Sandbox Percussion- Two-time GRAMMY Nominated Percussion Ensemble
Join us 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 6, 2025 in the Administration Auditorium
GRAMMY Nominees
Described as “exhilarating” by The New York Times and “utterly mesmerizing” by The Guardian, the GRAMMY®-nominated ensemble Sandbox Percussion champions living composers through its unwavering dedication to contemporary chamber music. In 2011, Jonathan Allen, Victor Caccese, Ian Rosenbaum, and Terry Sweeney were brought together by their love of chamber music and the simple joy of playing together; they have since captivated audiences with performances that are both visually and aurally stunning. In 2024, Sandbox Percussion became the first percussion ensemble to be awarded the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant.
This season's highlights include a performance of their 2021, GRAMMY®-nominated album Seven Pillars, featuring Andy Akiho’s title piece at the Beijing Music Festival; a collaboration with the London-based Gandini Juggling at Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art and anspecial Max Roach tribute with the Tyshawn Sorey Trio with performances that include the 92nd Street Y and the Library of Congress. Together, the two groups explore the extraordinary legacy of jazz pioneer Max Roach, who was born 100 years ago.
The virtuosic New York quartet play from memory, so attuned to each other that it all becomes performance art, utterly mesmerizing to watch. The Guardian
Recording projects
Sandbox Percussion recently recorded percussion music for its first feature film: The Wild Robot (DreamWorks, 2024), an animated science fiction survival film with music by Kris Bowers. In August, Sandbox Percussion released their latest album via Ecstatic Records with composer Michael Torke, who created the hourlong piece BLOOM for the group. The first recording of Lifeline, a vibrant percussion quartet composed by Ellis Ludwig-Leone for Sandbox Percussion, will be released on the album Past Life / Lifeline in December, on Better Company Records. A new album celebrating the group’s long-standing collaboration with Christopher Cerrone will be released in February on PENTATONE Records, including the piece Ode To Joy, co-commissioned by the group in 2023.
Sandbox Percussion Seminar
Sandbox Percussion holds the positions of ensemble-in-residence and percussion faculty at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and The New School’s College of Performing Arts. Starting in 2024-25, Sandbox Percussion will also be on faculty at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University.
Sandbox Percussion endorses Pearl/Adams musical instruments, Zildjian cymbals, Vic Firth sticks and mallets, Remo drumheads, and Black Swamp accessories.
Learn more at sandboxpercussion.com