In 2004, original members Anthony Calabrese, Robert Dillon, Jacob Nissly, and David Skidmore were percussionists with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago[2] as well as students of Northwestern University, forming a chamber percussion group that performed at Chicago Public Schools and city colleges as part of the schools' education programs.
The first shows by Third Coast Percussion for general audiences were performed in the summer of 2005 at Northwestern[3] and the Music Institute of Chicago in Evanston. Nissly left for graduate studies at the Juilliard School, replaced bye Peter Martin, a percussionist pursuing a doctoral degree at Northwestern. Former member Owen Clayton Condon, an alumnus from Northwestern and professor at Northeastern University, took Calabrese's place. Early performances were influenced by the small venues they performed in, such as the Empty Bottle, that limited the group's repertoire and number of instruments. Sean Connors assumed Condon's place in the ensemble in 2013.
In 2017, Third Coast Percussion won a Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance for its album Third Coast Percussion | Steve Reich, released on Cedille Records, becoming the first percussion group to win in a chamber music category. The album featured music by American composer Steve Reich in honor of his eightieth birthday. Reich said that when he "heard the Third Coast CD of a number of my pieces...I thought, 'Wow, you know, I've never heard them this way.' You have to literally lean in to listen. Which is a very good way to listen. And the whole thing just knocked my socks off."[13] The ensemble performed music from the album at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards, joined by jazz saxophonist Ravi Coltrane. The group was nominated for Grammy's four more times, beginning with a nomination in the composer category in 2021.[14]
Repertoire
Original music
Condon: Double Helix (2005)
Condon: Fractalia (2011)
Condon: Quadruple Helix (2005)
Dillon: Heaven We Need (2020)
Dillon: ...hence the term, well-adjusted. (2021)
Dillon: Mini-Moutons (2020)
Dillon: One Concession to Glee (2020)
Dillon: Ordering-instincts (2014)
Martin: BEND (2016)
Martin: WAVES (2014)
Skidmore: Aliens with Extraordinary Abilities (2016)
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