An Unlikely Combination: Percussion and Organ Duet

Dave Hall, UNL's Assistant Professor of Percussion and Jazz Studies, gave his percussion recital on Saturday evening. As usual with percussion recitals, the variety of sounds, styles, and instruments was fascinating and colorful. No one can fail to be impressed by the talent that goes into playing all the different kinds of percussive instruments.

The oldest piece of music on the program was composed in 2009, a composition by the performer, and the newest was written as recently as 2016. One delightful piece had the title "Azucar," or "sugar," and had a sweet and delicious sound as one would expect!

The highlight of the evening was, beyond a doubt, the grand finale which was a work composed by Kurt Knecht for Dave Hall and Christopher Marks, UNL's professor of organ. Featuring different percussion instruments for each movement, the work is a masterpiece of blending two instruments that one would not normally imagine working together--rhythms and harmonies highlighted one instrument or the other as they played both rousingly at times or peacefully. You can enjoy the performance (given earlier at Marks' recital) in the video below: