CANTON -- A St. Lawrence University professor wrote a song that was inspired by a marimba made with wood from Michigan forests.

Victor Marquez-Barrios, visiting assistant professor of music, composed “The Fallen Tree,” which will be performed at the McCormick Marimba Festival at the University of South Florida’s School of Music on Jan. 31. The work began when he was commissioned by Alex Smith, a graduate student and percussionist at Michigan State University, who had designed and built a marimba made from wood found in Michigan forests, SLU said.

“I found the motivation behind (his instrument) The Michigandered Marimba so inspiring that I could hardly wait to start writing the piece, which is a feeling that most composers treasure,” Marquez-Barrios said. “But beyond the motivating story, listening to the instrument itself only increased my creative urgency.”

Marquez-Barrios said that the instrument produces a dry, raw sound, which creates a “lack of resonance” that required him to experiment with different mallets and techniques.