Poltergeist
General Info
Year of Published: 2026
Publisher: C. Alan Publications
Series: The IGNITE Series
Difficulty: Elementary
Duration: 00:03:40
Cost: $32.00
Instrumentation
Player 1: Glockenspiel
Player 2: Xylophone
Player 3: Vibraphone
Player 4: Marimba 1
Player 5: Marimba 2
Player 6: Chimes
Player 7: Timpani
Player 8: Snare Drum & Suspended Cymbal
Player 9: Wind Chimes & Kick Drum & Hi Hat
Player 10: Suspended Cymbal & 3 Tom Tom
Player 11: Tam Tam
Program Notes
Poltergeist by Robert Clayson is an easy to intermediate flexible percussion ensemble that portrays those situations where odd things just tend to happen with no explanation. This piece will be a great way to either open or close a percussion ensemble concert. Poltergeist is dedicated to Carroll High School in Ozark, Alabama who premiered it at the Wiregrass Percussion Festival in New Brockton, Alabama in May of 2025. With this piece, I knew from the outset that I wanted something that would be aggressive and exciting but also have a slow section. This road map quickly turned into a creepy soundscape for the first part of the piece, and the title of “Poltergeist” was born. This piece should be a great way to open or close a concert for any young percussion ensemble.
Works for Percussion by this Composers
Marimba Works
Adventure!
Character Studies
Dance of the Music Box Figurines
In Spite of it All
Little Song
Marimba Miniatures
Mourning at Fort Polk
Nocturne
Shimmer (Solo Version)
Suspended Dreams
Tall Tales
Three Moments in Time
Solo with Ensemble
Shimmer (with Mallet Quartet Version)
Ensemble Works
Atmos - 4 Players
Cloudburst (Clayson) - 12 Players
Dissonant Oscillations - 4 Players
Fever Dream
Growing Aggression - 3 Players
Into the Fray - 13 Players
Island Breeze - 13 Players
Kinetic - 4 Players
Party at the Old Clock Tower
Storm Surge - 12 Players
Flexible Ensemble Works
A New Day's Adventure
First Five - 3 to 7 Players
High Octane - 6 to 10 Players
Munchkin Dance - 6 to 11 Players
Onward and Upward
Poltergeist - 7 to 11 Players
The Scary Door