Formula by Ian McClaflin

The intent with Formula was to bring together 4 different approaches to the concert percussion quartet while providing an entertaining, diverse experience to the audience. The work has four distinct sections that comprise the work, including a split section, a texture section, a concert snare section, and a drum set groove based section. The beginning statement of the work provides a small preview of each section.

Each different section is led by a particular member of the ensemble: Percussion 1 is the main voice in the concert snare portion, Percussion 2 in the splits section, Percussion 3 in the texture section, while Percussion 4 is the main voice in the drum set/groove section. Along with being the main voice, each leader will also improvise in the style of their section. The piece ends with fragments of each previous section while giving each player one last chance to shine.