter Jarvis, Director of the New Jersey Percussion Ensemble, and his friends. According to NAXOS, “Percussionist (drumset and vibraphone) Peter Jarvis has teamed up with some of the finest musicians in the world including: Glen Velez – frame drums, Franz Hackl – trumpets, William Schimmel – accordion, and John Clark – horn, to produce this creative volume of music. In addition to the improvisations, included are three fully composed pieces, one each, by Peter Jarvis, William Schimmel, and Glen Velez.” The selections with Velez are groovy, as expected, but with a unique character to each track. The spirit of chance-taking in the improvisation is evident yet executed gracefully. “Postal Bebop Non Priority Suite” with Franz Hackl is bright, energetic and reminiscent of late-bebop and free jazz. The tracks with accordionist William Schimmel are much more spacious and darker by comparison to the previous tracks. This helps to cleanse the musical listener’s palette. The horn playing by John Clark on the final suite of improvisations reminds the listener of flugelhorn-like jazz riffs. All the suites and collaborations display Jarvis’s musical creativity. His touch and sense of groove is evident regardless of the style or collaborative partner. I highly recommend this recording for those looking for unique combinations and fresh ideas for improvisation.” — Justin Bunting
When asked who his influences were growing up, Peter said, “Now that I “narrow” the list down a bit. Certainly I idolized Buddy Rich and Danny Seraphine – the drummer from Chicago and the legendary Harold Blaine (Wrecking Crew.) There were others, but not like those 3. And, there were two of my teachers (both passed.): Anthony Gilio (amazing clarinet player) who was the band director during my years at Hackensack High School. “Mr. G” was very important to me. And most influential, certainly in a hands on way was the great Joey Cass, who I studied drum set with in high school, and who took learning to read music quite seriously. Basically, Joey taught me to read and how to get some chops together. He lived in Hasbrouck Heights and my mom who schlep me back and forth – back and forth – back and forth (thanks mom.) He was an amazing studio drummer in NY and the drummer for Frankie Valli and Four Seasons for a couple of years. Joey was also an excellent jazz drummer. He exposed me to so much. This is all pre-college. In college things changed quite a bit as did my mentors and influences.”
For further information: PeterMJarvis@gmail.com
