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11:30AM @ Chicago Chamber Music Society
Chicago, ILWednesday, September
10
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Our mission is to inspire and educate through the creation of exciting and unexpected musical experiences.
For more than twenty years, the ensemble has forged a unique path in the musical landscape with virtuosic, energetic performances that celebrate the extraordinary depth and breadth of musical possibilities in the world of percussion. The ensemble has been praised for “commandingly elegant” (New York Times) performances, the “rare power” (Washington Post) of their recordings, and “an inspirational sense of fun and curiosity” (Minnesota Star-Tribune). The four members of Third Coast are also accomplished teachers, and currently serve as ensemble-in-residence at Denison University.
Click an Ensemble Member to see their bio
David Skidmore is an Ensemble Member and Executive Director of Third Coast Percussion.
David Skidmore is an Ensemble Member and Executive Director of Third Coast Percussion.
As a chamber musician, David has performed at Carnegie Hall, the Lincoln Center Festival, Kimmel Center, EMPAC, June in Buffalo, Klangspuren Schwaz, the Ojai Music Festival, the Bang On a Can Marathon and three Percussive Arts Society International Conventions. David was a member of the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble from 2007-2011 and Ensemble ACJW from 2008-2010. David has performed and collaborated with many of the world's finest musicians including conductors Pierre Boulez, Lorin Maazel, David Robertson, and Michael Tilson Thomas, composers Steve Reich, Steve Mackey, Matthias Pintscher, and Peter Eötvos, and chamber ensembles Eighth Blackbird and Ensemble Signal. David has performed as a soloist in Europe, Asia, and the United States. David has also performed as a member of the Lucerne Festival Academy, the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, the Pacific Music Festival, and the National Repertory Orchestra.
David is also a composer, and his works are performed regularly in concert halls and universities across the country.
David taught for four years on the percussion faculty at the Peabody Conservatory. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Northwestern University and a Master of Music degree from the Yale School of Music. His teachers were Michael Hernandez, Shawn Schietroma, Michael Burritt, James Ross, and Robert Van Sice.
Robert Dillon is an Ensemble Member and Development Director of Third Coast Percussion
Robert Dillon is an Ensemble Member and Development Director of Third Coast Percussion. He has also performed as a substitute with the Chicago, Boston, and San Diego Symphony Orchestras, and served as principal percussionist in the Madison Symphony Orchestra from 2007-2008. A passionate educator, he previously served as chair of percussion studies at Merit School of Music and a percussion instructor at Loyola University Chicago.
Robert has appeared numerous times on the Chicago Symphony’s contemporary music series, MusicNow, as well as the University of Chicago’s Contempo series, and was a member of the unique, international 12-percussionist Ensemble XII, which grew out of Pierre Boulez’s Lucerne Festival Academy (Switzerland). Robert was a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and participated in programs at the Tanglewood Music Center, Spoleto Festival USA, National Repertory Orchestra, and Pacific Music Festival (Sapporo, Japan).
In addition to Third Coast recordings, Robert can be heard as a soloist on Innova Records (Christopher Adler—Ecstatic Volutions in a Neon Haze), and a performer on Naxos Records (American Music for Percussion, Volume 1) and Parlour Tapes+ (Katherine Young – Diligence is to Magic as Progress is to Flight). He has performed as a soloist in America, Switzerland, and Jordan.
Robert holds a Bachelor of Music from Northwestern University and a Master of Music from the New England Conservatory, where he received the John Cage Award for Outstanding Contribution to Contemporary Music Performance. His teachers include Michael Burritt, James Ross and Will Hudgins.
Peter Martin is an Ensemble Member and Finance Director of Third Coast Percussion.
Peter Martin is an Ensemble Member and Finance Director of Third Coast Percussion.
As a chamber musician, Peter has performed with many leading new music ensembles including the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), Eighth Blackbird, the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, the Atlantic Chamber Ensemble, Opera Moda, Tomorrow Music Orchestra, and Ensemble Signal. In addition to his work with Third Coast Percussion, Peter is a member of the award-winning contemporary music group Ensemble Dal Niente. His recorded work can be heard on the New Focus, New Amsterdam, Mode, Ears & Eyes, Harmonia Mundi, and Narooma labels.
As an educator, Peter was an Assistant Professor and Director of Percussion Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA from 2009-2013. He held previous teaching positions at Northwestern University and Trinity International University.
Peter holds Doctor of Music and Master of Music Degrees from Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music and a Bachelor of Music Degree from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University. While a student, Peter was awarded first prize at the Percussive Arts Society International Solo Marimba Competition. His teachers include Michael Burritt, She-e Wu, Leigh Howard Stevens.
