"Silence, for six percussionists" by Joseph Pereira - USC Thornton Percussion Group

Video Description

"Silence, for six percussionists" Composed & conducted by Joseph Pereira Performed by USC Thornton Percussion Group Featuring: Michael Basak Brice Burton Michael Daley Elizabeth Kosko Shinkoog Lee Wesley Strasser - - - The piece starts with a delicate hairpin gesture, which becomes the basis for the whole piece. These figures imitate the natural phenomenon of sound in space, which comes from nothing and eventually dissolves to nothing. These hairpin gestures dominate throughout, with the larger hairpins defining sections and the largest single shape ultimately running through the whole piece. These figures are always meant to have some kind of vocal implication, with the crescendo asking a question and the response mirroring with the decay of each sound. Some kind of silence always frames the gesture immediately reminding us of the absence of chaos. Visually even the conductor’s role was taken into consideration, beating through the silences at the opening and the long static sections of the piece. Time is built on silence. But as time passes, silence allows us to recognize for a moment, that there is neither quiet nor silence. - Joseph Pereira - - - About the composer In 2007, Joseph Pereira was appointed Principal Timpanist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic by Esa Pekka Salonen. He appeared as a soloist with the orchestra in William Kraft’s Timpani Concerto No. 1, the recording of which was released by Deutsche Grammophon on iTunes. He also regularly appears as a percussionist in the orchestra’s Green Umbrella series where he has performed solo works and has premiered many new pieces. Previously he was the Assistant Principal Timpanist/Section Percussionist of the New York Philharmonic, from January 1998 to September 2008. He currently runs the percussion studio at the USC Thornton School of Music and also was on faculty at the Juilliard School from 2005-2013. Pereira received his master’s degree in percussion from The Juilliard School and a double bachelor’s degree in performance and composition/theory from Boston University. As a composer, Pereira’s most recent commissions have come from Piano Spheres, for pianist Vicki Ray, percussionist Colin Currie, the Miro Quartet, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Percussion Quartet, pianist Joanne Pearce Martin, and the Manhattan School of Music. In 2014 his piece "Strophé," commissioned by Colin Currie and the Miro Quartet, received its European premiere in Hamburg, with the the Pavel Haas Quartet and Colin Currie. In 2013, his string trio Blur, was selected as one of the winners of The American Composers Forum of Los Angeles (ACF-LA), and was premiered in Los Angeles. In 2012, the Los Angeles Philharmonic premiered his Percussion Concerto with soloist Colin Currie. The work was programmed the following season with Pereira as the soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Gustavo Dudamel, in Los Angeles and at London’s Barbican. Also in 2012, his quartet for amplified double basses was premiered on the LA Phil’s chamber series. Pereira’s Violin Partita, performed by violinist Robert Gupta, was released by Yarlung Records and his piece for percussion quartet Repoussé, was recorded by the Los Angeles Percussion Quartet for Sono Luminus Recordings, which received three 2013 Grammy nominations. In the summer of 2010, he conducted the premiere of his piece, "…tied to the past, for seven percussionists" at The Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara. In 2007, his first orchestral piece, "Mask," was selected by the American Composers Orchestra’s annual new music readings for top emerging composers. At the New York Philharmonic, he conducted the premiere of his Quintet for Winds in 2005 on the Chamber Ensembles series at Merkin Concert Hall. The New York Times said, “…it is a restless yet lucidly textured work with an astringent harmonic language.” In 2006, Chief music critic Anthony Tommasini featured Pereira’s work as a composer and percussionist in The New York Times. Pereira’s percussion music is published Bachovich Music Publications. Joseph Pereira has also performed with the New York Percussion Quartet, the New York New Music Ensemble, Alea III, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Robert Shaw Festival Singers, and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra as principal timpanist. He can also be heard on Telarc, Teldec, and Deutsche Grammophon/Itunes recordings and has recently been part of recording the soundtracks to major motion pictures. His custom line of timpani mallets are manufactured and sold by JG Percussion. When not performing, writing, or teaching, Joseph Pereira likes to spend time with his wife, violinist Minyoung Chang, and their daughter Sophia. - - - Learn about our music education programs at http://music.usc.edu Stay connected with us on social media: @uscthornton Subscribe to the USC Thornton newsletter: https://music.usc.edu/this-week-thornton/ (Thumbnail photo © USC/Courtesy of USC Thornton School of Music)