Percussion Group Cincinnati to perform Saturday

Submitted by Scott Deal
Phone: 474-1873
10/14/04

The Percussion Group Cincinnati will present a concert in conjunction with the 8th Annual Percussive Arts Society’s Alaska Day of Percussion on Oct. 23, at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The group was founded in 1979 and consists of members Allen Otte, James Culley, and Russell Burge, all of whom are faculty members and ensemble-in-residence at the College-Conservatory of Music of the University of Cincinnati. Their concert will take place in the Charles W. Davis Concert Hall at 8 p.m.

Appearances in their international touring schedule have included festivals, concert halls and schools of America, Europe and Asia. In addition to community concerts, workshops and masterclasses, the Group regularly appears as concerto soloists with symphony orchestras.

The Percussion Group Cincinnati is particularly respected for its knowledge of and experience with the music of John Cage, and has had pieces created by Cage especially for them. The Percussion Group’s concert will also have a Fairbanks element to it. They will be performing the "Five Percussion Quartets from Coyote Builds North America", by Alaska composer John Luther Adams. These quartets are from from the larger theatrical work, "Coyote Builds North America", which was created by Adams for Juneau’s Perseverance Theater in 1987. Performing the quartets on stage with the Percussion Group will UAF Percussion Professor Scott Deal.

Other performances at the Day of Percussion will include concerts by the University of Alaska Anchorage and University of Alaska Fairbanks Percussion Ensembles, as well as the UAF World Beat and Steel Drum Ensembles. Jazz pianist Barney McClure will be presenting a clinic on jazz improvisation. There will also be clinics on drumset technique, steel drum basics, classical percussion techniques and percussion ensemble performance. Door prizes will be given out throughout the day. The Day will be an outstanding experience for any percussionist age 11 through adult.

Admission is $10.00, which will include entrance to all events as well as the evening concert by the Percussion Group Cincinnati. For more information, contact the Music Department office at 474-7555, or visit the Department website at www.uaf.edu/music/department/.