Axis Practice

Axis Practice (Nozomi’s Amazing Odyssey) by Thomas Green. Originally composed for Trichotomy and Nozomi Omote

Notes from the composer:

This piece is not for the faint of heart!  Trichotomy asked me to write a work for students, and I must admit, things got a little out of control.  Nonetheless, I believe advanced students can certainly have a shot at it.  You’ll need an unusually ambitious bass player who is able to do plenty of, ehem, Axis Practice.  On the topic of the titles:  the harmonies in this work are a study of “Axis Theory,” which was developed by Ernő Lendvai to account for the harmony of Béla Bartók.  So, the title is a pun on my extremely famous electronic music moniker which I’m certain you’ve all heard of, Praxis Axis.  The work also has a subtitle:  “Nozomi’s Amazing Odyssey”. Nozomi has had an incredible life so far, training in Japan as a pianist and then making the brave choice to move to Australia and start a family here; but she also has a great imagination, and I can envision her going on some sort of fantasy journey, so this music is the soundtrack for that journey.

This challenging and energetic piece is scored for 1-4 performers with use of the backing tracks.

There are two performers for the marimba.  This may be with single or separate instruments.  It is possible to split up the marimba part even further and attempt it with more players.

Instrumentation:

Difficulty: Advanced

Stem Player Axis Praxis

Video – COMING SOON:

About the composer Thomas Green:

Thomas Green is a prize-winning composer who has a reputation in Brisbane (Australia) for versatility, finding a musical home between many and varied streams, often seamlessly melding classical and contemporary idioms. In 2021 he was commissioned for the renowned ANAM Set and most recently has been selected by the ABC’s Fresh Start Fund to compose original music for national broadcast. He has composed and arranged music for The Sydney Symphony (with Josh Pyke), The Australian String Quartet, Katie Noonan, Opera Qld, La Boite Theatre, Plexus (Melbourne), and Brisbane-based organisations such as Trichotomy. In 2017 he was commissioned by The Queensland Music Festival to write a concerto for Manu Delago and QYO, and in 2019 his music was featured on Katie Noonan’s AIR and ARIA-nominated album, The Glad Tomorrow. In 2021 & 2022 he is collaborating with Katie Noonan again, writing music for AVÉ. He lectures in music theory at the Queensland Conservatorium.

Composer interview:

This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body