Presto for Two Marimbas

A happy accident is generally defined as a mistake or chance event that results in something positive or beneficial. A famous example of a happy accident that turned out to be tremendously beneficial to mankind is when the Scottish researcher Sir Alexander Fleming (1881-1955) accidentally discovered penicillin in 1928. Presto for Two Marimbas evolved from a mistake I made when playing a simple, but quite fast, eight-note pattern repeatedly on piano: high A once, the A an octave below twice, the original high A twice, the A an octave below twice, and the original high A once. However, although the seventh note of this pattern is the low A, I accidentally played the high A instead. As it turns out, I liked this new pattern that contained my mistake much better than the original pattern. Since I was beginning a new composition at the time, I decided to use the eight-note pattern I had played by mistake (my happy accident pattern) as the basis for a marimba duet. This pattern, and variations of it, is played as a solo by the second marimbist at the beginning of Presto for Two Marimbas and continues after the first marimbist enters in measure five. It also reappears often throughout the piece.