Concerto for Marimba and Chamber Orchestra is a piece in the works over several years.  Burritt's approach to composing the concerto was to

start by writing solo works for marimba that he would ultimately orchestrate as movements of a concerto.

 

First Movement

"Scirroco," written in June of 2001.  "Scirroco" is one of the few pieces he has composed with another performer in mind.  It

came about as a result of a conversation he had with his good friend and fellow marimbist, She e Wu, who encouraged him to write an "over the top" solo piece.  From this challenge Burritt drew inspiration from the virtuoso compositions of Paganini.  As he moved forward with the formulation of the piece he decided that this would be a terrific opening movement for his concerto. "Scirroco" means hot dessert wind thus relating to the intense swirling gestures in the solo part.

 

Second Movement

Movement 2, "The Offering," was also initially a short solo work written with no intent of using it in the concerto.  After having

performed the work on several concerts Burritt began to envision it as the catalyst for the slow movement.  No matter how many times Burritt explored other thematic possibilities he continually returned to "The Offering" as the material that worked best in following the virtuosity and density of the "Scirroco" movement. "The Offering" was written in December 2001 as a dedication to hes grandparents, Clayton and Arres Burritt.  They had a profound impact on all of his family and continue to serve as the paradigm for much of his life.

 

Third Movement

"Halu" is the highly energetic dance-like conclusion to the concerto.  The word "Halu" is from Akkadian, an ancient eastern

language, and means to dance, whirl or writhe.   The movement draws from the sonorities of "Scirroco" but is more rhythmically and metrically animated and explores the percussive which Burritt call "drummy" characteristics of the marimba.  This movement is also highlighted by the use of a "mini percussion ensemble" to support the visceral character of the music and aid in the definition of the rhythmic complexity.  The percussion plays such an integral role that one could see them as soloists with the marimba in several sections of the movement.  The strings are often treated in a similar way with static rhythmic activity in dialogue with the soloist and percussion.
 

Concerto for Marimba could not have been realized without the support and encouragement of  Buritt's wife Christine.  Chris not only affords

him the time to realize these projects but more importantly has always believed in his abilities.  He couldn't have done it without his wife, wich he dedicade his work to.

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