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The four-member Percussion Group Kansas City (PGKC) displayed their exceptional talents in their first public performance on November 10 at the KU-Edwards campus. Made up of members of the Kansas Symphony percussion section, Chris McLaurin, Joseph Petrasek, Matthew Henderson and Lia DeRoin showcased the diverse sonic possibilities attainable with percussion instruments in their all-American program.

Opening with Steve Reich's seminal Music for Pieces of Wood, PGKC accentuated the rhythmic diminution of each successive entrance, and the phasing and dynamics were well controlled.  John Cage's and Lou Harrison's Double Music, an exercise in the simultaneity of chance followed.  The two American mavericks each composed two of the parts of the quartet in isolation from one another with only a few established guidelines.  The Harrison gamelan influences were recognizable as was Cage's water gong and prayer bowl.  The quartet picked their found object sounds quite effectively.  Though composed by two different composers, because of the timbres of the sounds, a pseudo-homogenous soundscape was created. 

Transitioning from the mostly metallic Double Music to the drum-only Drums of Winter by Alaskan composer John Luther Adams, the quartet illustrated the raw power of drums and their all-too-often-forgotten expressiveness.  After a slow introduction (played with remarkable precision of attacks between DeRoin and Henderson) each successive section was louder and rhythmically more active.  These three pieces are staples of the percussion repertoire and programming them as a first-half was a wise choice for PGKC's first public performance.

Threads from 2005 by Princeton-based composer Paul Lansky occupied the entire second half.  This mammoth multi-movement work for percussion quartet demonstrated a plethora of percussion instruments ranging from the standard glockenspiel, vibraphones, congas, bongos, and crotales, to found objects like tuned metal tubes, flower pots, and pieces of woods.  The pluralistic piece served as a crash course in percussion techniques and styles.  There were echoes of gamelan, marching bands, Lionel Hampton, Taiko, Sichuan opera, African drumming, Latin elements and rock and roll - all in one cohesive piece. The ensemble navigated these shifting styles with ease and outstanding musicianship.  I especially enjoyed Petrasek's conga/bongo playing with slap mallets (rawhide covered sticks that sound like... slaps) and McLaurin's vibraphone playing.

 The audience for the performance was a nice mix of young and old.  I mention this because of the educational appeal.  Even young children were enraptured by this serious concert music.  Percussion Group Kansas City is a welcome addition to the Kansas City music scene especially if they keep producing such well-programmed and artistically excellent performances.


REVIEW:
Percussion Group Kansas City
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
University of Kansas-Edwards Campus, Overland Park, KS
For more information visit www.pgkc.org

By Lee Hartman

Editor-in-Chief; Traditional and New Classical Contributor

Lee Hartman holds degrees from the University of Missouri-Kansas City (D.M.A., M.M.) and the University of Delaware (B.M.). At the University of Delaware, he received a Dean's Scholar position enabling him to pursue an individually designed academic program combining music education and composition. At the University of Missouri-Kansas City he served for three years as the Assistant Director to Musica Nova, the conservatory's new music ensemble, while teaching a variety of composition classes.

In 2007 he was invited to both the Iceland Academy of the Arts in Reykjavík, Iceland and the Sichuan Conservatory in Chengdu, China to give lectures and master classes in composition. In the summer of 2009, Hartman served as an orchestra manager for the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble and Aspen Opera Theater Center for various performances. He serves on the National Executive Committee of the Society of Composers, Inc. as Submissions Coordinator. His primary composition instructors include James Mobberley, Chen Yi, Zhou Long, Paul Rudy, John Beall, and Jennifer Margaret Barker. He currently teaches music theory at the University of Central Missouri and general music classes at Park University having previously taught at UD (2007–08) and UMKC (2006–07).

His compositions can be found at http://www.leehartmanmusic.com

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