TCP has been traveling across the country this Fall.   Below are some highlights from our 6 day trip to South Bend, Indiana for the world premiere performance of Augusta Read Thomas‘ Resounding Earth, commissioned by Third Coast Percussion along with the Debartolo Performing Arts Center, the VCU School of the Arts, and Chamber Music America.

We rolled into South Bend on September 25th.  A truckload full of gear to unload, Clay parks the company Lambo* and we set up in the Debartolo Performing Arts Center on the campus of Notre Dame.

*We do not have a company Lambo.  Clay has been trying to work it into our budget, but for some reason the numbers don’t seem to add up….  We do humor Clay by allowing him to squeeze his Ducati into the back of our moving truck, between the 6 giant racks and the cases of Thai Gongs.   More info on TCP’s apparent obsession with Italian sporting vehicles in a future blog post by Clay Condon:).

The hall at Debartolo is gorgeous.  It really doesn’t get much better than this.  Amazing space, fantastic crew, we set up Resounding Earth and prepare for a week of performances, outreach activities, and recording.

Photos by Peter Martin

We had some fantastic experiences interacting with students from Notre Dame and area public schools while we were there.  A big shout out to the Debartolo Center, Anna Thompson, and Sean Martin for setting the entire residency up for us!

Photos Copyright DeBartolo Performing Arts Center and Kirk Richard Smith

We had a 2 day recording session for an upcoming CD/DVD release of Resounding Earth.  With us at the session as always was Dan Nichols (Audio Engineer) and Rosse Karre (Video).   We also had the luxury of having the composer, Augusta Read Thomas, produce the session for us!  Recording sessions are always crazy, particularly when you add video into the mix.  Thanks to everyone who worked on the session, we got everything in the can ahead of schedule and started prepping for the premiere performance.

The concert was fantastic.  A packed hall with an enthusiastic audience playing amazing repertoire.  What more can you ask for? Check out a nice preview of the show from the South Bend Tribune as well as a great review from I Care if You Listen.

Photo Copyright DeBartolo Performing Arts Center and Tadashi Omura

As I write this post, TCP is gearing up for 2 more performances of Resounding Earth in California over the next 2 weeks.  Check back for more news and photos from our Travel Log!

-PJM

*Be sure to check out the complete photo gallery from our week at Notre Dame’s DeBartolo Performing Arts Center.

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