Bunkers of Alvira by Andrew Patzig | Nancy Zeltsman, marimba

Bunkers of Alvira (2019) for solo marimba by Andrew Patzig
Score available from C. Alan Publications
Video created by Cory High, Bailey Seabury, Andrew Patzig & Nancy Zeltsman
Audio recording & mix by Nancy Zeltsman (2020-21)
(The backing track she created with a Pearl EM1 malletSTATION is not required to perform the piece.) Nancy performed on the Adams Special Edition “Nancy Zeltsman Signature” marimba.
Huge thanks to these videographers who generously allowed us to include their footage:
• JPVideos, Ghost Town of Alvira Pa, Abandoned WWII Bunkers
• Ruin Road, Abandoned WWII Bunker Complex, The Bunkers of Alvira - Pennsylvania Ghost Town
• jeffgrantMEDIA, Abandoned WWII Bunkers of Alvira, Creator Meetup (Season 3 Episode 002)
Alvira, Pennsylvania (founded as Wisetown, ca. 1825) was a farming community with a population of about 100. The town contained a blacksmith shop, school, post office, several shops, and three churches. In 1942, during World War II, approximately 8,500 acres of land, including the village of Alvira, was seized by the United States government to accommodate a munitions storage facility (149 concrete bunkers) and a TNT factory. The residents were forced to evacuate their homes and leave behind 163 farms and 47 other properties.
The evicted families were told they would have the option to repurchase their land after the war. However, this turned out to be propaganda, as the government did not give the families the option to return to their homes. The TNT factory eventually closed in April 1944, just 11 months after it opened. The land was then used by the U.S. Army for testing; and in 1950, the Federal Bureau of Prisons gained rights to 4,000 acres including the factory site.
Today, the concrete bunkers sit abandoned in public game lands. Some are opened to the public. If you visit, you will find them covered in vines and rust, and filled with debris. What remains serves no purpose. Seeing photos of the nearby cemetery, however, made me recognize the spirit of the community still endures.
The piece is an attempt to capture what the families went through all those years ago. For instance, sections of the music depict my imagination of happy families that resided there, how they must have felt hearing they had to leave, packing and preparing to leave, their anger coming into focus, and realizing they might never return. Not only their homes and community were taken from them, but their livelihoods.
Bunkers of Alvira was written for my mentor and friend T. Adam Blackstock, and is dedicated to Nancy Zeltsman, one of the most talented and kindest people I have met, with gratitude for her friendship, support, and editing suggestions, and for helping me capture the story of all the families who suffered through these trying times. The piece was premiered by Zeltsman on March 5, 2020 at the University of Nevada-Reno. - A.P.

[@haroldrivas370]

Congratulations, Prof. Zeltsman and your team, for such a moving production, and thank you all so much for sharing this moment of history with us!

[@dandesimone8826]

Gorgeous composition, stunning playing, and what a backstory...

[@MyAnte007]

Beautiful music and wonderful performance as always with Nancy!

[@NaokoTakada]

Beautiful!!!!

[@SticksandStonePercussion]

What a beautiful piece and beautiful CZcams story-telling Andrew, Nancy and friends. I love the composition... VST instruments with marimba..? Greenscreening in with footage like this is pretty cool.
Great work!
-Stephen, Edmonton, Canada.

[@swoodard11]

Beautiful and moving piece and performance, not to mention learning a bit of history, albeit sad.