SOU Percussion Ensembles present audio visual concert

(Ashland, Ore.) – The Music program of the Oregon Center for the Arts at Southern Oregon University presents “Contact!,” an innovative, audio visual experience performed by the SOU Percussion Ensembles on Friday, December 5 at 7:30 pm in the SOU Music Recital Hall.
“Contact!” is inspired thematically by the piece, “Contactual Constellations,” composed by Bryan Jeffs, SOU adjunct faculty and an alumnus of the SOU Music program. “Contactual Constellation” features graphic musical scores manufactured onto bass drum heads, played upon by the performers, captured in real time and projected for the audience. The ensembles are directed by Dr. Terry Longshore, director of percussion studies at Southern Oregon University,
“Seeing the musical score, while hearing it being played, and, in real-time, getting to follow along visually to see how the artists interpret the score is an amazing experience for the audience,” said Longshore. “The SOU Graduate Percussion Group will have just premiered this piece at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention in Indianapolis in November. This concert will be the West Coast debut of this piece.”

The concert will also include a classic percussion work, “The Drums of Orpheus” by Lou Harrison; “Dance of the Little Fox” by Celso Ruiz for clarinet quintet, arranged by his son, Grant Ruiz, a local flamenco guitarist, for three marimbas and vibraphone; “Reunion,” a new piece for marimba ensemble, written in the style of the Zimbabwe marimba tradition by Lucas Sennhauser, a SOU freshman music major; “Akadinda Trio” by Emmanual Séjourné, for marimba trio in the Uganda “Akadinda” style; “Piru Bole,” a hand drum ensemble piece by John Bergamo, featuring guest artist Daniel Kennedy from California State University, Sacramento; and “Tin Play” by Per Andreasson for percussion quartet.
For lovers of the “Rebel Frog” series composed by Bryan Jeffs, the Percussion Ensembles will introduce “The Rebel Frog Wassails.” Longshore characterizes it as “Frank Zappa meets Christmas music.”
Tickets are $10 general admission, $5 for senior citizens and free to full-time students. The Performing Arts Box Office is located in the Music Recital Hall lobby. Box office hours are noon to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and two hours prior to each performance. Tickets can be purchased with a credit card over the phone by calling 541-552-6348 or online at sou.edu/performingarts. Contact the box office for discounts offered to SOU alumni, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute participants and SNAP/Oregon Trail cardholders.
About Southern Oregon University
Southern Oregon University provides outstanding student experiences, valued degrees, and successful graduates. SOU is known for excellence in faculty, intellectual creativity and rigor, quality and innovation in connected learning programs, and the educational benefits of its unique geographic location. SOU was the first university in Oregon—and one of the first in the nation—to offset 100 percent of its energy use with clean, renewable power, and it is the first university in the nation to balance 100 percent of its water consumption. Visit sou.edu.
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