Brian Prechtl, percussionist, composer, educator

Work samples

Lucky to Be Born - finale

Here is the finale to one of the pieces that can be found on my new CD "Grand is the Seen". This setting of the stirring poem by Walt Whitman is scored for trumpet, percussion and narrator.The multi-percussion part on this finale is very demanding.
Grand is the Seen - opening

This is the opening section of my setting of Walt Whitman's epic poem from Leaves of Grass for percussion trio and narrator. This can be found on my new CD "Grand Is the Seen"
Revolution

This is a performance of a piece I wrote called "Revolution". Members of the OrchKids Performance Bucket Band that I have built over the last 11 years are performing here. This particular performance was part of a demonstration at a Congressional Office Building for an Summit on the Arts in 2016
I Sing the Body Electric - mvts. 4-6

Here is an excerpt from my setting of Walt Whitman's iconic poem. The piece is scored for violin, cello, flute, clarinet/bass clarinet, piano, percussion and narrator. These movements are entitled: 4...to be with those that I like is enough 5. the female form...with fierce undeniable attraction 6. the male is action and power

About Brian

Brian Prechtl has been a member of the percussion section of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra since 2003 and the Grand Teton Music festival since 1992. He was honored by the League of American Orchestras in 2016 with a Ford Musician Award for Excellence in Community Service for his work as a Teaching Artist in OrchKids, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s outreach program for under-served youth. His innovative use of bucket drumming uniquely creates a sense of… more

View Brian's Resume

Composer - Whitman's Leaves of Grass - Music and the Spoken Word

I have spent the last 10 years composing a cycle of pieces that are settings of poetry by Walt Whitman for Music and the Spoken Word. Each of these pieces uses different instrumental combinations along with narrator. The texts are drawn from Whitman's iconic work Leaves of Grass. As 2019 was the 200th Anniversary of Whitman's birth, I took the opportunity this year to perform and record all of these pieces in two concerts that celebrated Whitman - one at the University of Denver and another here in Baltimore at An Die Musik.

When a listener experiences a piece of absolute music, he or she may invent a meaning or program for the music that they are hearing. Likewise when reading Whitman’s words one might imagine or impose an environment for the contents of the poetry. I have found that mating music with the spoken word allows audiences and performers to take a shared journey. This has proven to be an incredibly powerful experience in performance.

Included here are some of the performances that I recorded this year with friends and colleagues here in Baltimore and Denver. All of these performances are included on my new CD Grand is the Seen.

I Sing the Body Electric

The Iconic Poem by Walt Whitman paints a vivid picture of the human body in all its amazing form and function. This piece is set for violin, cello, flute, clarinet/bass clarinet, piano, percussion and narrators.
Grand is the Seen

A setting of Whitman's poem for percussion trio and narrator compares the grandeur of the world we see with the far grander unseen soul within us all.
Lucky To Be Born

This stirring setting of Whitman's poem for trumpet, percussion and narrator is a personal statement of power and purpose in world full of challenge.
On The Beach at Night Alone

This poetry set in this piece for violin, harp, bass clarinet, harp and narrator reflect on the universality of all people and things in our world.
I Believe in You My Soul

This large scale piece for solo trumpet, percussion ensemble, electric bass, and narrator features poetry by Whitman that is both sensual and soulful.

Educator - BSO OrchKids

As a Teaching Artist, I maintain an active studio of private percussion students and also serve as a pivotal leader in the BSO's educational program OrchKids. This important program uses music education as a vehicle for social change in many of Baltimore's underserved communities. I spend four days a week teaching aspiring young percussionists, leading bucket band classes, conducting the wind ensemble and orchestra as well as providing musical leadership throughout the program.

Each week, the nearly 2000 OrchKids in 9 different schools have a chance to change their lives through music. We give these children a glimpse out of the difficult circumstances that encompass their world-view, and work to instill values and skills that will serve them for the rest of their lives – concepts like teamwork, concentration, independence and discipline.

