Enjoy Percussion @ Peeler Wednesday Evening

November 2, 2009, Greencastle, Ind. — The galleries at DePauw University's Richard E. Peeler Art Center and the DePauw Percussion Studio join in their annual collaboration, Percussion @ Peeler, on Wednesday, November 4 at 6:30 p.m. in the Art Center. This year's event, part of ArtsFest 2009, will feature solo and small group works for percussion performed in a non-traditional format in the gallery, encouraging the audience to move around the space and enjoy the exhibition as well as the concert.

"How Soon Is Now: Contemporary Art from the Permanent Collection" presents a selection of works in a diverse range of media and forms that trace and explore the diverse formal, material and conceptual approaches to art-making during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Featuring works by a global roster of artists -- including Francis Alÿs, Chuck Close, Douglas Gordon, Robert Mapplethorpe, Paul McCarthy, Kara Walker, Andy Warhol and Judi Werthein -- the exhibition explores the perpetually shifting nature of contemporary art. (at right: Judi Werthein, Brinco, 2005
custom-designed athletic shoes with flashlight, compass, shoebox and mixed media)

The diverse program of music the percussionists will present include, among other things: the tango music of Astor Piazzola, an improvised sound mobile, a 1940's avant garde work of John Cage featuring speakers reading political material over a chorus of radios, street bucket drumming, a snare drum solo accompanied by an electronic soundscape, and a work for violin and percussion by last year's "Music of the 21st Century" guest composer, Chen Yi, in which the performers also produce vocal sounds.

"This concert is always one of my favorite events of the year," declares Amy Lynn Barber, professor of music and director of the percussion studio. "It's such a pleasure to perform in the gallery, and I love the juxtaposition of contemporary music with contemporary visual art. In fact, the many collections of percussion instruments seem to become a sculptural part of the exhibition. I also like this opportunity to offer an alternative to the traditional concert hall setting and hope that audience members find themselves more engaged with the music and the visual art."

According to Kaytie Johnson, director and curator of University Galleries, Museums and Collections and curator of "How Soon is Now," "Nothing makes the galleries at Peeler come alive more than the annual Percussion @ Peeler events. Each year Amy Barber develops a provocative program of music that truly complements the themes of our shows, as well as the artworks on view in the galleries. And, the way in which the musical pieces are performed really reflects our shared interest in experimenting with modes of presentation of contemporary music and visual art."

The event is free and open to the public.

Learn more about DePauw's week-long ArtsFest in this previous story.

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