Embracing new music at its highest level, Scotland native Colin Currie brings his dynamic percussion talents to the Lawrence Memorial Chapel Friday, March 30 at 8 p.m. in the third concert of Lawrence University’s 2017-18 Artist Series.
Tickets for the performance, at $25-30 for adults, $20-25 for seniors, $18-20 for students, are available through the Lawrence Box Office, 920-832-6749.
A percussion virtuoso, Currie has established himself as the soloist of choice for many of today’s foremost composers, especially the innovative Stephen Reich, the father of minimalism. He has had the honor of performing premieres of works by nearly 20 contemporary composers.
Music professor Dane Richeson, who directs Lawrence’s percussion studio, calls Currie “one of the leading percussion soloists in the world.”
“Colin has truly championed the expansion of new compositions for contemporary percussion soloist and ensemble,” said Richeson. “Colin, along with Evelyn Glennie, are the most widely known and successful solo percussion artists in the world of contemporary music. It’s exciting and an honor to have him perform at Lawrence.”
Growing up, Currie played principal timpani and percussion with both the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland and the European Union Youth Orchestra. He has been recognized with the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Young Artist Award in 2000 and its Instrumentalist Award in 2015, was a BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist between 2003-2005 and received a Bortletti Buitoni Trust Award, which honors performers of exceptional quality and musicianship, in 2005.
Currie launched his own eponymous record label last fall and released its first recording, Steve Reich’s “Drumming,” earlier this month.
He has held an appointment as a visiting professor of solo percussion at London’s Royal Academy of Music, is an Artist-in-Association at London’s Southbank Centre and is in the final year of a three-year Artist-in-Residence appointment with the Oregon Symphony Orchestra.
About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.