Sean Connors is an ensemble member, technical director, and the education director of Third Coast Percussion
Sean Connors is an Ensemble Member, Technical Director, and the Education Director of Third Coast Percussion. He has performed with Amphion Percussion, the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, eighth blackbird, the International Contemporary Ensemble, Signal, and Metropolis Ensemble, and he was the percussionist for 2 summers with the prestigious Aspen Music Festival Contemporary Ensemble.
As an educator, Sean served for 2 years as assistant professor of percussion at the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point, and taught elementary school and middle school music in the Chicago suburbs.
Sean holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music, a Master of Music degree from Northwestern University and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music.
MORE ABOUT
THE ENSEMBLE
Third Coast Percussion (TCP) is Chicago’s GRAMMY® Award-winning percussion quartet and GRAMMY®-nominated composer collective that made history as the first percussion ensemble to win the revered music award in the classical genre. To date, TCP has garnered seven total GRAMMY® nominations.
After marking its 20th Anniversary in 2025, TCP continues its milestone celebrations with exciting and unexpected performances worldwide that “constantly redefine the classical music experience” (Forbes) and “push percussion in new directions, blurring musical boundaries and beguiling new listeners” (NPR), with a brilliantly varied sonic palette and “dazzling rhythmic workouts” (Pitchfork).
Representing “one of the most enterprising and creative ensembles working today” (WFMT), the artists of Third Coast Percussion are in-demand collaborators who have worked closely with a range of artists including choreographers Twyla Tharp, Lil Buck, and Jon Boogz; composer/performers Zakir Hussain, Jessie Montgomery, and Jlin; and composers Philip Glass, Missy Mazzoli, and Danny Elfman, among many others. The ensemble has been praised for the “rare power” (Washington Post) of its 30+ recordings, and its “inspirational sense of fun and curiosity” (Minnesota Star-Tribune). Third Coast Percussion maintains a busy tour schedule, with past performances in 41 of the 50 states and Washington, D.C., plus international tour dates across four continents and 13 countries, amassing more than 300,000 audience members over two decades.
Third Coast Percussion’s 2025-2026 season takes the ensemble from Chicago to New York, Boston, Los Angeles, and beyond, with almost two dozen domestic engagements. International tour dates include first performances in Serbia, Montenegro, and Latvia, in addition to engagements in Paris. This season also brings a busy schedule at home in Chicago, with performances at Northwestern University (the ensemble’s alma mater), The Art Institute of Chicago, The University of Chicago, and more. The ensemble’s passion for teaching and engagement will be on display in residencies at Denison University in Ohio and the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in Alberta, Canada, as well as masterclasses at dozens of domestic and international tour stops.
Third Coast Percussion continues to push the boundaries of contemporary percussion performance with its ambitious and highly anticipated 2025-2026 programming, which includes several new works alongside celebrated favorites from the ensemble’s two decades of repertoire. New programs include Strum, Strike, Bend, featuring composer and violinist Jessie Montgomery; the final masterwork of acclaimed composer and tabla superstar Zakir Hussain, Murmurs In Time, featuring tabla artist Salar Nader; and Time Pieces: The New Classical, Third Coast Percussion’s celebratory program featuring the ensemble’s 20th Anniversary commissions from Tigran Hamasyan, Jessie Montgomery, and more. Favorite programs returning this season include PLAY! with Clarice Assad, a powerhouse concerto in three movements for percussion quartet, vocalist, and orchestra; and Metamorphosis, featuring choreography by Movement Art Is (Lil Buck and Jon Boogz), as performed by Cameron Murphy and Trent Jeray.
A direct connection with the audience is at the core of Third Coast Percussion’s work, whether the musicians are speaking from the stage about a new piece of music, inviting the audience to play along in a concert or educational performance, or uniting fans around the world through platforms including their popular YouTube channel, a hub for their latest music, and a robust presence on Instagram and other social platforms. The four members of Third Coast are also accomplished teachers, dedicating time each season to educational residencies, music outreach performances and programs, and school partnerships to encourage active participation by students of all ages.
The quartet’s curiosity and eclectic taste have led to a series of unlikely collaborations yielding exciting new art. The artists’ omnivorous musical appetite, paired with approachable and flexible working methods, remove collaborative boundaries across cultures and disciplines. The ensemble has worked with engineers at the University of Notre Dame, architects at the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, dancers at Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, and musicians from traditions ranging from the mbira music of Zimbabwe’s Shona people, to indie rockers and footwork producers, to some of the world’s leading concert musicians. Third Coast Percussion served as ensemble-in-residence at the University of Notre Dame’s DeBartolo Performing Arts Center from 2013-2018, and currently serves as ensemble-in-residence at Denison University.
