Reviews of Compositions/Arrangements

". . . electrifying. So, too, is Marden Pond's score."
Helen Forsberg, Salt Lake Tribune, review of a performance of Ge'Bungee, performed by the Ririe/Woodbury Dance Company.

"Marden Pond's concise three-movement sonata offers jazz-flavored energy. . . ."
Lawrence Johnson, Fanfare Magazine, review of MMC recording of Sonata for Piano.

"This is an inventive and well-crafted piece that deserves to be better known, given strong advocacy by pianist Slanicova."
Lawrence Johnson, Fanfare Magazine, review of MMC recording of Modal Variations (Elenorora Slanicova, pianist).

"The score . . . was just right, going with the flow of the piece, or perhaps inspiring that flow. . . . One can't help noticing that dancers do their best when they have something worth dancing about."
Dorothy Stowe, music and dance critic, in a Deseret News review of Windows, with a score by Marden Pond.

From a review of the premiere performance of the orchestral overture, Celebration:
". . . masterful and intricate work . . ."
The Herald.

"Marden Pond's dreamy electronic score supported the piece well."
Dorothy Stowe, review in the Deseret News of Ge'Bungee with choreography by Shirley Ririe.

". . . 'Gebunge', a well-received world premiere choreographed by Shirley Ririe to an original score by Marden Pond. . . . This joyous work moved from the athletic to the magical with aplomb. Surely there was fairy dust scattered over the stage."
Ann Poore, The Salt Lake Tribune.

". . . a much-loved ballet fantasy . . . subtle music . . . creating a mood of mystic wonder."
Karla Wagner, review of The Little Prince suite in The Herald.
"Marden Pond (b 1950) from Utah contrasts direct and romantic material with slow-movement tone clusters in his six-minute Sonata. . . ." American Record Guide.

"Shirley Ririe counts as her important choreographic contributions . . . Windows, 1988; . . . and GeBunge, 1992." (both with scores by Marden Pond)
Thirty Years of Dance, Ririe/Woodbury Dance Company commemorative publication by Brent Herridge & Associates.

"The album is, indeed, clean -- but not antiseptically so. . . . a virtual trove of that genre."
Lance S. Gudmundsen, Salt Lake Tribune, from a review of the CD, Christmas Treasures (recorded in collaboration with David Glen Hatch, orchestral arrangements and conducting by Marden Pond).

". . . clearly an extraordinary piece of music. . . . my hearty congratulations for having produced such a work."
Dr. Michael Ballam, on the orchestral/choral suite, Pioneer Sampler by Marden Pond.

"Adults and children alike will be delighted with his orchestration . . . ."
Tiffany Lance, Daily Herald, Dec. 5, 1996, review of a performance of Marden Pond's arrangement of Mozart's Twelve Variations On "Ah vous! dirai-je maman".

"Skilled arrangers put new spin on favorite inspirational music." ". . . capturing the essence of each style, while showing reverence for the music." "This would be a great way to introduce people unfamiliar with classical music to various composers, while those familiar with the composers will enjoy these stylish new interpretations."
Carma Wadley, Deseret Morning News, review of The Master's Touch, album with arrangements by Marden Pond, David Glen Hatch, piano soloist.

". . . impressive here [is] just how well Pond achieves what he sets out to do -- evoke images."
Eric Snyder, Daily Herald, January 18, 1997, review of Environments and Footnotes, CD albums by Marden Pond.

"Though compact in size . . . this is a 'big sounding' piece, replete with spacious sonorities and exciting bravura passagework." ". . . propulsive force unleashed by the motivic interplay, and it soon accelerates into a powerful conclusion." "The finale is a muscular allegro molto toccata whose sense of relentlessly uncoiling energy is mirrored in the chromatically expanding intervals of its opening eight-note motive."
Mark L. Lehman, liner notes for Pond's Sonata for Piano on the 1997 CD, Eleanora Slanikova, pianist: MMC Chamber Music Series, Vol. II (MMC Recordings [2030]).

"Variations one through three are dancelike: the first is a sparkling fleet-footed jig, the second a spiky tango, while the third is a driving, but catchy flamenco-style dance. . . . [The fourth movement is] a slow, atmospheric rhapsody that transforms a four-note motive from an impressionistic opening to a dark chordal climax, then subsides into a quiet coda. The beautiful fifth variation [is] mirage-like, it's gone almost too quickly, before we can grasp it. Variation six concludes this delightful and inventive cycle with a joyfully bouncing presto, leaving the listener to marvel at the astonishing variety of mood and coloration that Pond achieves. . . ."
Mark L. Lehman, liner notes for Pond's Modal Variations on the 1997 CD, Eleanora Slanikova, pianist: MMC Chamber Music Series, Vol. II (MMC Recordings [2030]).

". . . a delightful little piece by Pond, 'Megan's Minuet,' which showed Pond to be an artful and clever composer . . . ."
Edward Reichel, Deseret News, review of a film score excerpt.

". . . a well-known composer with numerous commissioned works to his credit."
Edward Reichel, Deseret News.