Somewhere in Africa There’s a Whirlwind was composed in 2010 for two five octave marimbas. This is an exciting and virtuosic work, written for Marco Schirripa and Sean Gill, who gave the premiere performance and recorded it on Stout’s most recent CD Welcome to Stoutland (www.gordonstout.net). The “whirlwind” portion of the title refers to the fast passage work in the marimba one part. The “Africa” portion of the title refers to the rhythm of the marimba two part, which is in large part based on the African double bell pattern. This work requires mature performers who posses excellent technique and advanced ensemble skills.

Watch Marco Schirripa and Sean Gill perform Gordon Stout’s Somewhere in Africa There’s a Whirlwind.

Here is another excellent work by Gordon Stout that is primed for graduate recitals. The very interesting title reflects the two parts of the duo: Part 1 is the whirlwind “solo” part and Part 2 is the African “accompaniment” part. Both will definitely require mature players, but Part 1 is definitely harder than Part 2. Both the score and individual parts indicated that two 5-octave instruments are required, but that is not the case. Part 1 is almost entirely written out in treble clef and will fit on a 4.3-octave instrument. Part 2 utilizes the entire range but is mostly written in a 4.3-octave range.
This piece never really “stops” or changes style. It starts with fire and ends with fire. There is a great performances of this piece on YouTube, which is the world premiere by Marco Schirripa and Sean Gill. The multi-camera video is excellent and presents the impressive piece well — as do the players! The work ahs a nice, predicatable, chromatic scalar ending and would be great as a closer on a graduate recital.
— Julia Gaines, Percussive Notes — March 2017