Steve Reich Celebration: Gideon Alorwoyie & Mantra Percussion

In 1970, Steve Reich embarked on a trip to study music in Ghana with Gideon Alorwoyie (photo above), the resident master drummer of the Ghana Dance Ensemble. From this experience in Africa, Reich drew inspiration for his piece Drumming, which he composed shortly after his return. Drumming marked the beginning of a new stage in his career, for around this time he formed his ensemble, Steve Reich and Musicians, and increasingly concentrated on composition and performance with them. In celebration of Steve Reich’s 80th birthday year, the Ghanaian master Gideon Alorwoyie will play alongside Mantra Percussion, who will perform selections from Drumming to explore this modern music masterpiece and the Ghanaian music by which it was inspired. The ensemble will also perform Reich’s iconic Four Organs, a work composed just prior to Drumming, as well as the hyper-minimalist tour de force Music for Pieces of Wood for Drumset arranged by Reich collaborator, percussionist David Cossin. The evening’s program charts the evolution of Reich’s compositional development from minimalism forward, conveying a narrative context while exploring the African influences found frequently across the work of this American master.

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