My solo percussion piece, “and passes, leaving behind,” explores simple metallic sounds. It was written for Nate Gworek in the Fall of 2015 and we worked quite closely to find some very specific instrumentation that I was interested in. One item that came from our collaboration is what I’ve been calling a ‘prepared crotale tree,’ which Nate figured out how to rig with paperclips to add some buzz. I treat this like a deconstructed bell tree, because in the context of this piece, the timbre lives somewhere between the triangles and the bell tree. Another important sound in the piece – the very first thing you hear – I could only describe to Nate as ‘muted and metallic.’ After some more particular discussions about what I was after, Nate sent me a clip of the opening bars being played on a metal saucer (from a gravy boat, I believe). It’s perfect. The final quirk – and perhaps my favorite – is that the whole piece is performed with knitting needles as mallets. This was Nate’s idea, entirely, and provides an unexpected grace and sensitivity which permeates Nate’s performance overall. Here is the premiere performance: