Percussion Ensemble prepares for PASIC with Oct. 29 concert
calendar icon23 Oct 2019 user iconBy Kathe C. Andersen
Lincoln, Neb.--The University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Percussion Ensemble has won the Percussive Arts Society’s International Percussion Ensemble Competition. They are one of three university percussion ensembles that will perform during the Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC) Nov. 13-16 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
It’s the second win for the Percussion Ensemble, which won for the first time in 2016 and now again in 2019, in its first year of eligibility after winning previously.
“Frankly I wasn’t expecting to be selected so soon again, but I feel very honored,” said Associate Professor of Percussion Dave Hall. “We have an amazing group of students right now. The studio is the largest it has ever been and the talent is also at an unprecedented level, so the first reaction I had was excitement to showcase these particular students.”
The Percussion Ensemble will perform a preview of their PASIC program at their concert on Tuesday, Oct. 29 at 7:30 p.m. in Kimball Hall. Tickets are $5 general and $3 students/seniors and available at the door. They will also be collaborating with the dance program at a First Friday event on Friday, Nov. 1 from 6-7:30 p.m. in the Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts at 13th and Q streets. That event is free and open to the public.
The program will include the premiere of a new piece titled “Snake Oil,” by Assistant Professor of Composition Greg Simon.
“Dave asked me write a new piece, and we started getting into conversations about what would be the right piece for the program that he was trying to design,” Simon said. “And he said, ‘We need something intense. Give me intensity.’”
Simon often draws inspiration from what is going on locally and nationally.
“At the time, a lot was coming out about the opioid crisis and particularly Purdue Pharmaceutical’s role in spreading it. It got me thinking about Novo Nordisk, and it got me thinking about Marin Shkreli. And it got me thinking about Theranos and this recent phenomenon of medicine that is being sold as a panacea, a cure-all, but is really, in fact, predatory and often harmful. That, to me, became a really fascinating idea.”
The piece includes about 25 to 30 different instruments ranging from traditional percussion, such as toms and marimba, but also items such as six metal mixing bowls, which the performers turn upside down and play with triangle beaters like they are drums.
“It’s intense. It’s aggressive. And I don’t know that I’ve ever used this word to describe a piece of music of mine before, but I think it’s mean,” Simon said. “I think it’s conscious of the desperation and the fact that all this person wants is to feel better, and it’s dragging them through this awful ritual that is probably ultimately going to kill them. And it gets more and more desperate and more and more aggressive.”
The program also includes a new piece by Hall titled “Liminality,” which he composed for the ensemble.
“One of the benefits of knowing the students and the rest of the compositions on the programs is that I was able to compose a piece that would fill out the program in a satisfying way,” Hall said.
“Liminality” features the creative spirit of the studio, as well as specific performers in the ensemble, showcasing their talents.
“There are virtuosic moments in the piece for drumset, keyboards, steel pan, timpani and multi-percussion, all of which I wrote with those specific virtuosos in mind,” Hall said.
Besides the two premieres from UNL faculty, the group is performing four other cutting-edge chamber percussion pieces. All of the music was composed in the last decade, and nearly every piece will be a PASIC premiere performance.
“It’s a really good mix of chamber music, with each piece a completely different instrumentation,” Hall said. “Something we’re really highlighting this year is technology and multimedia elements in our program. With the new Carson Center opening and, I think, the university’s propensity and interest in being leaders in technological developments, we wanted to highlight our interest in multimedia and interdisciplinary work and interest in premiering new works and performing the music of our time.”
The first piece on the program, “It is Time” by Steven Mackey, uses a metronome run through a delay effect to bend and distort time and pulse. “A Natural History of Vacant Lots” by Chris Cerrone is performed with an electronic track that interacts with the acoustic percussion quartet as they’re playing. “Aura” by Icelandic composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir is an ethereal masterpiece performed in near darkness with special lighting effects.
“Seaborne” by Garth Neustadter syncs up with a video featuring aerial photography of the oceans. The piece was commissioned and premiered by The Percussion Collective, a professional chamber percussion ensemble that will be in residence in the Glenn Korff School of Music on Oct. 27-28. The UNL Percussion Ensemble will have a chance to rehearse side by side on “Seaborne” with The Percussion Collective this weekend and will have coachings on the other pieces to help prepare for the PASIC showcase.
