DPAC Presenting Series Concert to Honor Steve Reich's 80th Birthday

Third Coast Percussion, a vibrant, virtuosic ensemble devoted to exploring and expanding the sonic possibilities of the percussion repertoire, marks the 80th birthday of Pulitzer Prize-winning contemporary American composer Steve Reich, a founding father of musical minimalism. The celebratory DeBartolo Performing Arts Center Presenting Series concert takes place on Friday, September 30 at 7 p.m. and features two dazzling works at the pinnacle of the composer's oeuvre.

The concert opens with Music for Pieces of Wood. In describing the piece, Third Coast Percussion writes, "Many of the rhythms that emerge along the way suggest alternative meters or rhythmic inflections that may change the listener's perception of the whole, and the interplay of the five wooden sounds reveal unexpected melodic fragments."

The celebration concludes with Music for 18 Musicians, "Steve Reich's 1976 masterpiece, one of the landmarks of 20th-century music" (Guardian, U.K.), on the 40th anniversary of its premiere. Composed between 1974 and 1976, Music for 18 Musicians is a shining example of Reich's fully realized style of minimalism, and nine featured guests will lend vocals as well as perform percussion, wind and string instruments, and piano. At an expected 65-minutes in length, the piece is a culmination of the polyrhythmic, phase-shifting work Reich began years earlier and an opening into the increasingly complex works that have continued to evolve over the past four decades. Experience this tour de force of colors, sounds, rhythms, and propulsion as performed by Third Coast Percussion, Eighth Blackbird, and friends. BBC Music Magazine praised Third Coast's 2016 album Steve Reich as, "Impressively combining creative fearlessness with reverent precision."

Born Oct. 3, 1936, in New York, Reich (pronounced RYE-sh) is widely considered "among the greatest composers of the century" (The New York Times), with an influence reaching deep into both the contemporary classical and popular music worlds. Grove Music Online observes how Reich "has consistently broadened and developed his musical world without compromising the streamlined efficiency and precision of his technique. Repetitive, pulse-driven figures have remained a characteristic, but so have the slips and leaps of a lively mind." His official website is stevereich.com.

Hailed by The New Yorker as "vibrant" and "superb," Third Coast Percussion explores and expands the extraordinary sonic possibilities of the percussion repertoire, delivering exciting performances for audiences of all kinds. Formed in 2005, Third Coast Percussion has developed an international reputation with concerts and recordings of inspiring energy and subtle nuance. Third Coast is Ensemble-in-Residence at the University of Notre Dame's DeBartolo Performing Arts Center, a position they assumed in 2013. They perform multiple recitals annually as part of the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center's Presenting Series, engage with the local community, and lead interdisciplinary projects in collaboration with a wide range of disciplines across campus.

Eighth Blackbird is "one of the smartest, most dynamic contemporary classical ensembles on the planet" (Chicago Tribune). Launched by six entrepreneurial Oberlin Conservatory undergraduates in 1996, this Chicago-based super-group has commissioned and premiered hundreds of works by composers such as David Lang, Steven Mackey, Missy Mazzoli, and Steve Reich, whose Double Sextet went on to win the 2009 Pulitzer Prize. A long-term relationship with Chicago's Cedille Records has produced seven acclaimed recordings and four Grammy Awards for Best Small Ensemble/Chamber Music Performance, most recently in 2016 for Filament.

Regular tickets are $15. Child/student tickets are free in alignment with the educational mission of Third Coast Percussion's residency. Visit performingarts.nd.edu/newseason for more information or call the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center Ticket Office at (574) 631-2800 Monday-Friday, noon-6 p.m.

Since opening in September 2004, the University of Notre Dame's DeBartolo Performing Arts Center has become an integral part of the University's vision and commitment to becoming a preeminent research university. It is the University's leading presenter of world-class artistic programming, one with an institutional focus on contemporary works. As an academic space, the center enhances the scholarship, teaching and practice of the performing and cinematic arts. As a community space, the center welcomes more than 100,000 patrons annually, including thousands of K-12 students in education and related artistic programs. Presenting Series and Browning Cinema programs are curated to increase the center's capacity to educate, enlighten and engage.

To post a comment, you must register and login.