Arts & Culture

The Beat Goes On: UK Percussion Students, Alums Join Forces for 30-year Concert

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LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 8, 2015) — The University of Kentucky Percussion Ensemble, under the direction of James Campbell, will join forces with a generation of its distinguished alumni to present a performance of John Luther Adams’ outdoor masterpiece “Inuksuit” for 9 to 99 percussionists at the Singletary Center for the Arts. The concert, which is free and open to the public, will begin 3 p.m. Sunday, April 12.
 

Designed as a concert with an open footprint, “Inuksuit” will feature 75 percussionists and take place on and around Stoll Field, the Student Center and the Singletary Center. The special event celebrates the 30-year anniversary of the award-winning UK Percussion Ensemble, who recently won the Percussive Arts Society (PAS) International Percussion Ensemble Competition for a record fifth time. If inclement weather arises, the concert will be moved inside the Singletary Center.

Andrew Bliss, UK alumnus and professor of percussion at the University of Tennessee, will serve as the concert’s artistic director. Bliss was involved in both the world and U.S. premieres of “Inuksuit” in Banff, Alberta, and Greenville, South Carolina.

Two pre-concert events will also mark this special reunion concert. Bliss and noted Wilco drummer, Glenn Kotche, will give a pre-concert talk in the Singletary Center President’s Room at 2 p.m.

Hear what percussionist Kothce had to say about returning to campus during his last visit to UK.

In addition, the UK Wildcat Marching Band Alumni Drumline will perform on Stoll Field in a pre-concert exhibition at 2 p.m. The talk, exhibition and concert performance are free and open to the public.

Noted music critic Alex Ross called “Inuksuit” “one of the most rapturous experiences of [his] listening life.” Composer John Luther Adams has been called "one of the most original musical thinkers of the new century" (The New Yorker). His life and work are deeply rooted in the natural world, and he is known "for melding the physical and musical worlds into a unique artistic vision that transcends stylistic boundaries." In 2014, Adams was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music for his recent orchestral work, “Become Ocean.”

Under the direction of Campbell, the UK Percussion Ensemble has won the prestigious PAS Collegiate Percussion Ensemble Contest five times. They have also performed at several PAS International Conventions, the Lotus World Music and Arts Festival, The Bands of America Percussion Ensemble Festival, and alongside international guest artists such as Robin Engelman, Steve Houghton, John Bergamo, Michael Burritt, Bob Becker, William Cahn, Michael Spiro, Chalo Eduardo, Ney Rosauro, Liam Teague, Dick Schory, Anders Åstrand, Richie Garcia, Dave Samuels, Danny Gottlieb, Glenn Velez, Emil Richards, Joe Porcaro, Jerry Steinholtz, David Johnson, Rich Holly, Dean Gronemeier, Fred Sanford, Thomas Burritt, John Parks, J.B. Smith, N. Scott Robinson, Andy Harnsberger and many others.

The UK Percussion Ensemble is part of the UK School of Music at the UK College of Fine Arts. The school has garnered national recognition for high-caliber education in opera, choral and instrumental music performance, as well as music education, composition, theory and music history.

MEDIA CONTACT: Whitney Hale, 859-257-8716; whitney.hale@uky.edu