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Colin Currie Group: Reich's Drumming

Introduction
Media & Resources
Press & Reviews
Contact

INTRODUCTION

Steve Reich's Drumming is one of the most iconic masterpieces of its time. Inspired by Reich's percussion studies in Ghana in 1971, it is a theatrical and captivating showcase for percussion, offering a non-stop, 50- to 75-minute fusion of bongo drums, marimbas, glockenspiels and synthesised vocals. The young and vibrant Colin Currie Group - newly established by Colin Currie to perform this specialist work following its successful London debut at the 2006 BBC Proms - offers audiences a highly-skilled and engaging interpretation of this rhythmic kaleidoscope of sound.

Following multiple sell-out concerts at London's Southbank Centre over two seasons, Drumming by the Colin Currie Group is now available for touring internationally. The group looks forward to their international debut at the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, followed by a tour to Japan.

MEDIA & RESOURCES

Click here to watch a short film on the Colin Currie Group in preparation for a performance of Steve Reich's Drumming as part of the 2009/10 International Chamber Music Season at London's Southbank Centre.

Click here to download the technical rider for the production.

Click here to read an article written for the concert programme for Reich's Drumming. It is available for re-print on request.

PRESS & REVIEWS

Leo Chadburn in interview with Steve Reich
Steve Reich no longer performs Drumming as he “would struggle to match the vitality and energy that Colin and his group put into the piece - they can take that as a compliment!”
The Quietus, June 2011

Queen Elizabeth Hall, London
“Watching the Colin Currie Group performing Reich's early-Seventies landmark work Drumming, one is struck by the intense levels of concentration required to bring the 70-minute piece successfully through its various stages. Currie's 12-piece ensemble is exceptionally focused, and the result holds the audience rapt throughout its duration.”
Five Stars, The Independent, April 2011

Sound Festival Aberdeen
“To be able to sustain this level of complexity from such simple basic material was a tour de force for both composer and performers. As an experience in sound, this was a revelation but it packed a powerful visual punch as well.”
Herald Scotland, October 2010

Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, February 2010
“Held together by eye contact, ear contact, intimate understanding of the score and collective breathing, the performance was both aurally and visually exciting – a work of art and also one of craft at its most disciplined and alert.”
The Independent

“There was a real sense of occasion at this performance, partly no doubt because of the presence of expert percussionist Colin Currie and the group he has formed to play Reich’s music....

The Colin Currie Group did not put a foot wrong, blending from one sound‐world to the next with ideal subtlety and building quite a head of elation by the end.”
Financial Times

“This [performance] felt decidedly more intimate, taking the listener deeper into Reich’s sound world. And it’s not a world without the charm and nuance of the chamber music that more usually occupies the QEH, at least not when performed with this degree of finesse and moment‐by‐moment satisfaction from its participants.”
The Times

“This was a mesmerizing performance from the Colin Currie Group, which was highly appreciated by the Queen Elizabeth Hall’s capacity audience”
Seen & Heard International

“This was a mesmerising performance masterminded by Colin Currie… from all angles, a revelation”
Classical Source

Aberdeen, October 2010
"It was given pride of place on Saturday at the centre of the Sound Festival’s minimalist weekend in a mind-blowing performance by the Colin Currie Group.

To be able to sustain this level of complexity from such simple basic material was a tour de force for both composer and performers. As an experience in sound, this was a revelation but it packed a powerful visual punch as well."
Glasgow Herald

Perth Concert Hall, April 2008
“...a new generation of musicians resurrected Drumming and brought it to Perth for a wholly different ‐and staggering ‐musical experience... Colin Currie put together an elite team of top UK percussionists and led them in a stunning, dramatic version of Drumming... young, fit, lean, fantastically musical and mind‐bogglingly virtuosic.”
Glasgow Herald

BBC Proms, Royal Albert Hall, August 2006
“Reich’s classic minimalist masterpiece Drumming, [which] over 45 minutes traced an enthralling trajectory from drums to marimbas and finally to the shrill sound of glockenspiels, before wrapping up all three in one thunderous climax....the performances, from the nine percussionists, three singers and one flautist was a model of impassive elegance....there emerged from Reich’s aloof glittering patterns a kind of ecstasy, all the more moving for being so mysterious.”
The Telegraph