Peace Piece

I didn’t see God Sunday morning, but I heard an echo of His voice.

Mark Lowry, percussionist for the Kansas City Symphony and New Ear, performed three revelatory pieces on marimba at Community Christian Church on the Plaza. With two mallets in each hand, Lowry demonstrated the massive instrument's wide dynamic range.

Lowry took liberties with Bach’s Sonata In G Minor, giving it a manic dissonance. In his reading of Fleet, by Jacob Druckman, Lowry teased a spiritual message out of the difficult avant garde piece. Judah Adashi’s 8 Haiku, was a peaceful meditation reminiscent of the work of jazz vibraphonist Gary Burton.

A higher power exists in all music, of course. It’s just easier to discern in the gorgeous sounds of this woefully underutilized instrument.