Eric Rath’s HeliX was commissioned by a consortium of educators lead by Indiana percussion educator, Kyle Lutes. The purpose of the commission was to add serious, quality literature to the percussion ensemble repertoire that would focus on the first few techniques learned as percussionists begin four-mallet keyboard playing.
To that end, a fair amount of four-mallet playing occurs throughout the piece, but always in service to the music rather than sounding like a glorified etude. This exciting and groove-oriented piece is geared toward intermediate high school or advanced middle school ensembles, and will be a satisfying feature to any concert program.