Kein Thema by Marianthi Papalexandri-Alexandri
Commissioned by Steven Schick for the Roots and Rhizomes: 75 Years of Percussion Music Conference.
Premiered by Steven Schick, Ross Karre and Justin DeHart.
Year: 2007

Kein Thema focuses on alerting the habitual perceptions of the performer. In manipulating the instrument, I constrain habitual actions to provoke more immediate reactions in the performer. These reactions, in turn, allow new forms of behavior and communication in the ensemble. Kein Thema also aims to expand various micro-movements in the preparation and the act of producing sounds that are acoustically and visually perceptive from a closer distance. Furthermore, it reflects my intention to explore how limitation can lead to new possibilities in sound. In this way, the piece explores a very small number of gestures, actions, and instruments. The idea is to examine the same repetitive physical gestures under different conditions.