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dturnermatthews.com
Howled on Their Knees was Turner’s Senior Composition Thesis and funded by Ohio University’s 2013-14 Provost’s Undergraduate Research Fund. He built and invented all of the instruments used in the recital. The instruments include a four-octave steel plate marimba, a four-octave EMT pipe marimba, a two-and-a-half-octave copper glockenspiel, multiple whirly tubes on three separate ceiling fans controlled by dimmer switches, and three string instruments called the “Turner Winch.”
The composition challenges the cultural expectation of sound. By using non-standard instruments, Turner created a new experience for listeners by insisting that there are more interesting, legitimate, and beautiful sounds to be found and created.
The work was premiered by Turner’s percussion trio, Triangulus, which consists of Eli Chambers, D. Turner Matthews, and Jacob Schlaerth.
