Third Coast Percussion receives first Grammy nomination for Steve Reich CD

Third Coast Percussion kicked off 2016 with multiple tours, residencies, and the release of the critically-acclaimed album Third Coast Percussion | Steve Reich (Cedille Records).  Now the ensemble has one more thing to celebrate—its first Grammy nomination!“A few decades ago, percussion ensembles weren’t really accepted as ‘classical music,’” says Robert Dillon of Third Coast. “By putting percussion front and center in so much of his work, Steve Reich is one of the composers who has helped us come into our own. We’re honored to be nominated, and as we celebrate Steve Reich’s 80th birthday, we’re grateful to Mr. Reich and all of the other composers who have helped make percussion ensembles an integral part of the classical music world.”

Grammy nominations were announced on December 6, 2016. The awards ceremony, televised on CBS, will be broadcast on February 12, 2017.

For more information on Third Coast Percussion visit www.thirdcoastpercussion.com.

To listen to a preview of the album, click here (Media is for press only and should not be shared with the public).

About Third Coast Percussion

Since its formation in 2005, Third Coast Percussion has gained national attention with concerts and recordings that meld the energy of rock music with the precision and nuance of classical chamber works.  Hailed by The New Yorker as “vibrant” and “superb,” this trailblazing ensemble explores and expands the extraordinary sonic possibilities of the percussion repertoire, delivering exciting performances for audiences of all kinds. Their hometown paper, the Chicago Tribune declared, “Chicago’s dynamic percussion quartet has built an admirable niche for itself within the city’s growing community of contemporary classical ensembles while serving as an entrepreneurial model for the others.”

Third Coast Percussion is the Ensemble-in-Residence at the University of Notre Dame’s DeBartolo Performing Arts Center.  They have the honor of being the first ensemble at the University of Notre Dame to create a permanent and progressive ensemble residency program at the center. The ensemble performs multiple recitals annually as part of the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center’s Presenting Series season. Third Coast Percussion assumed the position of ensemble-in-residence at Notre Dame in 2013.

Third Coast Percussion’s touring schedule brings them to dozens of concert halls, festivals, art galleries, and theaters across the United States each year. Recent and upcoming international tour dates include performances in Germany, the Netherlands, and Poland.

Third Coast’s passion for community outreach includes a wide range of residency offerings while on tour, in addition to a long-term residency with the Holy Cross/Immaculate Heart of Mary Marimba Ensemble on Chicago’s South Side. In addition to its national performances, Third Coast Percussion’s hometown presence includes an annual Chicago series, with four to five concerts in locations around the city. The ensemble has collaborated in concert with a wide range of artists and performing ensembles including Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Eighth Blackbird, the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra, Ensemble Signal, and video artists Luftwerk.

The members of Third Coast Percussion —Sean Connors, Robert Dillon, Peter Martin, and David Skidmore—hold degrees in music performance from Northwestern University, the Yale School of Music, the Eastman School of Music, the New England Conservatory, and Rutgers University. Third Coast Percussion performs exclusively with Pearl/Adams Musical Instruments, Zildjian Cymbals, Remo Drumheads, and Vic Firth sticks and mallets.