Ravinia 2024 Issue 5

THIRD COAST PERCUSSION With nearly two decades of exciting and unex- pected performances to its name, Chicago-based percussion quartet Third Coast Percussion is the first percussion ensemble to win a Gram- my Award, most recently nominated for their 2023 album Between Breaths . Also nominated for a Grammy as a composer collective, Third Coast recasts the classical musical experience with a brilliantly varied sonic palette, earning critical praise for their more than 30 recordings and compelling programs that they tour widely across the US and four continents. Third Coast has produced exciting new art through unlikely collaborations with engineers at the University of Notre Dame, architects at the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, dancers at Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, and musicians from classical, rock and traditional genres. The quartet has served as Ensemble-in-Residence at the Uni- versity of Notre Dame’s DeBartolo Performing Arts Center (2013–18) and Denison University (current). Highly collaborative in its commis- sioning process, Third Coast has premiered new works from Augusta ReadThomas, Philip Glass, Missy Mazzoli, Jlin, Clarice Assad, Gemma Peacocke, Flutronix, Danny Elfman, Tyondai Braxton, Devonté Hynes, Georg Friedrich Haas, Donnacha Dennehy, Glenn Kotche, Christopher Cerrone, and David T. Little, plus numerous up- and-coming composers through their Currents Creative Partnership program. Jlin’s Perspective , a Third Coast commission, was a 2023 finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Besides putting its stamp on iconic percussion works by John Cage and Steve Reich, the quartet has created first record- ings of many of those commissions, as well as works by Gavin Bryars and Ted Hearne and original Third Coast compositions. With strong ties throughout Chicago, Third Coast has col- laborated with such institutions as Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, the Uniting Voices Chica- go choir, the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Chica- go Humanities Festival, Adler Planetarium, and the University of Chicago. The four members of Third Coast met while studying percussion music at Northwestern University and formed the ensemble in 2005. Third Coast Percussion is making its Ravinia debut. CLARICE ASSAD A powerful communicator renowned for her musical scope and versatility, Brazilian-Ameri- can Clarice Assad is a significant artistic voice in the classical, world music, pop, and jazz genres. The Grammy-nominated composer, celebrated pianist, inventive vocalist, and educator is ac- claimed for her evocative colors, rich textures, and diverse stylistic range. She endeavors to harness the incredible and intangible power of music to connect people and transform lives through original works, commissions, and ed- ucation programs that give voice to everything from the impact of climate change to issues of social justice, gender equity, and the empower- ment of young voices. Assad’s recent commis- sions include works for the Camerata Pacifica, Music Accord, the League of American Orches- tras, the Oregon Symphony, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, LA Phil, Chamber Music America, the Fry Street Quartet, and the Philadelphia Or- chestra. The prolific composer has more than 70 works to her credit, including numerous com- missions for Carnegie Hall, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, São Paulo Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Sinfonietta, San Jose Cham- ber Orchestra, General Electric, Sybarite5, Me- tropolis ensemble, and the Bravo! Vail and La Jolla Music Festivals, to name a few. Her compo- sitions have been recorded by some of the most prominent names in classical music, including percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie, cellist Yo- Yo Ma, violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, and oboist Liang Wang. She has served as a Com- poser-in-Residence for the Albany Symphony, the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, New Century Chamber Orchestra, and the Bos- ton Landmarks Orchestra. As a performer, As- sad has shared the stage with Bobby McFerrin, Anat Cohen, Nadia Sirota, Paquito D’Rivera, Tom Harrell, Marilyn Mazur, and Mike Mar- shall, among other musicians. She has appeared at internationally renowned venues and festivals including Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Carne- gie Hall, Belgium’s Le Palais des Beaux-Arts, Le Casino de Paris, Jazz at Lincoln Center, and the Caramoor International Jazz Festival. Clarice Assad is making her performance debut at Ra- vinia, her compositions having been featured on several programs at the festival previously. SÉRGIO ASSAD Brazilian-born guitarist Sérgio Assad, who tours with his brother Odair as The Assad Brothers, has created a new standard of guitar innovation, ingenuity and expression. His exceptional artist- ry and uncanny ensemble-playing comes from a family rich in Brazilian musical tradition and studies under guitarist/lutenist Monina Távo- ra, a disciple of Andrés Segovia. The brothers’ virtuosity has inspired a wide range of compos- ers to write for them including Astor Piazzolla, Terry Riley, Radamés Gnattali, Marlos Nobre, Nikita Koshkin, Roland Dyens, Jorge Morel, Edino Krieger, and Francisco Mignone. Sérgio Assad has added to their repertoire by compos- ing music for the duo and for various musical partners both with symphony orchestra and in recitals. They have worked extensively with such renowned artists as Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Gidon Kremer and Dawn Upshaw. The Assad Brothers’ repertoire explores folk, jazz, and var- ious styles of Latin music, and their classical repertoire includes transcriptions of the great Baroque keyboard literature of Bach, Rameau, and Scarlatti and adaptations of works by Ger- shwin, Ginastera, and Debussy. They have also collaborated with such notable orchestras as the Los Angeles Philharmonic, São Paulo Sym- phony Orchestra, and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and have toured with Yo-Yo Ma and other musicians from his Silk Road Ensemble. In 2009 they were featured performers on James Newton Howard’s soundtrack to the movie Du- plicity . In the 2011 and 2012, the brothers toured a project entitled “De Volta as Raizes” (Back to Our Roots) with Lebanese-American singer Christiane Karam, percussionist Jamey Hadd- ad, and composer/pianist Clarice Assad. Also that season, Sérgio Assad premiered his con- certo Phases with the Seattle Symphony and was nominated for two Latin Classical Grammys for his works Interchange and Maraeaipe . The Assads have made a number of recordings on Nonesuch and GHA, including Sérgio and Odair Assad Play Piazzolla and Jardim Abandonado , which both received Latin Grammys. They re- corded Obrigado Brazil with Yo-Yo Ma—with Sérgio arranging several of the works—and were featured on Ma’s chart topping release Songs of Joy & Peace . Sérgio Assad previously performed at Ravinia in 2003 with Obrigado Brazil . RAVINIAMAGAZINE • AUGUST 19 – SEPTEMBER 1, 2024 76 CAROLINARODRIGUEZ