Orphic: Unheard – Friday, October 25 at 8 pm
Orphic Percussion
Sean Clark, Michael Downing, Stuart Langsam, Cameron Leach
Alexis Alrich Muse of Fire
iii. Inferno
* Shaun Tilburg a series of accidents
Stefan Cwik Celestial Dances
* Bryce Cannell Jigsaw
Alejandro Viñao Stress and Flow
i. Bright and Dark
* Kenneth Froelich Stuck in Loops
Kevin Bobo Quartet for Four Snare Drums
* denotes world premiere
Orphic Percussion opens the 2019-2020 season with the world premiere of their newest program, Orphic: Unheard, marking the group’s debut on San Francisco’s renowned Old First Concerts series. Aptly titled, Orphic: Unheard is comprised entirely of newly commissioned works for percussion quartet, featuring world premieres of pieces by Shaun Tilburg, Kenneth Froelich, Bryce Cannell, and members of Orphic. An exploratory and colorful program, Orphic: Unheard brings to life the sonorous warmth of marimbas and vibraphones, the pointillistic sounds of wine bottles and wooden slats, and the mixture of electronic soundscapes with acoustic instruments, representing the innumerable possibilities in the percussive world.
Orphic Percussion is a Northern California-based percussion quartet dedicated to the creation and performance of new music. Orphic means “beyond ordinary,” a phrase that characterizes the ensemble and its mission: to commission and premiere new works by today’s most compelling composers; to broaden the audience for contemporary music; and to present concerts that are vibrantly communicative, musically expressive, and inspiringly virtuosic-or, quite simply, extraordinary.
Orphic’s recent highlights include recital tours in the Midwest and Pacific Northwest, the world premiere of Stefan Cwik’s Relics: Dances for Percussion Quartet and Orchestra with San Francisco’s Symphony Parnassus (nominated by the San Francisco Classical Voice for “Best New Music Performance” of the 2017-18 season), university residencies at Southern Nazarene University (OK) and George Fox University (OR), and a return engagement at the Arcata Playhouse (CA). In addition, Orphic has been self-producing an ongoing concert series at University Presbyterian Church (CA) since early 2017, and maintains a close relationship with the Nevada County Composer’s Cooperative, having premiered works by Alexis Alrich, Mark Vance, and Durwynne Hsieh.
Orphic Percussion endorses and is proudly supported by:
