Sunday, April 12th was a fairly dreary day (or a pleasant one, depending on your outlook), with the weather bathing Georgetown in grey skies and light rain. However, if one were to enter the Alma Thomas theater at 2:00 PM, and stick around for a bit, they would be treated to an hour of warmth and light provided by SU’s very own Percussion Ensemble. While a smaller and less spectacular ensemble, they nonetheless gave a performance equally deserving of ovations as the performance of any other ensemble.

Directed by Jordan Walsh, the ensemble consists of senior Anton Miller-Thomas, juniors Ethan Levinsky and Christopher Hardesty-Crouch, sophomores Danae Sevilla and Ruby Howe, and freshman Lucian St. Leger. The program opened with a literal bang as Ruby, Lucian, Anton, and Christopher gave a wonderful rendition of Movement 1 of Millennium Bug by Giovanni Sollima, all three members sharing one marimba. The piece is a wonderful combination of pulsating rhythms and ethereal melodies. Afterwards, Jordan came up to welcome us and discuss the piece. He mentioned how the music of the SU percussion ensemble often emphasizes individual responsibility and exposure, with the ensemble having to break up into smaller groups for pieces and having to rely on the minimal instrumentation of drums, marimbas, xylophones, etc. The next piece certainly highlighted that idea, with Anton and Ethan playing Motion No. 2 by Nicholas Hall. The piece, as Jordan remarked beforehand, sounds like a solo drum piece performed by John Bonham. However, it is written for two. Watching the two members stand close together, sharing instruments, and trading off rhythmic patterns really emphasizes the high levels of collaboration and courage needed to pull off this piece. Thankfully, they were more than ready for the challenge, and provided one of my favorite performances of the afternoon.

Next was the only solo performance: Danae Sevilla’s rendition of Virginia Tate, by Paul Smadbeck. As Jordan remarked beforehand (slightly paraphrased), “Solo work actually makes up more than half of what percussionists spend time doing, yet it doesn’t always make it to the stage.” Thus, what Sevilla got to do on Sunday was a rare moment which she cherished well. Watching her, you could tell she was in her element. Even the slightest hiccups in her performance were greeted with a smile, as she weaved a surplus of notes into a tapestry of winsome chaos on the marimba. She had a great feel for dynamics as well, ending the piece with a beautiful decrescendo. For my friends I saw the ensemble with, this was their favorite performance, and it was very easy to see why.

Afterward was another one of my favorite performances, as Ethan, Ruby, and Christopher gave their rendition of Celebration III by Daiki Kato. It is another shared marimba piece, and while it is simple, it is also incredibly fun and joyous. As Jordan remarked in introducing it, “If you’ve ever played Pokémon before, it’s the bike theme.” I concur; it immediately gave me Pokémon vibes, and made me feel incredibly nostalgic for my days of being ten and playing Pokémon White on my older brother’s 3DS. Eminently playful, this piece was another highlight for me. 

The most unique piece of them all was: Motion No. 3 by Nicholas Hall. Performed by Danae and Lucian, the piece involves the use of wine and beer bottles to create melodies. Since every performance of this piece uses different kinds of bottles, each performance of it is unique (this performance used two Snoop Dogg bottles!). Despite the piercing sounds emanating from these bottles, it is not so extreme as to be unpleasant, nor does the variation in the bottle frequencies result in a cacophony. On the contrary, Danae Sevilla and Lucian St. Leger combined these pitches expertly into eerie and captivating melodies. They also integrated a page-turn into the performance in a brilliant way, creating a moment of exhale rather than an abrupt stop. Overall, this was one of the most unique auditory experiences in my recent memory.

Finally, after Jordan gave thanks and recognized graduating senior Anton Miller-Thomas, he introduced us to the final piece of the afternoon, Catching Shadows by Ivan Trevino. A standard of percussion ensembles, SU’s rendition of it involved every member of the ensemble participating and pulling their weight. Seeing them all onstage, you could see the strategies each one employed to feel the rhythm and remain attuned to each other, from tapping their feet to mouthing counts. The importance of individual responsibility was once again displayed. As the longest and most grand piece of the evening, it was also a perfect finisher. 

Percussion ensembles, by stripping the musical performance down to its barest constituents, encourage a spirit of cooperation and responsibility you do not always see in other ensemble performances. From the ways all the different members stay in rhythm with each other to the sharing of their instruments, all the while giving mesmerizing performances, Southwestern’s Percussion Ensemble embodies this spirit well and emphasizes the continued importance of courage in the face of exposure, cooperation in the face of egos, and light in the face of the greyest of days.