Beethoven’s 8th

• Classical 5 · subscribe
• Grand 10 · subscribe
• Saturday, November 8, 2025 @ 7:30 pm · get tickets
• Sunday, November 9, 2025 @ 2:00 pm · get tickets

Diane Wittry, Conductor
Third Coast Percussion Ensemble:
David Skidmore | Peter Martin | Robert Dillon | Sean Connors

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN Rondo in the Hungarian Style, Almost a Caprice
FRANZ JOSEPH HAYDN Andante from Symphony No. 94 “Surprise”
LEROY ANDERSON The Typewriter
CLARICE ASSAD Play! Percussion Concerto
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 8

Experience an evening of musical joy and humor with the Allentown Symphony Orchestra! The concert opens with Beethoven’s playful “Rage over a Lost Penny,” Haydn’s delightful “Surprise Symphony,” and the whimsical rhythms of Anderson’s “The Typewriter.” Composer-in-Residence Clarice Assad, joined by Third Coast Percussion Ensemble, brings energy and innovation with her percussion concerto Play!

After intermission, revel in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 8, celebrated for its lighthearted charm and idiosyncratic spirit. Don’t miss this vibrant mix of classical and contemporary masterpieces!

---

ARTIST BIOS

THIRD COAST PERCUSSION ENSEMBLE
Third Coasts Percussion is a Grammy Award-winning American percussion ensemble, based in Chicago, Illinois, United States.

The group, composed of Sean Connors, Robert Dillon, Peter Martin, and David Skidmore, specializes in new music/contemporary classical music and is known for its touring and recording activities.

Third Coast Percussion was the Ensemble-in-Residence at the University of Notre Dame’s DeBartolo Performing Arts Center from 2013-2018. They are the first ensemble at the University of Notre Dame to create a permanent and progressive ensemble residency program at the center. The ensemble performs multiple recitals annually as part of the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center’s Presenting Series season. Currently they are the ensemble-in-residence at Denison University.

The album Third Coast Percussion | Steve Reich won a Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance, becoming the first percussion group to win in a chamber music category. Third Coast Percussion has released albums on the Mode, New Focus, New Amsterdam, and Cedille record labels. The quartet endorses and performs exclusively with Pearl/Adams Musical Instruments, Zildjian Cymbals, Remo Drumheads, and Vic Firth sticks and mallets.

Orchestral Percussion: Triangle, Suspended and Sizzle Cymbal, Large bass drum, Large Tam Tam

ENSEMBLE MEMBERS
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. 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. 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. 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.

---

CLARICE ASSAD
A powerful communicator renowned for her musical scope and versatility, Brazilian-American Clarice Assad is a significant artistic voice in the classical, world music, pop, and jazz genres and is acclaimed for her evocative colors, rich textures, and diverse stylistic range. A prolific Grammy Award–nominated composer with more than 70 works to her credit, she has been commissioned by internationally renowned organizations, festivals, and artists and is published in France (Editions Lemoine), Germany (Trekel), Brazil (Criadores do Brasil), and the U.S. (Virtual Artists Collective Publishing). An in-demand performer, she is a celebrated pianist and inventive vocalist who inspires and encourages audiences’ imaginations to break free of often self-imposed constraints. Assad has released seven solo albums and appeared on or had her works performed on another 34. Her music is represented on Cedille Records, SONY Masterworks, Nonesuch, Adventure Music, Edge, Telarc, NSS Music, GHA, and CHANDOS. Her innovative, accessible, and award-winning VOXploration series on music education, creation, songwriting, and improvisation has been presented throughout the world. Sought-after by artists and organizations worldwide, the multi-talented musician continues to attract new audiences both onstage and off.

“Play!” Concerto for Percussion and Orchestra  (2023) by Clarice Assad
Play – a word of boundless meanings. For some, it offers an escape from life’s stresses, fostering creativity and imagination. Musicians play instruments, actors perform, and athletes compete.Yet, darker shades exist, like a child toying with fire or a devious mind playing psychological games. Fascinated by this word’s depth, I began a sonic exploration with the captivating Third Coast Percussion Ensemble. Together, we present PLAY! – a concerto in three movements for percussion quartet, amplified vocalist, and orchestra. In “Tick, tock, scrape, pinch, blow, hit, splash, rip,” we celebrate embracing unique visions that lead to magical encounters with kindred spirits. The second movement, “The Hour,” marks a journey of self-discovery, urging us to embrace inner brilliance and shine in the world. The final movement is an exciting virtuosic interplay between the soloists and the orchestra. Play has always meant exploring new worlds and finding awe in the little things. As an artist, I seek connections through playful art, transcending differences, and worries, uniting us in a harmonious symphony of life.” – Clarice Assad

---

SPONSORS

You might also like...