The Department of Music at Gustavus is delighted to bring the Minnesota Percussion Trio to the campus to premiere a new work by Gustavus composer Katherine Johns Bergman ’07 on Sunday, October 16. This new work, The Land of Cloud-Tinted Water, will be presented by the trio at 1:30 p.m. in Jussi Björling Hall. Admission to the event is $5 and tickets are not available in advance. They will be on sale at the door beginning at 12:30 on Sunday afternoon. Admission is free for Gustavus students with their student IDs.
Katherine Johns Bergman is a 2007 graduate of Gustavus with a major in music. She describes her newest work, The Land of Cloud-Tinted Water, as an exploration “of the beauty and diversity of Minnesota’s wilderness.” The composition is written in five movements which are each titled as a wilderness area, “Voyagers,” “Superior,” “Solana,” “Blue Mounds,” and “Itasca.”
Katherine Johns Bergman is a Minnesota-based composer who draws on literature, environmentalism, and found materials to create music what has been described as hypnotic and visceral. She holds a master’s from the University of Northern Iowa School of Music, a bachelor’s degree from Gustavus, and has received commissions and performances from leading ensembles and festivals throughout the country, including The Dream Songs Project, RenegadeEnsemble, The Antithesis Project, The Fourth Wall, and the Nautilus Music-Theater. Recent projects include new works for the Gustavus Wind Ensemble (2016, Dream Machine), Spitting Image Collective, Nexxus Duo, violist Michael Hall, and the Minnesota Percussion Trio. Earlier this year, the Minnesota State Arts Board recognized her achievements by designating her a 2016 recipient of an Artist Initiative grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board made possible by the voters of Minnesota and a grant from the National Endowment for the Art.
In addition to the Bergman premiere, the Minnesota Percussion Trio will perform the Carnival of the Invasive Species, written by Sarah Miller in 2015. This six-movement piece was commissioned by the MacPhail Center for Music and features movements highlighting invasive species such as Eurasion Milfoil, the Spiny Water Flea, Asian Carp and the Emerald Ash Borer. For the final movement, titled “Pioneers” and featuring the words of Walt Whitman, the composer wrote, “No matter how much damage the previous invasive species have wrought, no species had reworked out landscape as thoroughly as the European settlers and home-steaders. These were my grandparents and great-grandparents, and like Walt Whitman, I have always thought of them as heroes. But in creating this project, I have come to view many things differently, and can see what came before.”
Since its founding in 1987, the Minnesota Percussion Trio has had over 1000 performances in schools, libraries, museums and community fine arts series. The trio has consistently earned the highest marks from the professional educators’ evaluations for innovative programming and successful audience rapport. In 2006 the trio was awarded the Zildjian Family Opportunity Grant and performed for over 2000 students in schools located in Saint Paul and Minneapolis. The trio has also collaborated with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra on their Start the Music series as well as their Xplorchestra music concerts and CONNECT programs. Additionally, the trio was artists in residence at the Minnesota State Academy of the Blind, located in Faribault. In May 2010, the trio was awarded the Jim Dusso Award given by COMPASS acknowledging their excellence and longevity in the Twin Cities Arts scene. The trio members are Bob Adney, Erik Barsness and Paul Hill.
Sunday’s concert by the Minnesota Percussion Trio premiering Katherine Johns Bergman’s new work, The Land of Cloud-Tinted Water, will begin at 1:30 p.m., October 16, in Jussi Björling Hall. Admission to the event is $5 and tickets are not available in advance. They will be on sale at the door beginning at 12:30 on Sunday afternoon. Admission is free for Gustavus students with their student IDs.
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