Percussion Ensemble To Perform Diverse, High-Energy Music
When the Alma College Percussion Ensemble presents its annual fall
concert, the audience can expect a wide variety of music with no two
pieces sounding alike, according to faculty director and group founder
David Zerbe.
The Percussion Ensemble performs at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 21 in the
Remick Heritage Center at Alma College. Tickets are $8 for adults
and free for Alma College students and youth 18 and under. Call
(989) 463-7304 for ticket information.
The Chamber Ensemble, Jazz Percussion and Steel Drum Ensemble, and
World Music Group will perform the music of John Cage, Johannes Brahms,
the Yellow Jackets and others. The ensembles comprise Alma College
students.
“The student performers bring a high degree of professionalism, energy
and musicality to their performance,” says Zerbe. “They are committed
to the music they perform and are unwilling to settle for less than
what the music requires to be performed at the highest level.”
The first half of the concert contains music that the audience might be
familiar with, including “Second Construction” by John Cage and
“Stained Glass” by David Gillingham. Also in this half are “Scherzo”
from Brahms’s Piano Quintet in F minor, Opus 34, and “Fluffy Ruffles”
by Harry Breuer.
The program’s second half consists of five songs that present a range
of styles and sounds, including “Omphalo Centric Lecture” by Nigel
Westlake, “Latin Train” by Arturo Sandavol and Wayne Shorter’s
“Footprints,” as well as “Time Check” by Don Menza and “Freda” by the
Yellow Jackets.
“The show will be entertaining and enlightening,” says Zerbe.
Since its establishment in 1989, the Percussion Ensemble has increased
in size and prestige. Four times its original size, the Ensemble is
made up 32 musicians, 22 of whom are music majors with an emphasis in
percussion. The remainder of the students have a background in music or
percussive studies and “are willing to work at the level required to
perform in the ensemble,” says Zerbe.
The nationally acknowledged ensemble visited Chicago last February,
where the group mentored students at the Chicago Choir Academy and
performed at First Presbyterian Church at Wilmette before heading to
the Notre Dame Festival.
In addition to working and performing locally, the Ensemble has been
invited to perform at the Michigan Music Conference in January of 2007
and will be sharing the stage with the Alma College Choir in DeVos Hall
in Grand Rapids.
“We also have been invited to perform at the Centrum Jazz Festival in
Port Townshed in Washington in July of 2007,” says Zerbe. “This is a
very prestigious professional jazz festival, and it is an honor to be
invited to perform.”
Posted: Sat, November 11th, 2006 at 9:36AM
