C. japonica, for solo marimba, incorporates music and ideas I have absorbed during my travels in Japan. I am hardly the first composer to draw a connection between the sound of the marimba and the culture of Japan—the pairing borders on cliché—but I can’t help it: the simple, wooden tone of the instrument has the power to transport me to the Japanese countryside. At various times in the piece, I employ a particular five-note scale which is common in traditional Japanese music. The piece takes its title from a species of large evergreen tree, Cryptomeria japonica, known in Japan as sugi, which covers the mountains there. C. japonica was written in 2012, and premiered in Cleveland, Ohio by percussionist Alison Chorn.
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