INTRODUCTION
BY JEAN FLORMAN
The notion of commissioning work was hardly new when the Joffrey Ballet accepted the first Hancher commission in 1984. After all, for thousands of years, patrons around the world have financially supported the creation of music, paintings, sculpture, plays—even love sonnets. But Hancher’s first commission was an invigorating sea change for the University of Iowa’s performing arts venue. It heralded a new creative future for Hancher. In addition to serving as a presenter of the performing arts, Hancher now would become a creative force.
Hancher Auditorium at the University of Iowa has commissioned or co-commissioned over 120 pieces in dance, music, and theatre. Listed below are the commissioned artists, the commissioned works, and the dates the new pieces were or will be performed at Hancher Auditorium.
HANCHER - COMMISSIONED ARTISTS, COMMISSIONED WORKS
JAMES KUDELKA, for the Joffrey Ballet
The Heart of the Matter
1986 | February 25 • World premiere
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ROBERT JOFFREY and GERALD ARPINO, for the Joffrey Ballet
The Nutcracker
1987 | December 10–12 • World premiere
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LAURA DEAN, for Laura Dean Dancers and Musicians
Equator
1988 | March 4 • American premiere
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DAVID GORDON, for Pick Up Company
United States
1989 | February 11
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ALESSANDRO MORUZZI, for the Kronos Quartet
concept/visual design for Assembly Required
KEVIN VOLANS, for the Kronos Quartet
The Songlines
1989 | April 2
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PAUL DRESHER ENSEMBLE
Power Failure
1989 | October 27–28
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DAVID PARSONS, for the Parsons Dance Company
Incandescence (a.k.a. Simply So)
1990 | January 19–20 • World premiere
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LARRY NEFF, for the Kronos Quartet
visual design for Salome Dances for Peace, by Terry Riley
1990 | April 6 • World premiere
visual design for Black Angels, by George Crumb
1990 | April 7 • World premiere
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ALEXANDER GOEHR, for the Arditti String Quartet
Quartet No. 4
1990 | October 8 • World premiere
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NINA WIENER, for the Nina Wiener Dance Company
Harmonic Landscapes
1990 | October 12–13
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MEREDITH MONK
Atlas (1991)
DUMI MARAIRE, for the Kronos Quartet
Mai Nozipo
CHRISTIAN MARCLAY and the KRONOS QUARTET
New Work
1991 | January 26 • World premieres
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BILL T. JONES and JULIUS HEMPHILL, for the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company and the Julius Hemphill Sextet
Last Supper at Uncle Tom's Cabin/The Promised Land
1991 | February 2
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PAUL DRESHER ENSEMBLE
Pioneer
1991 | February 8–9
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LIBBY LARSEN, for the Cleveland Quartet
Quartet: Schoenberg, Schenker Schillinger
1991 | May 1 • World premiere
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WIM VANDEKEYBUS, for Ultima Vez
Always the Same Lies
1991 | October 16
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RINDE ECKERT
The Gardening of Thomas D.
