SFA’s Meyer to present percussion recital

Dr. Brad Meyer, associate professor of percussion at Stephen F. Austin State University, will present a faculty recital performing works by Caleb Pickering, Arnor Chu, JacobTV and John Luther Adams at 6 p.m. Monday, Jan. 22, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus. This event features adult language and subject matter that may not be appropriate for some audience members.

Meyer will perform Pickering’s “Tinfoil” and “An Assembly of Outrage.” “Tinfoil” gains its title from the comical depiction of “tinfoil hats” worn by extreme conspiracy theorists. The audio track is inspired by heavy metal music, and the performer uses a modified drum set for the solo part. The audio track contains numerous recordings of conspiratorial beliefs and viewpoints. “An Assembly of Outrage” portrays public outrage with modern day media and includes audio excerpts of news reports on gun violence and tragedy juxtaposed against clips of over-sensationalized news sources. This work contains audio excerpts of news reports and mass shootings and contains some profanity.

Each piece in Adams’ “The Mathematics of Resonant Bodies” cycle is composed of two elements: a solo part and an “aura” of pre-recorded computer-processed sounds. In performance, these elements are integrated into a unified sounding image.

Composer Jacob ter Veldhuis (JacobTV) explores the “no-man’s-land” between language and music in his piece “Grab It!” for tenor saxophone and boombox. The work is based on voice samples from life-sentenced prisoners.

Chu’s “Until Dawn” is his first composition for five-octave marimba and was the winner of the 2019 Percussive Arts Society International Composition Contest.

Concert tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and $3 for students and youth. To purchase tickets, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or visit finearts.sfasu.edu. For additional information, contact the SFA School of Music at (936) 468-4602.