The Narrows

Item details

Description +
- Duration: 3 min.
  
  The Narrows is named after The Narrows in Perth, Western Australia. It is a section of the Swan River with a bridge that connects Perth’s two freeways - in this way, it is a crossroad that can take you to anywhere in the city. This place has a special place in my heart, as many hours have been spent walking, sitting and pondering the crossroads in my own life here. This piece reflects these crossroads.
  
  Joey Eng
Instrumentation +
- Solo Marimba (4.3)
About the composer +
- Joey Eng (b. 2001) is an Australian percussionist, composer, producer and educator. As a soloist, Joey was a winner of the 2022 Warana Concerto Competition, a semi-finalist in the 2020 Warana Concerto Competition, a finalist for the 2022 Richard Gill Award, and a finalist in both the inaugural 2019 Marimbafest solo marimba competition and the 2021 Marimbafest solo marimba competition, in which he placed 2nd. A multi-skilled percussionist and collaborator, he has performed with many orchestras across Australia including the Western Australian Symphony Orchestra, Perth Symphony Orchestra, Australian Baroque, Australian Youth Orchestra, and the Vienna Pops Orchestra.
  
  As a composer, Joey was a finalist in both the 2020 and 2021 WAAPA Symphony Orchestra Composition Competitions and has had multiple new works premiered by the Defying Gravity percussion ensemble. Joey also regularly premieres new orchestral works, solo and chamber percussion pieces through his Youtube channel - works that have since been performed by percussionists around the world. As a composer-performer, he has scored and performed in live theatre productions including ‘The Hope Fault’ and Shakespeare’s ‘Julius Caesar’. Joey is also an adept arranger, and his arrangements of contemporary songs have been performed by the Perth Symphony Orchestra, the WAAPA Symphony Orchestra and Defying Gravity.
  
  Joey completed his Bachelor of Music from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts under the tutelage of Tim White OAM, receiving the 2022 WAAPA Medal as the top graduate of the entire school. Joey has been awarded an ECU Vice Chancellor’s Award, an ECU WAAPA Scholarship, a 2022 Peter Hurford Award, the 2022 Luigi Paolino Award, and the 2021 Norman Archibald Percussion Scholarship.
  
  Joey is endorsed by Marimba One (USA).
Reviews +
- Review (Percussive Notes, April 2025)
  
  “Simply delightful” is how I would describe The Narrows — a rare addition to the repertoire that is genuine and accessible to audiences and performers. As a jaded veteran of marimba repertoire, I cannot recall the last time I listened to a marimba solo and immediately wanted to listen again. The piece is reminiscent of shorter works by Paul Smadbeck and Eric Sammut, with a little Matthias Schmidt for good measure. It is a great use of melody interlaced within a groovy pattern. Frequent use of key changes keeps everything fresh for the listener. The challenge for the performer will be keeping track of the melody and making sure everything is balanced.
  
  This piece presents a lot of opportunity for marimba players who have a grasp of four-mallet basics and want to grow their technical and musical chops — providing lots of good single independent and single alternating stroke practice. Everyone will like playing this, and everyone will enjoy listening to it.
  
  —Joe Millea
Credits +
- Front Cover Graphics and Layout: Nicola Lee
  Photo: Joey Eng
  Printed in Copenhagen, Denmark
  Copyright © Edition SVITZER
  www.editionsvitzer.com

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