To me, one of the most challenging aspects in writing for the marimba is the instrument’s limited range of timbral variety. In this work, I’ve attempted to adjust this limitation by using different orchestral devices; some of them are subtle while at other times some are bold. What I hope to provide is a diversity of tonal hues within the overall monotonic timbre of the marimba— Colors of Crimson.

The basic thematic material of the work comes from a reconstruction of a love song I wrote during my teenage years. At the time, I was living in Qinghai—a remote province of the Qinghai-Tibet plateau in northwest China—where the folk music tradition has always been abundant.