Third Coast Percussion, photo by Saverio Truglia
Join us for an evening that redefines the possibilities of percussion. On the occasion of their 20th Anniversary, Chicago’s GRAMMY® Award-winning quartet Third Coast Percussion presents Time Pieces: The New Classical, a program that celebrates 20 years of genre-defying, award-winning music, including many of the ensemble’s 20th Anniversary commissions. Highlighting rhythm, history, and innovation, the concert reflects on percussion’s profound influence on classical music today.
Through works by Steve Reich, Philip Glass, Jessie Montgomery, Tigran Hamasyan, Clarice Assad, and electronic artist Jlin, each piece connects past and present — from Bach reimagined through electronic sound to new commissions by some of today’s leading composers.
Since forming at Northwestern University in 2005, Third Coast Percussion has become a driving force in contemporary music, praised for its “rare power” (Washington Post) and “inspirational sense of fun and curiosity” (Minnesota Star-Tribune). The ensemble’s 20th Anniversary tour includes new commissions, international residencies, and appearances across North America and Europe.
Members
Sean Connors, Robert Dillon, Peter Martin, David Skidmore
Program
Danny Clay – Playbook: Teeth
Third Coast Percussion – Niagara
Clarice Assad – The Hero
Steve Reich – Music for Pieces of Wood
Jlin – Obscure
Philip Glass – Metamorphosis
Intermission
Jlin – Please Be Still
Jessie Montgomery – Lady Justice/Black Justice, The Song
Tigran Hamasyan – Sonata for Percussion
Memories from Childhood
Hymn
23 for TCP
Reviews
“Third Coast Percussion continues to push percussion in new directions, blurring musical boundaries and beguiling new listeners.” — NPR Music
"Third Coast — which became the first-ever percussion ensemble to earn a Grammy Award with a win in 2017 — may have started as a group of students who just wanted to play more of the music they love. Two decades in, they are a dominant part of the new classical cannon." — WBEZ
“Third Coast Percussion play as if they’re a single, eight-armed organism.” — The New York Times
"Atmospheric, impeccable, precise performances of minimalist music" — Concerto
“Third Coast Percussion is one of the most enterprising and creative ensembles working today.” — WFMT
Third Coast Percussion
Sean Connors
Sean Connors is an Ensemble Member and Technical Director of Third Coast Percussion. He has performed with Amphion Percussion, the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, eighth blackbird, the International Contemporary Ensemble, Signal, and Metropolis Ensemble, and he was the percussionist for 2 summers with the prestigious Aspen Music Festival Contemporary Ensemble.
As an educator, Sean served for 2 years as assistant professor of percussion at the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point, and taught elementary school and middle school music in the Chicago suburbs.
Sean holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music, a Master of Music degree from Northwestern University and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music.
Robert Dillon
Robert Dillon is an Ensemble Member and Development Director of Third Coast Percussion. He has also performed as a substitute with the Chicago, Boston, and San Diego Symphony Orchestras, and served as principal percussionist in the Madison Symphony Orchestra from 2007-2008. A passionate educator, he previously served as chair of percussion studies at Merit School of Music and a percussion instructor at Loyola University Chicago.
Robert has appeared numerous times on the Chicago Symphony’s contemporary music series, MusicNow, as well as the University of Chicago’s Contempo series, and was a member of the unique, international 12-percussionist Ensemble XII, which grew out of Pierre Boulez’s Lucerne Festival Academy (Switzerland). Robert was a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and participated in programs at the Tanglewood Music Center, Spoleto Festival USA, National Repertory Orchestra, and Pacific Music Festival (Sapporo, Japan).
In addition to Third Coast recordings, Robert can be heard as a soloist on Innova Records (Christopher Adler—Ecstatic Volutions in a Neon Haze), and a performer on Naxos Records (American Music for Percussion, Volume 1) and Parlour Tapes+ (Katherine Young – Diligence is to Magic as Progress is to Flight). He has performed as a soloist in America, Switzerland, and Jordan.
Robert holds a Bachelor of Music from Northwestern University and a Master of Music from the New England Conservatory, where he received the John Cage Award for Outstanding Contribution to Contemporary Music Performance. His teachers include Michael Burritt, James Ross and Will Hudgins.
Peter Martin
Peter Martin is an Ensemble Member and Finance Director of Third Coast Percussion.
As a chamber musician, Peter has performed with many leading new music ensembles including the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), Eighth Blackbird, the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, the Atlantic Chamber Ensemble, Opera Moda, Tomorrow Music Orchestra, and Ensemble Signal. In addition to his work with Third Coast Percussion, Peter is a member of the award-winning contemporary music group Ensemble Dal Niente. His recorded work can be heard on the New Focus, New Amsterdam, Mode, Ears & Eyes, Harmonia Mundi, and Narooma labels.
As an educator, Peter was an Assistant Professor and Director of Percussion Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA from 2009-2013. He held previous teaching positions at Northwestern University and Trinity International University.
Peter holds Doctor of Music and Master of Music Degrees from Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music and a Bachelor of Music Degree from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University. While a student, Peter was awarded first prize at the Percussive Arts Society International Solo Marimba Competition. His teachers include Michael Burritt, She-e Wu, Leigh Howard Stevens.
David Skidmore
David Skidmore is an Ensemble Member and Executive Director of Third Coast Percussion.
As a chamber musician, David has performed at Carnegie Hall, the Lincoln Center Festival, Kimmel Center, EMPAC, June in Buffalo, Klangspuren Schwaz, the Ojai Music Festival, the Bang On a Can Marathon and three Percussive Arts Society International Conventions. David was a member of the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble from 2007-2011 and Ensemble ACJW from 2008-2010. David has performed and collaborated with many of the world's finest musicians including conductors Pierre Boulez, Lorin Maazel, David Robertson, and Michael Tilson Thomas, composers Steve Reich, Steve Mackey, Matthias Pintscher, and Peter Eötvos, and chamber ensembles Eighth Blackbird and Ensemble Signal. David has performed as a soloist in Europe, Asia, and the United States. David has also performed as a member of the Lucerne Festival Academy, the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, the Pacific Music Festival, and the National Repertory Orchestra.
David is also a composer, and his works are performed regularly in concert halls and universities across the country.
David taught for four years on the percussion faculty at the Peabody Conservatory. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Northwestern University and a Master of Music degree from the Yale School of Music. His teachers were Michael Hernandez, Shawn Schietroma, Michael Burritt, James Ross, and Robert Van Sice.