Adventurous Percussion Trio Meridian Pounds Out Concert at UA

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Adventurous percussion trio Meridian will perform a free concert at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 25, in the Moody Music Building recital hall on The University of Alabama campus. UA’s Sonic Frontiers concert series is sponsoring the concert.

Meridian is comprised of Dr. Tim Feeney, UA assistant professor of percussion;  Nick Hennies of Austin, Texas; and Greg Stuart of Columbia, S.C.

Meridian will perform otherworldly soundscapes using experimental techniques on traditional percussion instruments, turning them into sound-making and filtering objects. A video preview can be seen at http://youtu.be/50fhp2B_-Lo.

Feeney has toured nationwide, performing as a musical improviser and interpreter. He has given notable performances at the Boston Institute of Contemporary Art, The Stone in New York, the Center for New Music and Audio Technology at U.C. Berkeley, the Stanford Art Museum, Mills College, Princeton University and Oberlin College.

Hennies is a percussionist and composer whose work is concerned primarilly with redefining the role of traditional percussion instruments. In addition to his role in Meridian, he performs with several other groups and has collaborated with numerous other composers and improvisers from the United States and abroad. Notable appearances include the Indianapolis Museum of Art, the Blanton Museum, the Festival Agora in Paris and the L.A. Philharmonic’s Green Umbrella Series.

Stuart focuses his current work on pieces from the experimental tradition, the Wandelweiser Collective and his ongoing collaboration with composer Michael Pisaro, which employs diverse instrumentation in large ensemble formations. Stuart has performed in numerous concert series and festivals including the L.A. Philharmonic’s Green Umbrella Series, the Bang on a Can Marathon, June in Buffalo and the Taipei International Percussion Convention.

Sonic Frontiers is a cutting-edge concert series of innovative and experimental music that enriches the cultural life of West Alabama and invites creative exchange between world-class performers of adventurous music, students, and the greater community through public performances and discussions. All Sonic Frontiers events are free and open to the public. The events are sponsored by the University of Alabama’s New College, College of Arts and Sciences, School of Music, Creative Campus, Honors College, Blount Undergraduate Initiative and Capstone International. For more information call 205.348.9928 or visit: http://sonicfrontiers.ua.edu.