Robert Oetomo tells us about his concerto for timpani, which he will premiere with the orchestra on May 29 & 30 2021:

‘Concerto for Timpani’ was commissioned by the Mosman Symphony Orchestra in 2019, in celebration of receiving their brand new set-of-4 timpani.

The concerto is in a standard three-movement form (fast-slow-fast), opening with ‘Overture’. The second movement, ‘Lullaby’ explores purely the melodic and lyrical side of the instrument.

The final movement, ‘Dance’, is a dialogue between the solo timpani and the string orchestra, more percussive in nature, with the use of harder mallets.

‘Concerto for Timpani’ was originally written for solo timpani and full orchestra. Due to constant changes in covid restrictions, this version is reduced for solo timpani and string orchestra. This timpani concerto is the first Australian timpani concerto written in the history of Australian music. – Robert Oetomo.