projects

projects
photo courtesy of the autumn bowl

Wednesday, January 22, 2014



Memory Palace
Composed by Christopher Cerrone in 2012, this five-movement, twenty-two minute work for solo percussion is a staple of my repertoire. Memory Palace features simple homemade instruments entwined with haunting electronic sounds and pivots effortlessly from the concert hall to a DIY setting. 

Please visit Chris’ site for more info, video, and studio recordings.

    Michael Gordon's Timber at BAM Next Wave Festival. ©2012 Ian Douglas
Mantra Percussion
Mantra Percussion is an NYC-based ensemble dedicated to generating and performing evening-length works for percussion sextet. Mantra has commissioned composers Michael Gordon, Paula Matthusen, Tristan Perich, Aaron Siegel, Daniel Wohl, and the rock band Zs to produce a series of standalone concert experiences. I joined the group in the summer of 2013 and look forward to lots of brand new music making.

Click here for more Mantra.

Concert Black
Concert finds surprising ways to meld an unlikely trio of instruments: flute, bass, and percussion. Bass harmonics blend seamlessly with alto flute and melodica, while percussive flute and bass techniques provide extra layers to complex drum and multiple percussion grooves. Topped with three-part vocal harmonies, we are as comfortable working with composers as we are writing our own music, and have more fun doing it than folks ought to have. 

Bonjour at the Detroit Institute of Art, May 2013
Bonjour
Bassist/Composer Florent Ghys leads this string ensemble comprised of members of Bang on a Can All-Stars, Dither, and Victoire. I came on board in 2012, adding drums, glockenspiel, and melodica to their established instrumentation of two double basses, cello, and guitar. Florent's music often grooves, bounces, and flows along, but at times (like the above video) it hovers, still.

Listen to Bonjour!


NEWSPEAK
NEWSPEAK boasts a powerhouse lineup of musicians and a compositional ace up its sleeve in David T. Little. They are one of NYC's leading new music ensembles, but their music is amplified, gritty, often politically charged, and drifts toward the rock end of the spectrum. I'm not in this group, but filled in for David on drums for a January, 2013 run of his opera Solider Songs so that he could have a more bird's-eye view of the production. That has led to several upcoming engagements for me with the band in NYC, Pennsylvania, Washington DC, and Amsterdam, and I couldn’t be more thrilled.

Keep up with their happenings here.


Play/Pause
Play/Pause is a collaboration between MacArthur Fellowship awardee choreographer Susan Marshall, and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer David Lang. Since June of 2013, I have periodically stepped in for the show’s regular drummer and new father(!), Mike McCurdy. I have participated in two production residencies (at Skidmore College and Brooklyn Academy of Music) and performances at the Kennedy Center and Swarthmore College. Susan Marshall & Company embraces the individuality and collaborative spirit of each of the company’s dancers, while being guided and directed by Susan’s creative vision. But mostly, with a new score by David Lang composed for two cranked up electric guitars and unabashed rock drums, the show is a blast to play. 

Ok, here's one more video from Play/Pause, just because: