Ensemble Evolution at PASIC2013

03 Jan '14

After our performance at PASIC! 

After our performance at PASIC! 

One of my most exciting events of 2013 was performing with my group Ensemble Evolution at The Percussive Arts Society International Convention in Indianapolis!

We performed the six works from our album “Sounds from the Treetops” with a backdrop of beautiful videos shot at the Treehotel in Northern Sweden. The crowd of students, teachers, and professional percussionists from around world were extremely receptive and we felt really honoured to have the chance to present our work to them. It was especially awesome to have a little fan club of students who wanted to talk about our adventures in Sweden for the remainder of the convention.

While I was in the USA, we also played a series of concerts at the Arnold Arboretum in Boston, not far from where Maria now lives. We played a free “open rehearsal” where we devised an improvised piece in front of an audience, a “Sounds of the Treetops” concert and a special children’s event at the Arboretum. We were fortunate enough to have a wonderful collaboration with the photographer Adam DeTour and Boston percussionists Jeremy Barnett and Matt Sharrock as well as the wonderful staff at the Arboretum. Our event was picked up by the Boston Globe who ran a great article about us and we had appreciative audiences at a each concert.

I think this tour was really special for Maria, Jake, and I. It’s the first time since we left Sweden that we’ve played together but it’s also the start of our group’s journey as professionals rather than students. When we got together in Piteå we were aiming to start a group that could be an important part of our career and I think that we proved to ourselves that even though we live in different parts of the world, we can still get together to make great music and fuel up on creative energy! It was also super-gratifying to perform our own music at PASIC and have such an enthusiastic response!

Rehearsing with iPads and duck calls for our concerts at the Arnold Arboretum in Boston.

Rehearsing with iPads and duck calls for our concerts at the Arnold Arboretum in Boston.