Classical Music: Third Coast Percussion marks 20th anniversary
Published on July 7, 2025
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“What I don’t think we could have ever imagined though, was how this path would change us both musically and personally. We’ve been shaped by the artists we’ve worked with, who have composed for us, whose music we have recorded and performed.”
Chicago percussion quartet Third Coast Percussion (TCP) celebrates its 20th anniversary this season. The first percussion ensemble to win a Grammy award, TCP comprises Sean Connors, Robert Dillon, Peter Martin and David Skidmore.
The quartet has undertaken a landmark season, including a performance at Carnegie Hall, plus collaborations with composer and violinist Jessie Montgomery and Twyla Tharp Dance. As well as a long-awaited return to performing in Germany, TCP’s anniversary season has also featured a host of works commissioned and premiered by the ensemble.
Skidmore said: ‘Our aspiration from the beginning was to support ourselves with a career performing the music that we love all over the world. We’re incredibly fortunate to have realised that goal, and in doing so to have helped raise the profile of classical percussion music. What I don’t think we could have ever imagined though, was how this path would change us both musically and personally. We’ve been shaped by the artists we’ve worked with, who have composed for us, whose music we have recorded and performed.’
The anniversary season also saw the release of Standard Stoppages, TCP’s latest album which reflects on two decades of music-making and involves many of TCP’s longtime collaborators, before culminating in June with Rhythm Fest, a one-day ‘rhythmic celebration’ curated by the quartet in Chicago.