1992 | January 22–25 • World premiere
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JIMMY GAMONET DE LOS HEROS, for the Miami City Ballet
Danzalta
1992 | April 28
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SCOTT JOHNSON, for the Kronos Quartet
How It Happens (says I. F. Stone)
1992 | November 5 • World premiere
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LAURA DEAN, CHARLES MOULTON, MARGO SAPPINGTON, PETER PUCCI, and PRINCE, for the Joffrey Ballet
Billboards
1993 | January 27–31 • World premiere
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PILOBOLUS DANCE THEATRE
Rejoyce—A Pilobolus Finnegans Wake
1993 | February 27 • World premiere
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TRIMPIN
D.R.A.M.A. ohno
1993 | September 14–15
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DAVID PARSONS, for the Parsons Dance Company
Ring Around the Rosie
1993 | October 1 • World premiere
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BEBE MILLER, for Bebe Miller Company
Nothing Can Happen Only Once
1994 | February 26
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JOAN TOWER, for the Muir String Quartet
Night Fields
1994 | March 1 • World premiere
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MICHELLE DIBUCCI, for the Kronos Quartet
arrangement of Raymond Scott's Powerhouse
RANDALL WOOLF, for the Kronos Quartet
arrangement of Raymond Scott's Twilight in Turkey
JOHN OSWALD, for the Kronos Quartet
Mach
1994 | March 14
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BRIGHT SHENG, for the Takács Quartet
String Quartet No. 3
1994 | April 4
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BILL T. JONES, for the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company
Still/Here
1994 | September 30–October 1 • American premiere
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DAVID PARSONS, for the Parsons Dance Company
Touched by Time (1994)
MINORU MIKI, for Pro Musica Nipponia
Lotus Poem
1994 | October 17 • World premiere
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RINDE ECKERT
The Idiot Variations
1995 | January 19–20 • World premiere
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SUSAN MARSHALL, for Susan Marshall & Company
Fields of View
1995 | February 10
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BRENT MICHAEL DAVIDS, for the Kronos Quartet
Tunpao Nenangpe (Turtle People)
BEN JOHNSTON, for the Kronos Quartet
arrangement of Harry Partch's Barstow: Eight Hitchhikers' Inscriptions from a Highway Railing at Barstow, California
1995 | April 8
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MEREDITH MONK
Volcano Songs
1995 | May 2–3
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JAWOLE WILLA JO ZOLLAR, for Urban Bush Women
Bones and Ash: A Gilda Story
1995 | September 15 • World premiere
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MARC NEIKRUG, for the Tokyo String Quartet with Pinchas Zukerman
String Quintet
1995 | October 13 • World premiere
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JOHN CORIGLIANO, for the Cleveland Quartet
String Quartet
1995 | October 30
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P.Q. PHAN, for the Kronos Quartet with Nguyen Thuyet Phong
Hoi uc cua ke lac loi (Memoirs of A Lost Soul)
1996 | February 10 • World premiere
TAN DUN, for the Kronos Quartet with Wu Man
Ghost Opera
1996 | February 10
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DIAMANDA GALÁS
Schrei X
1996 | March 27–28
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MARK MORRIS, for the Mark Morris Dance Group with the Handel & Haydn Society conducted by Christopher Hogwood
Christoph Willibald Ritter von Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice
1996 | April 8–9 • World premiere
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BEN JOHNSTON, for the Kronos Quartet
arrangement of Harry Partch's Two Studies on Ancient Greek Scales
1998 | January 24
ROBERT LEPAGE, for Ex Machina
Geometry of Miracles
1999 | September 9–11 • American premiere
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Traveling Music, for the Kronos Quartet
OSVALDO GOLIJOV, arrangement of Anibal Troilo’s “Responso”
ALEKSANDRA VREBALOV, “Panonia Boundless”
ALICIA SVIGALS, “Kale Baveynen II”
HYO-SHIN NA, “Kahk-seo-ree-ta-ryeung” (Song of the Beggars)
KAYHAN KALHOR, “Gallop of a Thousand Horses”
1999 | September 15 • World premiere
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TWYLA THARP, for Twyla Tharp Dance
Diabelli
1999 | September 17–18 • American premiere
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USHIO AMAGATSU, for Sankai Juku
Hibiki (Resonance from Far Away)
1999 | October 1–2 • American premiere
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SUSAN MARSHALL, for Susan Marshall & Company
The Descent Beckons
1999 | October 8 • World premiere
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PAUL TAYLOR, for the Paul Taylor Dance Company
Arabesque
1999 | October 15–16 • World premiere
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BILL T. JONES
The Breathing Show
1999 | October 23 • World premiere
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LAR LUBOVITCH, for American Ballet Theatre
Meadow
1999 | November 2–3
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JAWOLE WILLA JO ZOLLAR, for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
C-sharp Street – B-flat Avenue
1999 | November 19–20 • World premiere
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PAUL SCHOENFIELD, for the Ahn Trio
Four Music Videos
2000 | January 27 • World premiere
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BILL T. JONES, for the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company
You Walk?
