Culture
OU Percussion Ensemble to Mark 50 Years with Concert
< < Back toThe Ohio University Percussion Ensemble will present a concert celebrating the group’s 50th anniversary on Thursday, Nov. 19 at 8 p.m. in the Glidden Recital Hall.
The concert will honor the history and achievements of the Ohio University Percussion Ensemble and will present the development of percussion ensemble repertoire.
The ensemble gave its first performance in 1965 under the direction of Gary Olmstead, now retired with a distinguished career in percussion and accolades that include the Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame and the Ohio University Alumni Medal of Merit.
Beginning with “Ionisation,” by Edgard Varese, composed in 1931, the group will perform a notable piece from every decade, culminating in a grand finale composed especially for this concert. Special guest performers will include current music faculty Andre Gribou, Sean Parsons, Lucas Rego-Borges and Roger Braun, as well as Ohio University percussion alumni and Professor Emeritus Guy Remonko, who directed the ensemble from 1971-2000.
The Ohio University Percussion Ensemble, directed by Professor Roger Braun since 2000, and led by current graduate students Andy Edelen and Ling-Ling Chen, 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.
The concert is free and open to the public.
