‘Simple yet the most extraordinary pieces of music’ – Aurora Percussion Duo

Young Critic Noah visited Lichfield Festival this summer to see Aurora Percussion Duo perform a stand out show including everything from a five-octave marimba to the humble egg shaker.

Aurora started with a smooth entrance and they introduced themselves nicely. They started with a smooth piece about being in the woods and around nature. They then proceeded to tell us about how they came to own these instruments and how they were made (10 out of 10 for descriptions) and how they have to look after instrument in a different way. How they looked after and played these instruments was fantastic to listen to and see.

The next piece was about being calm and whether or not it was intentional, they managed to mimic a grand piano which was music to my ears. Next was a song they made up themselves and involved one of them sitting on the floor playing nothing except the floor of the stage with a pair of drumsticks and despite this strange ‘instrument’ it was actually one of my favourite percussion songs I have ever heard.

After this piece there was an interval, all songs lasted about 8-12 minutes and were lovely and lively. The next piece, was perhaps my favourite piece which involved them both on a massive double, stacked Xylophone and this was impressive to watch. The way they kept the melody the same without bumping into each other was extraordinary. They then came on for their song, written by a world-famous percussionist called Dam Evelyn Glennie and this was a piece that mixed all sorts of instruments, unfortunately none of which had maracas in them.

For their final song they had also written it themselves, a piece that involved the use of only a single instrument. This was perhaps the most simple yet one of the most extraordinary pieces of music I have ever seen and had the joy to listen to. If you ever get a chance to watch them at the Lichfield Festival, please do. Overall, I would rate it a 10/10.

By Noah B 

If you’re aged 11-18 and would like to be a festival reviewer, applications will open soon for Young Critics – find out more on our website https://lichfieldfestival.org/aspire/young-critics/