Starting with a commission for a new work from composer Augusta Read Thomas in 2012, Third Coast Percussion has embraced the principle that commissioning new musical works can be – and should be – as collaborative as any other artistic partnership. Through extensive workshopping and close contact with composers, TCP has commissioned and premiered more than 125 new works from composers including Zakir Hussain, Jessie Montgomery, Philip Glass, Clarice Assad, Danny Elfman, Jlin, Tigran Hamasyan, Augusta Read Thomas, Devonté Hynes, Missy Mazzoli, Ivan Trevino, Tyondai Braxton, and leading early-career composers encountered through TCP’s annual Currents Creative Partnership. These commissioned works have become part of the ensemble’s core repertoire and seen hundreds of performances around the world. In 2023, Jlin’s Perspective, commissioned by TCP, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.
Third Coast Percussion’s recordings include 21 feature albums and appearances on 14 additional collaborative releases. During the 2024-2025 season, the ensemble released two new albums to great acclaim: In Aguas da Amazonia (Rockwell Records), named for the title work by Philip Glass, TCP captures its bespoke arrangement of Glass’s composition for Twyla Tharp Dance, hailed as “an uplifting and meditative exploration of the soul” by BBC Music Magazine. TCP’s subsequent 20th Anniversary recording, Standard Stoppages (Cedille Records) was hailed as “not only highly listenable in itself, but also offers a new direction for an ensemble that has been around for 20 years and seems likely to be around for 20 more” (All Music).
Besides putting its stamp on iconic percussion works by John Cage and Steve Reich, the quartet has created first recordings of commissioned works by Zakir Hussain, Jessie Montgomery, Philip Glass, Clarice Assad, Danny Elfman, Jlin, Tigran Hamasyan, Augusta Read Thomas, Devonté Hynes, Missy Mazzoli, and more – in addition to recordings of original Third Coast compositions. In 2017, the ensemble won the GRAMMY® Award for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance for its recording of Steve Reich’s works for percussion. TCP has received five additional GRAMMY® nominations as performers, plus their first GRAMMY® nomination as composers in 2021. In the last decade, TCP has amassed over 5 million listeners and more than 10 million streams on Spotify.
Third Coast Percussion has always maintained strong ties to the vibrant artistic community in their hometown of Chicago, collaborating with local institutions including Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, the Uniting Voices Chicago choir, the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Chicago Humanities Festival, and the Adler Planetarium. TCP has performed at the grand opening of Maggie Daley Children’s Park; conducted residencies at the University of Chicago, Northwestern University and the Civic Orchestra of Chicago; created multi-year collaborative projects with Chicago-based composers Jessie Montgomery, Clarice and Sérgio Assad, Augusta Read Thomas, Glenn Kotche, and chamber ensemble Eighth Blackbird; and taught tens-of-thousands of students through partnerships with Uniting Voices Chicago, The People’s Music School, the Chicago Park District, Rush Hour Concerts, Urban Gateways, Changing Worlds and others. The ensemble looks forward to a partnership with The Art Institute of Chicago in January 2026.
The four members of Third Coast Percussion (Sean Connors, Robert Dillon, Peter Martin, and David Skidmore) met while studying percussion music at Northwestern University with Michael Burritt and James Ross, forming Third Coast Percussion in 2005. From their base in Chicago, the four friends carefully and thoughtfully built a thriving nonprofit organization – including full-time staff, office/studio space, and a board of directors – to support their vision and facilitate their efforts to bring new works to life. Members of Third Coast also hold degrees from the Eastman School of Music, Rutgers University, the New England Conservatory, and the Yale School of Music.
Stay up-to-date and go behind-the-scenes by following Third Coast on Instagram (@ThirdCoastPercussion), YouTube (@thirdcoastpercussion), TikTok (@thirdcoastpercussion), Facebook (@Third Coast Percussion) and LinkedIn (linkedin.com/company/third-coast-percussion).
*Third Coast Percussion is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization.
Click this link to access TCP’s most current biography in various lengths.
Next Show
Wednesday, September
10
Chicago Chamber Music Society
Chicago, IL United States
Chicago Chamber Music Society
Learn More
Thursday, September
11
Sound & Gravity Festival
Chicago, ILSunday, September
21