ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y.—The Bard College Conservatory of Music presents So Percussion, on Sunday, April 18, at 3:00 p.m. in the Sosnoff Theater of the Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts as part of the “Conservatory Sundays” series at Bard College. The concert features the So Percussion ensemble, a Brooklyn-based percussion quartet whose original music and innovative work with contemporary composers has brought them international acclaim. Billboard Magazine calls So Percussion “astonishing and entrancing.” The New York Times describes their performances as “mesmerizing,” “brilliant,” and “consistently impressive”; and the Village Voice writes, “This extraordinary ensemble of four young percussionists is creating a sensation in the music world . . . a New York City experimental powerhouse.” The matinée program includes Mallet Quartet by Steve Reich, neither Anvil nor Pulley by Dan Trueman, and It Is Time by Steve Mackey. Suggested ticket prices for “Conservatory Sundays” are $20, $15, and $5; proceeds from the program benefit the Scholarship Fund of The Bard College Conservatory of Music. For reservations and information, contact the box office at 845-758-7900, or go to fishercenter.bard.edu. This concert is presented in collaboration with the John Cage Trust at Bard College.

ABOUT SO PERCUSSION
Since coming together at the Yale School of Music, So Percussion (Eric Beach, Josh Quillen, Adam Sliwinski, and Jason Treuting) has been creating music that is at turns raucous and touching, barbarous and heartfelt. Realizing that percussion instruments can communicate all the extremes of emotion and musical possibility, it has not been an easy music to define. The Brooklyn-based quartet’s innovative work has quickly helped them forge a unique and diverse career. Their music runs the gamut from percussion classics (Steve Reich’s Drumming), to new commissions (David Lang’s the so-called laws of nature), to original music (group member Jason Treuting’s Amid the Noise). So Percussion has performed this music all over the United States, with concerts at the Lincoln Center Festival, Carnegie Hall, Stanford Lively Arts, the Cleveland Museum of Art, and many others.  In addition, recent tours to Russia, Australia, Italy, Spain, Germany, and the Ukraine have brought them international acclaim.

PHOTO AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD AT: www.bard.edu/news/press
ABOUT THE BARD COLLEGE CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC
Now in its fifth year, the Conservatory’s five-year undergraduate program is guided by the principle that musicians should be broadly educated in the liberal arts and sciences to achieve their greatest potential. While training and studying for the bachelor of music degree with world class musicians and teachers and performing in state-of-the-art facilities, such as the Frank Gehry–designed Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, Conservatory students also pursue a bachelor of arts degree at Bard, one of the nation’s leading liberal arts colleges. Robert Martin serves as director of the Conservatory, Melvin Chen as associate director.

In 2006, artistic director Dawn Upshaw and head of program Kayo Iwama launched the Graduate Vocal Arts Program, a two-year master of music degree within the Conservatory. Course work extends from standard repertory to new music, alongside training in acting, core seminars that provide historical and cultural perspectives, analytical tools, and performance skills for vocal and operatic performance at the highest levels. The students—only eight are admitted each year—have performed at Weill Recital Hall, Zankel Hall, and at Bard’s Fisher Center in recitals and as soloists with the American Symphony Orchestra. The students offered world premiere performances of David Bruce’s opera A Bird in Your Ear, Missy Mazzoli’s Song from the Uproar: The Lives and Deaths of Isabelle Eberhardt, David T. Little’s Vinkensport, or The Finch Opera; and twice participated in Composing Song Professional Training Workshops led by Dawn Upshaw and composer Osvaldo Golijov in collaboration with Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute. Alumni/ae have distinguished themselves in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, Los Angeles Opera Young Artists Program, and as prizewinners at a host of other national and international vocal competitions.
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