FiddleSticks! (2015)
(for percussion, strings and rapper)

FiddleSticks! is inspired by and written in part with students from Prairiewood High School. A feature of the work is the found objects and junk percussion. Everyday items are repurposed into musical instruments: buckets, sandpaper blocks, sports whistles, squeaky-toys, homemade rice shakers, and a megaphone. All of the percussion rhythms heard in this work were originally improvised by the students. Using these rhythmic and melodic ideas, Holly aimed to write a piece which would reflect the fun, out going and electric personalities of the students she had worked with at PHS.

The piece has three main sections: a ‘cute’ and pizzicato introduction, a groove section which forms the bulk of the piece, and an intro which refers back to the beginning.