UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Experimental beat-oriented ensemble Sō Percussion teams up for a unique musical experience with Grammy-winning soprano Dawn Upshaw and pianist Gilbert Kalish in a performance at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 24, in Schwab Auditorium.
The program will feature a trio of American works — “The Winds of Destiny” by George Crumb, “Narrow Sea” by Roomful of Teeth member Caroline Shaw, and an excerpt from “Music for Wood and Strings” by Bryce Dessner, a guitarist for rock band The National. Shaw’s piece, which will have its world premiere at Penn State, is co-commissioned by the Center for the Performing Arts. Shaw and Crumb are Pulitzer Prize-winning composers.
Sō Percussion is known for infusing an “exhilarating blend of precision and anarchy, rigor and bedlam” (The New Yorker) into its collaborative compositions and renditions of avant garde musical works. The group has performed from a repertoire of percussive-heavy pieces, including those by Steve Reich, David Lang, Paul Lansky, John Cage and Arvo Pärt. The ensemble has collaborated with artists across multiple genres, including electronic musician Dan Deacon; jam band Medeski, Martin and Wood; legendary avant garde drummer Bobby Previte; and Wilco percussionist Glenn Kotche. The group also has recorded background scores for NPR’s “Radiolab” and an HBO crime documentary about Robert Durst, as well as more than 20 releases and numerous original works.