Third Coast Percussion at Rush Hour Finale (Free!)

By Alexander Hough in Arts & Entertainment on Aug 24, 2009 7:40PM

Ah, the embarrassment of riches that awaits classical music fans this Tuesday. We told you earlier today about Anaphora's season opener, and there's another must-see show on the docket tomorrow night as local percussion quartet Third Coast Percussion performs for the finale of Rush Hour's tenth season. Rush Hour, the free summer concert series that you should've been going to for the past twelve weeks, has come up with a simple and successful formula: After you're plied with food and drink, talented musicians play short thirty minute concerts in the beautiful (on the eyes and ears both) St. James Cathedral, with everything free of charge and wrapped up by 6:15 p.m.

In keeping the theme of brevity, TCP will shoehorn four pieces into its time slot, with two coming from the group's members: "Fanfare for a New Audience," which received its premiere at a preseason Rush Hour fundraiser, by David Skidmore and "Double Helix" by Clay Condon. Other pieces on the concert will be Christopher Deane's "Vespertine Formations," a shimmering, heavily-layered piece for marimba quartet that should sound awesome in the resonant hall, and Dennis DeSantis's "Shifty," written entirely for unpitched percussion.

Rush Hour may be over, but TCP is just getting started again, having recently returned from a seventeen-day residency at the University of California, San Diego as part of the multinational percussion ensemble Ensemble XII, which is sort of like the Planeteers but with better music. No word yet on who Captain Planet would be. Maybe Pierre Boulez?. Anyhow, keep your eyes peeled for more TCP shows. And, hey, don't stress about having to choose between this concert and the one we hawked earlier. The music gods were kind enough to stagger TCP's and Anaphora's performances, so you'll have more than enough time to squeeze in both shows.

65 E. Huron, Tuesday, August 25, 5:15 p.m. reception, 5:45 p.m. concert, FREE