Tinikling | Percussion Ensemble (8 players)

Tinikling (Tih-Nih-Kling) is a traditional dance from the Philippines that features two people beating bamboo poles onto the ground and clicking them against each other in a 3/4 meter while one or more dancers step over and between the moving bamboo poles.

This piece for eight percussionists is inspired by this traditional dance, recontextualizing it by combining the dance with a continuous musical dialogue between the mallet instruments and a driving rhythmic groove.

“Tinikling” was premiered by the NYU Percussion Ensemble at Iris Cantor Theatre in New York, NY, in December 2025.

Instrumentation: 8 players

Duration: 8’

Materials Needed:
- 2 bamboo poles, at least 6 ft. long each (if bamboo poles cannot be obtained, then closet rods or similar wooden poles are acceptable alternatives)
- 2 wooden rectangular blocks or 2x4s — to support the poles, at least 24 in. long each

Instruments Needed:
- 1 xylophone
- 2 marimbas (at least 1 full-octave)
- 1 china cymbal
- 1 mark tree
- 1 cabasa
- 1 triangle
- 1 suspended cymbal
- 1 drumset (suspended cymbal, hi-hat, ride cymbal, med. tom, low tom, floor tom, kick drum)

You will receive: 1 .zip file containing 1 conductor’s score in .pdf format, and 7 instrument parts in .pdf format