California native Paul Dooley (b. 1983) has received many awards for his music, which has been performed by ensembles of all stripes around the US. Early experience in percussion and improvisation led him to study composition with Frank Ticheli while at the University of Southern California (where he also received a math degree). He is currently a lecturer in performing arts technology at the University of Michigan, where he is working towards a doctorate in composition, with Michael Daugherty among his teachers.
Dooley’s music tends to blend Western classical traditions with other world and contemporary musics, and Point Blank is no exception. Dooley describes it well in his own program notes. From his website:
Point Blank (2012) for band was commissioned by a consortium of wind bands organized by Gary D. Green and the University of Miami Frost Wind Ensemble.
Point Blank, is inspired by the sounds, rhythms and virtuosity of New York City-based new music ensemble Alarm Will Sound, who premiered a chamber version of the piece in 2010. Featuring synthetic sound worlds and tightly interlocking percussion ideas, the drum set, timpani and strings whirl the ensemble through an array of electronically inspired orchestrations, while the winds and brass shriek for dear life. Point Blank is a central processing unit of floating point tremelos, discrete pizzicatos, multi-threading scales and random access modulations.
In the score he adds:
Point Blank for wind ensemble is inspired by electronic music, in particular a style called Drum & Bass. I explore the interaction between computer generated musical material and the human performer. For the wind ensemble’s percussion battery, I transcribe tightly interlocking electronic rhythmic material. The drum set, mallets and timpani whirl the ensemble through an array of electronically inspired orchestrations, while the winds and brass shriek for dear life!
Point Blank exists in versions for large chamber ensemble (the original, written in 2010), wind ensemble (2012) and full orchestra (2011). Links are to each page on Dooley’s website, each of which contains a recording and score. For those who prefer to SEE their performances, here is the Baylor University Wind Ensemble:
And the premier of the original version by Alarm Will Sound (notice a fair bit of difference, especially at the end):
Finally, here is just one example of what Drum & Bass sounds like. This is just one example, so please explore further for a better, fuller picture:
Paul Dooley has a website of his own and biographies at the Wind Repertory Project and the University of Michigan.