There are 23 students in the percussion studio and all of them will be performing on the recital and at PASIC.
“My goal from the start was to make sure that every one of those students got on stage,” Hall said. “We have students from freshman to graduate students, who will all be performing. Some of them have never been to PASIC before, and some of them have been there many times.”
PASIC is one of the largest drum and percussion events in the world and features more than 120 concerts, clinics, masterclasses, labs, workshops, panels and presentations by some of the finest percussion artists in the world.
“Besides the honor of performing a featured concert at PASIC, the students get to attend the convention itself—the highest concentration of percussion events annually,” Hall said. “We will have some time to visit the exhibit hall to peruse instruments, implements and new publications and to attend a myriad of clinics and performances by artists who are at the top of their field.”
Simon is happy his piece will be a part of it.
“When I was writing this piece, I was looking at a lot of videos from old PASICs,” he said. “It’s hard to describe the energy of a bunch of percussionists performing for an audience of their colleagues, but it really is something special. Even through a video screen, you can tell there is a communion there between the audience and the performers, so that is just really beautiful. That’s a privilege to be a part of as a composer.”
Jonah Payne, a junior music major from Lincoln, is looking forward to the experience.
“I was ecstatic when I heard that the UNL Percussion Ensemble had been chosen to perform at PASIC,” Payne said. “It is the largest percussion convention in the world, and for many people, performing at PASIC is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. In addition, this entire performance is a huge deal because the Percussion Ensemble has been selected twice in a row as one of the top collegiate percussion ensembles in the world. This feat is especially astounding considering that Dr. Hall has only been teaching at UNL since 2013, and the percussion ensemble he directs was selected both times he applied for the International Percussion Ensemble competition.”
It also makes for a special concert experience for the ensemble.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity performing alongside some of my closest friends for an audience of professional, talented individuals who share our passion for percussion,” Payne said. “It will give me an experience unlike any concert I have played before since I have never had an audience of only percussionists. Also playing for PASIC and a small tour of high schools beforehand will be memories I am going to cherish forever.”
Hall said it’s a significant milestone for the students.
“It’s a significant achievement for them that they can say that they played here. It will go on all their resumes,” Hall said. “It’s also great visibility for the percussion program in the Glenn Korff School. But mostly, I’m excited that the things we do here every semester, they get to share with the rest of the community. I hope all the students leave with a strong camaraderie with their friends and a strong musical memory that will propel them through the rest of their career.”
The percussion studio has received support from both the Glenn Korff School of Music and Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts.
“I’m thankful to Dr. Sergio Ruiz from the Glenn Korff School of Music and Dean Chuck O’Connor from the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts,” Hall said. “They’ve both been so supportive of the percussion program, whether it be keeping our instruments in working order or upgrading our equipment or starting Nebraska Steel, our steel band, or in supporting both of these trips. This simply wouldn’t be possible without support from the administration, as well as our amazing staff both in the Glenn Korff School and Hixson-Lied College.”
During Hall’s tenure, the studio has developed from having no graduate students when he arrived to now having a robust graduate studio.
“We had nearly 20 prospective graduate students auditioning for one opening las year, and the last few years we’ve been enrolling some of the best graduate students from around the country,” Hall said.
The undergraduate level has also become more competitive.
“We have students coming from Nebraska and from Lincoln, but also from all over the country,” he said. “So it’s just more diverse in terms of the locales they’re coming from and just the level of the players and the talent and work ethic.”
Hall said the percussion studio is nearly self-sustaining.
“The students know how to teach themselves and help each other get better. I’m obviously here teaching them, but they are intrinsically motivated and making things happen without being told to do anything. They work together as a team really well, and they keep me on my toes as a professor,” he said. “I’m constantly having to innovate how I teach and to learn new things to keep moving the carrot out in front of them.”
Payne said he enjoys playing with his friends in the percussion studio.
“The studio really feels like a big family, and everyone is extremely hard-working and talented,” he said. “Playing with them always pushes me to be a better musician.”
He is looking forward to sharing the PASIC experience with everyone.
“I am obviously most excited for PASIC to perform with my talented comrades in the UNL Percussion Studio,” Payne said. “However, I am also extremely thrilled to make connections and learn from talented individuals who love percussion as much as I do.”