The Oberlin Review: Third Coast Percussion Visits Oberlin for Workshops, Artist Recital Series
Published on May 2, 2025
by Kash Radocha | Share this post! 
“‘The concert that we’re going to perform here is a really clear snapshot of who we are as an organization right now,’ Skidmore said.”
This week, Grammy Award- winning percussion quartet Third Coast Percussion visited Oberlin for a series of workshops, culminating in the final Artist Recital Series concert of the year April 30. One of the few touring percussion quartets in the country, the Chicago-based group is celebrating its 20th anniversary during its 2024–2025 season and is visiting Oberlin as an ensemble for the first time.
The four members, David Skidmore, Robert Dillon, Peter Martin, and Sean Connors, met during their undergraduate studies at Northwestern University and officially founded the ensemble in 2005. Third Coast Percussion has since established itself as one of the leading ensembles in the percussion world and have commissioned projects from the likes of Philip Glass, Zakir Hussain, Danny Elfman, and other accomplished musicians and composers. Additionally, each of the members have composed their own works, some of which have been nominated for Grammy awards.
“We had a really amazing mentor at the time, Michael Burritt,” Martin said. “The type of music that we play was a big part of his pedagogical approach to teaching percussion. We were really excited about the repertoire and enjoyed playing music together, so I think it was out of curiosity to see if we could [create a percussion ensemble]. We thought, wouldn’t it be great if we could do percussion ensemble outside of the university? That was kind of the first step, and that also then led to the next step: wouldn’t it be great if we could do this as a job? That took years to develop, but it was always a dream and always a goal we talked about.”
Since its founding, Third Coast Percussion has commissioned new works for percussion quartets and has continued to expand the percussion canon. First, the group worked with composer Augusta Read Thomas and, utilizing her guidance, learned how to structure their first round of commissions.
“When we started, there were other groups that we could take some inspiration from, and we certainly were standing on the shoulders of other groups that came before us,” Dillon said. “Percussionists and the idea of a percussion ensemble were not so mainstream in the broader classical music community. When we won the Grammy [in 2017], that was obviously an incredible opportunity for us, but also felt like a big win for the percussion community. It felt like our whole field, our whole genre, had really moved forward to a new place.”
This stop at Oberlin is just one of Third Coast Percussion’s many engagements this year, comprising its busiest touring season to date. During its time at Oberlin, the group gave a career talk and Q&A in the Cat in the Cream. Additionally, the four percussionists led a studio workshop for Oberlin’s classical percussion studio and a community drumming workshop later that evening.
“Of course, I’m looking forward to the concert very much because we get to perform with Jessie Montgomery, who’s a fantastic musician and person,” Skidmore said. “I’m also really, really excited to be working with the Oberlin percussion students because it’s such an incredible program with such a wonderful history. We know [Associate Professor of Percussion] Ross Karre so well, and even though we’ve never been here [as an ensemble], it feels both familiar and very welcoming.”
The members each have their own experiences with Oberlin, either having visited briefly in the past or worked with other professionals affiliated with Oberlin.
“I’ve never been to Oberlin, but I know so many people who have either been here as faculty members or as students,” Martin said. “We have a lot of peer ensembles and musicians that came out of this program decades ago, and I just hear so many great stories about the culture, vibe, and positivity. The type of people that I see coming out of this place speaks to that as well, so I’m excited to experience and see that firsthand.”
Conservatory second-year and Percussion Performance major Stephanie Bloch previously interned with the ensemble over Winter Term and was able to deepen her connection with the group during this visit.
“I’m excited to see them play and to do more workshops with them,” Bloch said. “I love talking to them and getting to know them more. From what I’ve experienced first-hand with some other percussion ensembles, such as working with Sō Percussion over the summer and meeting with Sandbox Percussion, I think [the percussion community] is such a warm environment. There isn’t an overload of percussionists, so we have this tighter community and communication between percussionists.”
Third Coast Percussion’s Artist Recital Series concert features not just commissioned pieces but a uniquely creative collaboration with composer and violinist Jessie Montgomery. Together, they will perform Lou Harrison’s Concerto for Violin with Percussion Orchestra.
“The concert that we’re going to perform here is a really clear snapshot of who we are as an organization right now,” Skidmore said. “The composers on the show include Jlin, who’s primarily an electronic musician; Tigran Hamasyan, who’s primarily a jazz pianist that draws influences from his native Armenian folk music; Jesse Montgomery, who’s featured with us on the program and is one of the most in-demand Western classical composers working right now; and finally an amazing piece of percussion ensemble history in the piece by Lou Harrison, who is one of the first Western classical composers to write for exclusively percussion instruments. It’s a really varied program in terms of its influences, and I think it’s unified by the fact that we love all the music and it’s fun to play.”