Line Upon Line Performs Reich Tonight

Steve Reich is probably America's greatest living composer, heralded as one of the most original thinkers and artists of our time. Having completely redefined the direction of music in the 20th century, his use of phrasing, tone and loops not only revolutionized minimalism as a whole, but also influenced countless others from King Crimson to Brian Eno.

Some of his most compelling pieces are centered around phrase repetition and pattern shifting. "Clapping Music" is probably the most well-known of these pieces, beginning with two performers clapping an African bell pattern in 12/8 time unison, then one performer shifts by one eighth note to the left. The two performers continue this until the second performer has shifted 12 eighth notes and is hence playing the pattern in unison once again. When we talk about how patience and concentration give music the power to be life-altering, this is what we mean.

Tonight you have a chance to watch a performance of some of Reich's classic works performed by recently formed Austin-based percussion group Line Upon Line. The group's 2008-09 season also includes performances of percussion duets by Dan Welcher and Baltimore based composer Joshua William Mills. They don't have a web site yet, as they are newly formed, but who needs the Internet when you can sit at Gallery 5619 and take in "Drumming Part I," "Six Marimbas," "Clapping Music" and "Nagoya Marimbas"?

Line upon Line is Timothy Briones, Cullen Faulk, Eric Peterson, Matthew Teodori, Carolyn Trowbridge and Philip Welder with special guests Thaddeus Anderson and Dr. Thomas Burritt.