The Performance Bucket Band is one of the premier ensembles of the Orchkids program. I have built this ensemble over the last ten years. We have played all over the State of Maryland including at Ravens and Orioles games, City Hall, the Library of Congress, the Kennedy Center and Meyerhoff Symphony Hall as well as yearly appearances at Artscape and other community festivals. I have helped to develop our large ensemble program including the Wind Ensemble as well helping to launch the Orchkids Orchestra just last year.

In 2016 I was one of the inaugural recipients of a Ford Musician Award for Outstanding Community Service for my work in the OrchKids program from the League of American Orchestras.

In 2017 I published an instructional volume for teaching artists with step by step instuctions and beginning repertoire entitled Bucket Band Basics that is being used by teaching artists across the country and internationally.

Revolution

This is a performance of a piece I wrote called "Revolution". Members of the OrchKids Performance Bucket Band that I have built over the last 11 years are performing here. This particular performance was part of a demonstration at a Congressional Office Building for an Summit on the Arts in 2016
Keep Up! (Light City)

Here is a performance of my composition entitled "Keep Up!" at Light City, 2018. Performing is the Booker T Washington Brass Band and the Performance Bucket Band from the BSO OrchKids Program. This is the result of 11 years of work developing the bucket band format to a virtuosic level. Light City was a major performance victory for us last year.
That is Rufus, My Dog!

This is the first piece I teach "Bucket Band" students. In this impromptu session we included a couple of guests who were experiencing Bucket Band for the first time. Famed Broadway Artist Brian Stokes Mitchell is in our circle here.
"One Baltimore" LAO Convention

Here is a performance of a piece I wrote following the unrest in Baltimore after the death of Freddie Gray for Orchestra and Bucket Band. This was a performance for the opening of the League of American Orchestras Conference. It features an orchestration I did of this piece for full orchestra and bucket band. It also features the OrchKids Performance Bucket Band which I have developed over the last 11 years.

Percussionist - Orchestral and Chamber Artist

I have been a member of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra since 2003 and the Grand Teton Music Festival since 1992. As a percussionist I get to play dozens of different instruments when I entertain audiences all over the city of Baltimore, the State of Maryland and Nationally. As a percussionist it is important to be versatile, energetic and rhythmic. I enjoy the incredible variety percussion allows me as a performer. I can impress with a flashy mallet solo like Tico Tico, a virtuosic drumming passage such as the passage from my piece Lucky to Be Born? or bring the visceral power of a Hammer Blow of Fate in Mahler's Tragic Symphony.

Lucky to Be Born - finale

Here is the finale to one of the pieces that can be found on my new CD "Grand is the Seen". This setting of the stirring poem by Walt Whitman is scored for trumpet, percussion and narrator.The multi-percussion part on this finale is very demanding.
Tico, Tico (w/banjo)

Here's an arrangement of "Tico, Tico" for marimba and ukulele. My colleague Jon Jensen from the BSO accompanies me here.
Porgy and Bess

This is the most famous xylophone excerpt in the percussion repertoire - the opening from Gershwin's famous Opera, Porgy and Bess.
Hammer Blow PR

Here's a short clip of me demonstrating the hammer and box we built for the "Hammer Blow" of fate from Mahler's 6th Symphony.
Hammer Blow in Orchestra

Here I am playing the "Hammer Blow" in a BSO rehearsal.
Comedian's Galop

Here I play the Xylophone solo from Khachaturian's Comedian's Galop with the Baltimore Symphony in an education concert.
Tico Tico (complete)

Here is an arrangement I did of Tico Tico, a Brazilian Choro Song for Marimba Solo with vibe, conga and bass.

Chamber Works for percussion and other instruments

Early in my career it became clear to me that compared to other instruments there was very little contemporary chamber music for percussion and other instruments. This is what inspired me to begin composing in the first place. Over the last 35 years I have written many works for percussion alone as well as percussion with other instruments.

Included in this project are some of my pieces for percussion and other instruments including the two newest works I have composed. Awakening and Ubuntu both premiered in 2021 on the Community Concerts at Second Cgamber Music series where I have served as "Composer in Residence" for over 10 years.

Awakening

Here is my newest work, "Awakening". This piece explores the seven stages leading to awakening in the Buddhist tradition. It is scored for two violins, viola, cello, bass, piano and two percussionists. This is the World premiere recorded on May 1, 2021.