David Stock (1939-2015)

Introduction
Stock was an American composer and conductor from Pittsburgh, PA. He is the founder of the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble and directed it for 23 years.

Work Analysis
I chose to analyze American Accents by Stock. The recording is played by the Seattle Symphony with David Stock himself as the conductor. The piece is really interesting while staying repetitive. Stock uses these themes to capture the listener and bring them into his world. It is a very interesting listen with the melodic percussive instruments. It sounds as if there is a marimba carrying the piece and holding it together harmonically.

Comparisons
This reminds me of something that I would have heard during a detective movie. The piece at times can almost sound as an alternative theme to a character such as James Bond or from a Mission Impossible character. It's lively feel keeps its listeners engaged and the piece moving at a reasonable pace.

Observations
I thoroughly enjoyed this piece. It was really interesting to listen to and I would definitely look more into Stock's work. I would love to take away the repetitiveness from this piece and add it into my own works because he uses such simple ideas and makes them interesting to listen to for eight and a half minutes.