Third Coast Percussion
JOHNSON CITY – Third Coast Percussion is a Chicago-based ensemble of classically trained percussionists who have “gone rogue” with a common mission: to explore and expand the sonic possibilities of the percussion repertoire.
This group will bring its “mind-tingling rhythmic lucidity,” as MusicWeb International calls it, to Johnson City on Thursday, March 22, for a performance sponsored by East Tennessee State University’s Mary B. Martin School of the Arts. The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Science Hill High School Auditorium.
Third Coast’s “Lyrical Geometry” program will feature music from the ensemble’s Grammy Award-winning album of Steve Reich’s work, pieces by Philip Glass and Thierry De Mey, and original music composed by group members Robert Dillon, Peter Martin and David Skidmore. Sean Connors is also a member of the ensemble.
“Percussion ensemble is inherently new music, at least within the context of the classical music tradition,” says Dillon, who also serves as development director of TCP. “The oldest pieces for percussion ensemble are from the 1930s and ’40s. The music of John Cage, Steve Reich and Iannis Xenakis were some of the experiences that made us all want to play in a percussion ensemble, but we still felt like there were still a lot of unexplored possibilities, a lot of great percussion ensemble music yet to be written. So, we started commissioning and composing new works right from the beginning, and mixed those in with the existing repertoire we loved.”
These four musicians share not only a musical bond, but also an educational one. They all attended Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, overlapping at slightly different times and finally intersecting as a group because of their passion for new music and sharing it with others.
“We loved playing this type of music and decided we wanted to see how far we could go with it,” Dillon says. “I think we can win over the audiences that love Beethoven or Bach, because we can offer a musical experience that also has that level of craft, expression and attention to detail. But we think the best way to do it is usually with music that was imagined on our instruments in the first place.”
A universe of instruments come into play in Third Coast performances and recordings. “Resounding Earth,” which premiered in 2012, calls for some 300 metal instruments from around the world, including tiny cymbal-like crotales, giant gongs, Burmese temple bells and metal coils.
In Dillon’s “Ordering-Instincts,” the percussionists share eight wooden planks, an octave of loose crotales and two tom-toms to create a variety of sonic colors in tightly interwoven rhythms, while Skidmore’s “Aliens with Extraordinary Abilities”explores the idea that the same piece of music can move at different speeds at the same time. “Aliens” also incorporates an electronic audio track and video.
Third Coast Percussion’s imaginings have become reality – and an acclaimed niche. One indicator that their musical experimentation is working is their 2017 Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble performance for their recording of Reich’s works for percussion. The CD “just knocked my socks off,” Reich says in a TCP You Tube video.
The Chicago Tribunehas creditedthe ensemble with contributing to a “youthquake” in Chicago’s new-music scene, especially with its Emerging Composer Partnership, commissioning two new artists every year.
“It’s very natural for us to feel connected with contemporary music because most of the music we have experienced has been written within the last few decades,” Connors told KUAF Radio. “As artists, we feel really strongly that we should be interacting with our contemporary culture and what’s going on right now.”
All educators – and Ensemble-in-Residence at the University of Notre Dame – Third Coast also interacts through educational outreach programs, such as “Waves” and “Think Outside the Drum,” at elementary and high schools, as well as universities, such as ETSU.
“Third Coast is another group that I have long wanted to bring to ETSU and the area,” says Anita DeAngelis, director of the Martin School of the Arts. “We will not only get to enjoy their unique musical talents, but ETSU and Science Hill students will benefit from their musical vision and expertise in outreach at Science Hill and on campus.”
In the Thursday evening performance and the Wednesday and Friday sessions with students, the Third Coast percussionists will showcase what percussion is capable of, Dillon says. “There will be music that is rhythmic and visceral, music which is beautiful and introspective, music which is tuneful and music which is humorous and theatrical,” he says. “There will be sounds people have never heard and musical experiences that they wouldn't have imagined percussion instruments would be capable of creating.
“We work really hard to craft a finely-tuned performance, and it's always a lot of fun.”
For more on the ensemble, visit http://thirdcoastpercussion.com or download their free apps for iPhone/iPad on iTunes.
For more information about the Martin School of the Arts or to purchase tickets, visit www.etsu.edu/martin or call 423-439-TKTS (8587). Tickets are $20 for general admission, $15 for seniors 60-plus and $5 for students of all ages.