The plastic hose hangs from his mouth. It is plugged into the drum in front of him, like an oxygen line breathing life into the instrument. He beats the skin of the drum, eyes following the notes on the score in front of him, glimpsing the movements of the other percussionists on stage, the members of the Third Coast Percussion. He needs to be in tempo with them, too.

He breathes into the hose, a soft but constant flow, and as the pressure inside the drum increases, the pitch changes. Every time he beats the drum the sound is slightly different. He has to control the movement of his arms and follow the music on the score, all while controlling the rate at which air leave his lungs. It’s a masterful act of coordination.

The piece in question is “Lady Justice, Black Justice, The Song” by 2024-2025 Hancher composer-in-residence Jessie Montgomery, and was among the repertoire of pieces performed by the Third Coast Percussion ensemble at Hancher Auditorium on Thursday, April 24. The seating was arranged on Hancher’s Hadley stage in a thrust configuration (seating on three sides), which led to a very cozy and intimate atmosphere.

The program consisted of compositions by Jlin (Jerrilynn Patton), Jessie Montgomery, Tigran Hamasyan and Lou Harrison. Before each piece, a member of Third Coast Percussion gave a short introduction and shared how and when it was commissioned, as well as some of the challenges the players encountered and even enjoyed, all of which gave the concert an even more multilayered experience.

“Lady Justice, Black Justice, The Song” was composed by Montgomery in 2024 and was commissioned for Third Coast Percussion. The piece was inspired by the artwork of Ori Carino and “it is a reflection on his painting ‘Black Justice’ (2020–2022), a commentary on the injustices Black people continue to face at the heart of American social order and politics,” Montgomery has noted. Besides the drums with hoses connected to them, the performance includes the use of metal discs being hit with a stick and dipped in water. The sonic effect is unique.

“Jessie loves it when the sound changes,” explained Third Coast Percussion member Sean Connors. “It’s a form of glissando with percussion.”

This year marks the ensemble’s 20th anniversary, for which several celebratory pieces were commissioned, including “Sonata for Percussion” by Armenian composer Tigran Hamasyan. His work was described by Third Coast Percussion member Robert Dillon as that of a “math rock composer,” because of Hamasyan’s taste for highly complex rhythmic structures. The sonata includes a lullaby-like second movement, with some delicate vibraphone sounds. It’s melodic line is slightly reminiscent of the opening of Björk’s “Pagan Poetry.”

The third movement, called “TCP 23,” is measured in 23 eighths, an extremely complex and intricate rhythmical metric. At a point in time, while David Skidmore is at the drums, Robert Dillon and Peter Martin stand side to side playing the marimba at an impressive speed and with an even more challenging syncopated rhythm. Not only is “TCP 23” highly demanding mentally, but it is also very physical.

At the end of the concert, the members of the ensemble and Jessie Montgomery came back on stage to casually mingle and chat with audience members. I asked Montgomery how, as a violinist, she had become so interested in composing for percussion.

“Look at all this,” she said, and pointed to the instruments on stage. “You have such a wide variety of sounds and timbres. I compose for strings as well, and very often, but the variety I find in percussion is something that interests me a lot.”

I also discussed Hamasyan’s “Sonata” with Sean Connors — about how it’s highly complex rhythmically, but its melodic line was less dissonant than the Harrison closer “Concerto for the Violin and Percussion Orchestra.”

“It is true that Hamasyan’s harmonic and melodic style are closer to jazz,” Connors said. “We worked closely with him on the ‘Sonata.’ We said, ‘Hey look, two of us can play the marimba. That way David can go and play the drums.’ And he appreciated that kind of advice.”

And perhaps that’s how the best kind of music is accomplished. In collaboration.

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