Ohio University Percussion Ensemble presents music from around the world

Photo courtesy of: Ohio University Percussion EnsembleThe members of the 2017-2018 Ohio University Percussion Ensemble.

The School of Music and the Ohio University Percussion Ensemble will present a free concert of music for percussion from around the world at 7:30 p.m. Glidden Recital Hall at Ohio University on Thursday, April 19.

Directed by Professor Roger Braun and graduate teaching assistants Forrest Yankey and Ryan Swanson, the concert is a diverse program featuring music from Uganda, Brazil, Japan and China, plus music inspired by musical traditions from India, Ghana, Indonesia and the Middle East. The concert includes three pieces for the Embaire Xylophone, a giant 21-key instrument constructed for Ohio University by the Nakibembe Group of the Basoga region of Uganda. Soloists appearing in the concert include graduate student Jack Barry performing a concerto for darabukka and the Ohio University saxophone quartet, The fOUr, performing Roger Braun’s piece, “Independent Streams.”

The Percussion Ensemble members are Seth Alexander, Jack Barry, Josh Cleland, Jake Evans, Ryan Garrett, Garrett Greene, Ryan Harrison, Alex Johnstone, Adam Jones, Sean Lally, Reuben Miller, Mason Oaks, Savannah Schuring, Morgan Sieg, Ryan Swanson, Kyle Turner, Austin Walsh and Forrest Yankey.

The Ohio University Percussion Ensemble performs a wide variety of innovative and influential music composed for percussion instruments. Performances by the ensemble have been featured at national and international conventions as well as schools and universities throughout the region. The ensemble also received excellent international reviews for its performances of Tan Dun’s “Elegy: Snow in June” and Lou Harrison’s “Concerto for Violin and Percussion Orchestra” recorded on the CD “Sticks and Stones: Music for Percussion and Strings,” released on Equilibrium Records.