2000 | March 24–25 • World premiere
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MICHAEL GORDON, DAVID LANG, and JULIA WOLFE, for Bang on a Can All-Stars with the Australian Chamber Orchestra
Haircut
2000 | April 8 • World premiere
BRETT DEAN, for Bang on a Can All-Stars with the Australian Chamber Orchestra
Game Over
2000 | April 8 • World premiere
STEVE MARTLAND, for Bang on a Can All-Stars with the Australian Chamber Orchestra
Hard Times
2000 | April 8 • World premiere
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RICHARD DANIELPOUR, for the Kalichstein–Laredo–Robinson Trio
A Child’s Reliquary
2000 | April 13 • World premiere
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MICHAEL DAUGHERTY, for Ethos Percussion Group
Used Car Salesman
2000 | April 18 • World premiere
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GABRIELA ORTIZ, for Dawn Upshaw and the Kronos Quartet
Baalkah
2000 | May 3 • World premiere
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PILOBOLUS DANCE THEATRE, with Leonard Eto
Tsu-Ku-Tsu
2000 | September 29–October 1
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BILL T. JONES, for the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center
Evenings of dances and chamber music
2002 | January 25–26 • World premiere
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KRONOS QUARTET
Nuevo
2002 | March 2 • World premiere
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TERRY RILEY, for the Kronos Quartet, with Kantorei and University Choir
Sun Rings
2002 | October 26 • World premiere
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JAWOLE WILLA JO ZOLLAR, for Urban Bush Women, in collaboration with the National Song and Dance Company of Mozambique
Shadow’s Child
2003 | January 24
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LERA AUERBACH, for David Finckel and Wu Han
Sonata No. 1 for violoncello and piano
2003 | February 19 • World premiere
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BILL T. JONES, for the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company
Reading, Mercy and the Artificial Nigger
2003 | October 11 • World premiere
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LIN HWAI-MIN, for the Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan
Cursive
2003 | November 12
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PAUL TAYLOR, for the Paul Taylor Dance Company
Dante Variations
2004 | April 16–17
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LUCAS CRANDALL, for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago
Gimme
2004 | October 9
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AUGUSTA READ THOMAS, for Chanticleer
Purple Syllables
Commissioned by the Music Accord consortium, of which Hancher is a member.
2006 | September 28
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LUKAS FOSS, for the Guarneri Quartet
String Quartet No. 5
Commissioned by the Music Accord consortium, of which Hancher is a member.
2007 | April 10
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DAVID DEL TREDICI, for the Orion String Quartet and David Krakauer
Magyar Madness
Commissioned by the Music Accord consortium, of which Hancher is a member.
2007 | October 9
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BRIAN ENOS, for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago
B-Sides (12” Mix)
2007 | October 12
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STEFON HARRIS, for the Imani Winds
The Anatomy of a Box: a sonic painting in wood, metal and wind
Commissioned by the Music Accord consortium, of which Hancher is a member.
2009 | September 25
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RINDE ECKERT, with students from the University of Iowa Division of Performing Arts
Eye Piece
2010 | February 5–14 • World premiere
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TOMÁŠ KUBÍNEK, with Orchestra Iowa and with Omaha Symphony
Professor Kubínek Meets the Symphony
2010 | November 5, 6, 7, 13, & 20 • World premiere
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Sometimes Great Things Come from Humble Beginnings, by Brian Dau
CLÉBIO OLIVEIRA, for Hubbard Street 2
The Fantastic Escape of the Little Buffalo
2011 | September 22–23 • World premiere
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DAVE PIETRO
New Road: Iowa Memoirs
2012 | April 5 • World premiere
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SEAN CHRISTOPHER LEWIS, for Working Group Theatre
Mayberry
2012 | April 26–29 • World premiere
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STEW & THE NEGRO PROBLEM
Songs about Iowa City
2012 | September 27 • World premiere
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DAVID LANG, for Anonymous 4
love fail
2012 | October 11
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MERVYN WARREN and JEFF MARX, for it gets better presented by the Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles
“You Have More Friends Than You Know”
2012 | October 19
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AARON JAY KERNIS, for eighth blackbird
Pieces of Winter Sky
Commissioned by the Music Accord consortium, of which Hancher is a member.
