Baylor Percussion Group in Concert

The Baylor Percussion Group will present its inaugural concert of the 2021-2022 season on Tuesday, November 2, beginning at 7:30 p.m. in Jones Concert Hall, which is located within the Glennis McCrary Music Building. The BPG is a nine-member ensemble of student performers, directed by Todd Meehan, Professor of Percussion and Director of the Instrumental Studies Division, and Arlo Shultis, Part-Time Lecturer in Percussion.
Opening the program will be Pulse, an oriental-toned work from 1939 by the innovative American composer, Henry Cowell. Dedicated to John Cage and his percussion group, Pulse is scored for a percussion ensemble of six players, each of whom has two sets of three similar instruments that they must navigate between.
Next will come the world premiere performance of Ember, a duo from 2018 by Alyssa Weinberg. In the composer’s words, “My main interest in the piece was to explore gradually shifting colors and timbres, discovering different ways of interacting with the snare drum without it ever necessarily functioning as it was originally intended.”
Trailblazing American composer John Cage wrote his Second Construction in 1940. Scored for four percussionists, this fugal work is notable for the use of prepared piano.
Dr. Meehan and Mr. Shultis will play Lonelyness of Santa Claus by Swedish-born composer Frederik Andersson. Dating from 1995, this piece is an intimate, meditative marimba duet. The composer intentionally wrote it in mostly soft dynamics, inserting wide spaces of nothing into lush harmonic content. The title is meant to invoke a quiet, sad atmosphere.
The program will close with Pillar IV by American composer Andy Akiho. A performer of new music, Akiho specializes in steel piano and plays his compositions with various ensembles worldwide.
This concert by the Baylor Percussion Group is free of charge and open to the public. It is also available for livestreaming at baylor.edu/music/live.