consortium · $75 buy-in · advanced+ · 10-15 minutes · percussion quartet

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SCINTILLATIONS, from composer Sebastian Zhang and a consortium organized by Blacktop Percussion, will be an advanced+ 10-15 minute percussion quartet, scored for chinese opera hand cymbals, prepared snare drums, and as many cool-sounding metal objects that we can find. It'll be colored with vibraphone and tuned pipes, alongside laughing harmonies and dense polyrhythms.

It'll be full of hisses and howls from aluminium foil and other prepared instruments, but still filled with the electric melodies and energetic rock-band-energy that drives Sebastian's work.

It's about the wonders of radioactivity, in various beautiful forms—nuclear fusion at the hearts of stars, cosmic background radiation, and spinthariscope toys.

April 15th 2024 - Consortium Buy-In Deadline
July 2024 - Tentative Recording Release
July 1st 2024 - Score Delivery (Digital PDF) for Consortium Members
July 1st 2024 - July 1st 2025 - Exclusivity Period for Consortium Members

Honestly, we're just a group of young friends chasing a fervent dream—to push boundaries, invent ideas, and make something new, together.
We're inviting you all to come along on this journey.

Sebastian Zhang
composer

Unapologetically embracing the electric nostalgia of a younger generation, Sebastian Zhang is a composer-percussionist influenced by the modern chiptune scene, jazzy video game music, and upbeat anime soundtracks.

Sebastian has written music for Sandbox Percussion and the University of Texas Percussion Ensemble. His music has been toured around the United States as part of the I Exist Project and performed at festivals such as the Victoria Bach Festival. Five of his works are listed on the Texas UIL Prescribed Music List.

Sebastian currently studies under Ivan Trevino and Thomas Burritt.

Blacktop Percussion
consortium organizer

Championing new voices, Blacktop Percussion is comprised of Brandon Berlanga, John Dawson, Michael Lee-Smith, and Remington Thomas, current students at the Eastman School of Music.

In 2023, they placed second at the 10th Annual Coltman Chamber Competition. They performed the entirety of Andy Akiho's Seven Pillars later that year.

Its members have individually found success at competitions such as the World Marimba Competition, Great Plains International Marimba Competition, Modern Snare Drum Competition, and the Black Swamp Multi-Percussion Solo Contest.

Bubblegum Eyes by Sebastian Zhang

Blacktop Percussion performs Pillar IV by Andy Akiho

SCINTILLATIONS is about radioactivity. It's a dream-like reinterpretation of radioactive particles and processes as songs and conversations.

I. the sun talks in wailing song
This movement is about nuclear fusion, at the hearts of stars and suns.
Stars are violent forces—constantly growling into an empty void, unheard.
I wonder what they're saying?

II. the void murmurs in wistful static
This movement is about cosmic background radiation.
It's the quiet hum of the universe. The static on an old TV has a small portion of that hum—a small voice—visualized.
This array of energy comes from all sorts of sources, from the Big Bang, to clouds of matter in distant galaxies.

III. the radium howls in winking starlight
This movement is about spinthariscopes, radioactive decay, and radium.
Spinthariscopes are old toys that looked similar to a kaleidoscope on the outside. Once you held one up to your eyes, you would see tiny flashes of light—the effect of a radioactive element decaying, then emitting a particle. This particle would strike a special material, and this material would emit light.
This means you would see the impact of individual atoms decaying, in real time.
This special material was called a scintillator, and these flashes are called scintillations.

Score delivery (as a digital PDF download) will be July 1st 2024, after which consortium members retain exclusivity until July 1st, 2025.
Your name will be listed in the score as a consortium member.
The deadline to buy-in is February 1st, 2024.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact sebastian.zhang.music@gmail.com.
Thanks for reading this far! It means the world to us that people are interested in our music.

with love,

Brandon, John, Michael, Remington, & Sebastian