2013 | February 6
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JENNIFER FAWCETT, for Working Group Theatre
The Broken Chord
2013 | April 12–14 • World premiere
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RINDE ECKERT and SAN JOSE TAIKO
Hancher Site Ceremony
2013 | June 29
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JENNIFER FAWCETT, for Working Group Theatre
Out of Bounds (for youth)
2013 | November 18–20 • World premiere
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JENNIFER FAWCETT, for Working Group Theatre
Out of Bounds (for general audiences)
2014 | May 1–4 • World premiere
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MARY KOUYOUMDJIAN, for the Kronos Quartet
Bombs of Beirut
Co-commissioned through Kronos Performing Arts Association’s Under 30 Project.
2015 | February 7
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SHULAMIT RAN, for the Pacifica Quartet
Glitter, Doom, Shards, Memory
Commissioned by the Music Accord consortium, of which Hancher is a member.
2015 | March 6
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SEAN CHRISTOPHER LEWIS, for Working Group Theatre, featuring Awful Purdies
All Recipes Are Home
2015 | April 17–18 • World premiere
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TAYLOR MAC
“1846–1856, Whitman vs. Foster: Songs Popular Near the Breaking Point,” from A 24-Decade History of Popular Music
2015 | December 5
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C. BRIAN WILLIAMS, for Step Afrika!
The Migration: Reflections of Jacob Lawrence
2016 | October 20
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DAVID LANG, for Maya Beiser
the day
2016 | October 27
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TOMÁŠ KUBÍNEK, with Orchestra Iowa, University of Iowa Choirs, and Wycliffe Gordon
Pomp, Brass, and Lunacy!
2016 | November 5 • World premiere
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CHRISTOPHER WHEELDON, for the Joffrey Ballet
The Nutcracker
2016 | December 1–4 • Preview performances
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SAMUEL CARL ADAMS, for Emanuel Ax
Impromptus (2016)
Commissioned by the Music Accord consortium, of which Hancher is a member.
RACHEL GRIMES, ANGÉLICA NEGRÓN, SHARA NOVA, CAROLINE SHAW, and SARAH KIRKLAND SNIDER, for A Far Cry and Luciana Souza
The Blue Hour
2017 | November 16
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CAMILLE A. BROWN, for Camille A. Brown & Dancers
ink
2018 | January 27
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CIRQUE ÉLOIZE
Hotel
2018 | October 5
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THIRD COAST PERCUSSION
A video featuring an arrangement of Go Hawks!
2020 | April 27 • Virtual premiere
STEP AFRIKA!
“Stono,” from Drumfolk
2020 | September 9 • Virtual premiere on Facebook and YouTube
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THIRD COAST PERCUSSION
Three videos to promote the Hancher Youth & Family Talent Show
2020 | September 10 & 18; October 1 • Virtual premieres
PAOLA PRESTINI, for Anthony de Mare
“Always,” after Stephen Sondheim’s “I Wish I Could Forget You,” from Passion
STEP AFRIKA!
Drumfolk
2021 | September 11 • World premiere
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SOWETO GOSPEL CHOIR
HOPE: It's Been a Long Time Coming
2022 | October 10
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MICHAEL ABELS and NIKKY FINNEY, for the Kronos Quartet
At War With Ourselves – 400 Years of You
2023 | February 11
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SERPENTWITHFEET
Heart of Brick
2023 | October 5
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GABRIEL KAHANE, for Roomful of Teeth
Elevator Songs
2023 | November 16 • Midwest premiere
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DAVÓNE TINES
Recital No. 2: ROBESOИ
2025 | April 16
JESSIE MONTGOMERY, for Third Coast Percussion
New work for percussion quartet
2025 | April 24