BOMB Magazine and Bang on a Can present a series of artist-driven conversations live at The Center for Fiction. Bringing together artists from different disciplines with unique approaches to artistry, this conversation series centers the artmaking process and invites us to explore new ways of finding common ground. This talk brings together musician/composer Khyam Allami and theorist, journalist, curator, and musician DeForrest Brown, Jr. (Speaker Music).

Kyam Allami’s website

Pianist Michael Riesman plays Philip Glass Etudes and soundtrack arrangements.

Michael’s website

photo by Eli Reed

Sandbox Percussion performs ‘Seven Pillars’ by Andy Akiho

Stage direction and Lighting Design by Michael Joseph McQuilken

Described as “exhilarating” by The New York Times, and “utterly mesmerizing” by The Guardian, GRAMMY®-nominated ensemble Sandbox Percussion has established themselves as a leading proponent of contemporary percussion chamber music. Brought together by the simple joy of playing together, Sandbox Percussion captivates audiences with performances that are both visually and aurally stunning. Through compelling collaborations with composers and performers, Jonathan Allen, Victor Caccese, Ian Rosenbaum, and Terry Sweeney seek to engage a wider audience for classical music.

Sandbox Percussion’s 2021 album Seven Pillars was nominated for two GRAMMY® awards. This evening-length work by Andy Akiho with stage direction and lighting design by Michael Joseph McQuilken is Sandbox’s largest commission to date.

In addition to the world premiere of Seven Pillars at Emerald City Music in Seattle, the 2021/2022 season includes many highlights – Sandbox Percussion will perform concertos with the Albany Symphony and UMKC Conservatory Orchestra, travel to Northern Ireland, Lithuania and many cities across the United States, perform at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention, and premiere new works by David Crowell, Molly Joyce, Loren Loiacono, Jessica Meyer, Tawnie Olson, and Tyshawn Sorey.

Sandbox was appointed ensemble-in-residence and percussion faculty at the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 2021, has led masterclasses and coachings all around the United States, and in 2016, founded the annual NYU Sandbox Percussion Seminar.

Sandbox Percussion endorses Pearl/Adams musical instruments, Zildjian cymbals, Vic Firth sticks and mallets, Remo drumheads, and Black Swamp accessories.

Sandbox Percussion website

Andy Akiho‘s ‘Seven Pillars’ will be performed by Sandbox Percussion

Described as “trailblazing” (LA Times) and “an imaginative composer” (NY Times), Andy Akiho is a GRAMMY® nominated composer and performer of new music. ​Recent engagements include commissioned premieres by the New York Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra, Shanghai Symphony, China Philharmonic, Guangzhou Symphony, Oregon Symphony with Soloist Colin Currie, American Composers Orchestra, Music@Menlo, Sandbox Percussion, Chamber Music Northwest, Carnegie Hall’s Ensemble Connect, LA Dance Project, and experimental opera company The Industry.Akiho has been recognized with many prestigious awards and organizations including the Rome Prize, Lili Boulanger Memorial Prize, Harvard University Fromm Commission, Barlow Endowment, New Music USA, and Chamber Music America. Additionally, his compositions have been featured on PBS’s “News Hour with Jim Lehrer” and by organizations such as Bang on a Can, American Composers Forum, The Intimacy of Creativity in Hong Kong, and the Heidelberg Festival.  His latest composition, Seven Pillars, performed by Sandbox Percussion, was nominated for 2 GRAMMY® Awards. ​Akiho is also an active steel pannist and performs his compositions with various ensembles worldwide. He has performed his works with the Charlotte Symphony, South Carolina Philharmonic, Nu Decco Ensemble, LA Philharmonic’s Green Umbrella Series, the Berlin Philharmonic’s Scharoun Ensemble, the International Drum Festival in Taiwan, and has had four concerts featuring his compositions at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. Akiho’s recordings No One To Know One (innova Recordings) and The War Below (National Sawdust Tracks) features brilliantly crafted compositions that pose intricate rhythms and exotic timbres inspired by his primary instrument, the steel pan.   Akiho was born in 1979 in Columbia, SC, and is currently based in Portland, OR.

Andy’s website

photo by Da Ping Luo

Bassoonist Maya Stone performs Tilt, by Tonia Ko.

Tonia’s website

photo by Kaupo Kikkas

Bassoonist Maya Stone performs “Bassoon Set” by Adolphus Hailstork.

Adolphus’ website

About Louis Cole

Fay Victor encompasses a distinctive vocalizing, language and performing approach with the foundation of the jazz vocal idiom, now encompassing an “everything is everything” aesthetic bringing in references that span the globe.

Fay Victor’s Website

Bryce’s website

JG Thirlwell website

photo by Marylene Mey