Percussion Ensemble Celebrates Anniversary With Live Recording
The 20th anniversary concert of the Alma College Percussion Ensemble will feature a guest appearance by Loop 2.4.3, the live recording of a performance DVD, and a lively program of jazz, chamber, world and steel drum music.
The Alma College Percussion Ensemble performs at 8 p.m. Wednesday, April 8 and Thursday, April 9 in the Remick Heritage Center. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for seniors 62 and up, and free for Alma College staff, students and youth 18 and under. Seating is reserved. Call (989) 463-7304 for ticket information.
“How quickly 20 years has gone by,” says faculty director David Zerbe, who founded the percussion ensemble in 1989. “The first piece we performed publicly involved nine players during a band concert in the Alma College Chapel. At that time, we had one music major and the rest students who just wanted to play. That was the spark that continues to this day.”
The ensemble, which typically involves between 25 to 30 student performers at any one time, now boasts an alumni list of approximately 100 former players. The group has achieved national recognition with annual performances at jazz festivals and highlighted by a 2007 performance at the prestigious Port Townsend, Wash., Jazz Festival that earned rave reviews.
The April 8 and 9 concerts will serve as live recording sessions for the production of a DVD that will be released later this year. The program also will feature a piece by the Brooklyn-based percussion duo Loop 2.4.3, featuring Thomas Kozumplik and Lorne Watson.
In addition, the St. Louis High School Steel Band, directed by Steve Lawhorne, will perform in the Heritage Center lobby prior to the concerts.
The program will include Allegro Vivace from Felix Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 9 in C Major, written for 16 marimbas and two double-bases players; an arrangement of “Nola” by Felix Arndt, a ragtime xylophone solo with marimba quartet and percussion player; and “Hohner,” a piece by David Maslanka that was written as a memorial to the late percussion instructor Bob Hohner.
Other works on the program include arrangements of “Bags’ Groove” by Milt Jackson, “Bouncing with Bud” by Charlie Parker, “Take Five” by Paul Desmond, “Yes or No” by Wayne Shorter” and “The Gathering Sky” by Pat Metheny.
Posted: Sat, April 4th, 2009 at 3:23PM
