Third Coast Percussion

Third Coast Percussion is a Grammy Award-winning American percussion ensemble, based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The group, composed of Sean Connors, Robert Dillon, Peter Martin, and David Skidmore, specializes in new music/contemporary classical music and is known for its touring and recording activities that meld the energy of rock music with the precision and nuance of classical chamber works. Third Coast Percussion has become well known for its ground-breaking collaborations across a wide range of disciplines, including concerts and residency projects with engineers at the University of Notre Dame, architects at the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture, astronomers at the Adler Planetarium, and more. The ensemble enhances the performances it offers with new media, including free iPhone and iPad apps that allow audience members to create their own musical performances and take a deeper look at music. Third Coast Percussion has been involved with the commissioning and premiere performances of many new works for percussion, including those by Augusta Read Thomas, Timo Andres, Glenn Kotche, David T. Little, Marcos Balter, Ted Hearne, Christopher Cerrone, and Donnacha Dennehy. The ensemble frequently collaborates with other musicians, ensembles, and organizations including Eighth Blackbird, Signal, the Garth Newel Piano Quartet, Hubbard Street Dance, the International Contemporary Ensemble, pianists Amy Briggs and Lisa Moore, cellists Nicholas Photinos and Tobias Werner, flautist Tim Munro, vocalist Ted Hearne, and video artists Luftwerk. Third Coast Percussion is the Ensemble-in-Residence at the University of Notre Dame’s DeBartolo Performing Arts Center. They are 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. The album Third Coast Percussion | Steve Reich won a Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance, becoming the first percussion group to win in a chamber music category. Third Coast Percussion has released albums on the Mode, New Focus, New Amsterdam, and Cedille record labels. The quartet endorses and performs exclusively with Pearl/Adams Musical Instruments, Zildjian Cymbals, Remo Drumheads, and Vic Firth sticks and mallets.