SŌ PERCUSSION TO PLAY FREE CONCERT IN RICHARDSON AUDITORIUM
Having just wowed audiences at the Lincoln Center Festival this summer, acclaimed ensemble SŌ Percussion will offer the first of two free performances in Princeton as part of their Edward T. Cone Residency at Princeton University. On Friday, September 16, 2016 at 7:30PM in Richardson Auditorium at Alexander Hall, the community has the incredible opportunity to engage in an unparalleled range of music—from John Cage’s Living Room Music transforming household items into instruments, to the world premiere of Emeritus Professor Paul Lansky’s Springs. Also on the program is Taxidermy, specially written for Princeton alum and Pulitzer-prize winning composer Caroline Shaw, as well as the ensemble’s first major commission: David Lang’s the so-called laws of nature. Tickets are required for this free concert. Reservations are available online at tickets.princeton.edu or at the door (Richardson Auditorium Box Office) the day of the concert.
The anticipation of a world premiere performance of a composer as esteemed and experienced in percussion writing as Paul Lansky already is much cause for excitement. Yet SŌ Percussion cannot help but add some humor into the mix of such an occasion. It seems fitting to a group always fusing whimsy with earnestness that “the ensemble’s first major commission, Mr. Lang’s the so-called laws of nature, balances humor and poise” (The New York Times), unearthing unexpected beauty from a row of “carefully tuned flower pots.” In juxtaposing the astounding wit, surprise and charm of finding music in everyday items with the masterful scores of some of the most celebrated composers in recent history, the evening will be particularly positioned to engage and welcome music lovers of all backgrounds. Or, as SŌ Percussion’s Adam Sliwinski succinctly puts it, this program is simply “a lot of fun.”
SŌ Percussion’s second free concert as part of their residency will be a celebration of Steve Reich, including a pre-concert discussion with the composer, on March 14, 2017. Tickets for that event are not yet available.
Sō is incredibly grateful to Chamber Music America for their commissioning of Paul Lansky’s new piece. This commission has been made possible by the Chamber Music America Classical Commissioning Program, with generous funding provided by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the Chamber Music America Endowment Fund.
LISTING INFORMATION
SŌ PERCUSSION, Princeton University Edward T. Cone Performers-in-Residence
WHEN: Friday, September 16, 2016 at 7:30PM
WHAT: PAUL LANSKY Springs (WORLD PREMIERE); CAROLINE
SHAW Taxidermy; JOHN CAGE Living Room Music; DAVID LANG the so-called laws of nature
WHERE: Richardson Auditorium in Alexander Hall, Princeton University
TICKETS: Free admission. Reservations are available online at tickets.princeton.edu or at the door (Richardson Auditorium Box Office) the day of the concert.