Chicago Center for Contemporary Composition, Augusta Read Thomas Executive Director.

Preview: Third Coast Percussion to Kick off CCCC’s Second Season This Saturday

Chicago Center for Contemporary Composition, Augusta Read Thomas Executive Director. Following last year’s successful inaugural season, the Chicago Center for Contemporary Composition begins its second season this Saturday evening with Grammy Award winning Third Coast Percussion performing new classical music that includes world premieres. The CCCC is led by Executive Director Augusta Read Thomas and housed at the University of Chicago. Formed in 2017, its mission is to advance the creation, performance, and study of new music. The Center offers opportunities for visiting composers and ensembles to perform, teach, record, and collaborate through concerts and workshops. Third Coast Percussion will be premiering new works. Photo by Saverio Truglia. To that end, Third Coast Percussion will be performing recent music by Ayanna Woods, Alex Lunsqui, and the group’s own Peter Martin. They will also be performing the world premieres of works by G.F. Haas and UChicago composer Rodrigo Bussad. Later this month on Thursday, October 24, string trio HEAR in NOW will be giving a free concert that demonstrates their ability to compose and improvise free jazz and classical music, mixed in with folk and avant-garde. The CCCC’s 2019-20 season includes CHIMEFEST 2020, a free festival devoted to electronic music, Friday and Saturday, February 28 and 29, 2020. The CCCC’s group in residence, the Grossman Ensemble, will perform three times during the 2019-20 season. Formed in 2018 for the purpose of premiering new music, the Grossman Ensemble commissions everything it plays. Composers can try out ideas with the players as the works are being written. This takes place during open rehearsals that give the public a front row view of the creative process as it unfolds. The Grossman Ensemble will give three performances this season. Photo by Jean Lachat. Michael Lewanski will be conducting the first Grossman concert on Friday, December 6. That performance will premiere commissioned works by Tania León, Anthony Cheung, and UChicago composers Will Myers and Allison Yun-Fei Jiang. Jerry Hou will be conducting the second concert on Friday, March 13. That concert will have world premieres of music by Paula Matthusen and Stephen A Taylor, as well as UChicago’s Clay Mettens and student researcher Ashkan Behzadi.  At the final Grossman performance on Friday, June 5, Oliver Hagen will be conducting world premieres by Zosha Di Castri, Jay Alan Yim, Du Yun, and David Serkin Ludwig. For more information about the CCCC’s upcoming season, as well as open rehearsals of the Grossman Ensemble, check out UChicago Arts. Most concerts are at the Logan Center of Performing Arts, 915 E. 60th St., Hyde Park. Most start at 7:30 pm. While some are free, most are $15, students free.
Louis Harris

A lover of music his whole life, Louis Harris has written extensively from the early days of punk and alternative rock. More recently he has focused on classical music, especially chamber ensembles. He has reviewed concerts, festivals, and recordings and has interviewed composers and performers. He has paid special attention to Chicago’s rich and robust contemporary art music scene. He occasionally writes poetry and has a published novel to his credit, 32 Variations on a Theme by Basil II in the Key of Washington, DC. He now lives on the north side of Chicago, which he considers to be the greatest city in the country, if not the world. Member of the Music Critics Association of North America.