Rupa-khandha Los Angeles Percussion Quartet

• 1 I. Processional 03:55
• 2 II. Circle Dance 02:52
• 3 III. Sparrow Dance 02:21
• 4 IV. Parasol Dance 06:16
• 5 V. Sword Dance 05:02
• 6 Rupa-khandha 15:38
• 7 I. Volume 04:36
• 8 II. Gouache 03:23
• 9 III. Impasto 02:49
• 10 IV. Monochrome 02:34
• 11 Occasus 11:40
• Total Runtime 01:01:06

Info for Rupa-khandha

Sono Luminus is proud to release this first major studio release by the Los Angeles Percussion Quartet, Rūpa-khandha, as it promises a fantastic listening experience. As one of the new percussion recordings produced in surround sound, the listener is placed among a sonic landscape of sublime, visceral, and exotic percussion instruments, with the full force of the quartet’s technique and artistry applied in interpreting four evocative, award-winning, and never before recorded works. Considering the combination of hundreds of individual instrumental colors and the LAPQ’s formidable talent, Rūpa-khandha promises to be among the most sophisticated and aurally stunning recordings of percussion chamber music.

Los Angeles Percussion Quartet are:
Matthew Cook, drums & percussion
Justin DeHart, drums & percussion
Eric Guinivan, drums & percussion
Nick Terry, drums & percussion

Rūpa-khandha Nominated for 55th Annual GRAMMY® Awards
Best Surround Sound Album, Producer of the Year (Classical) & Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance

Los Angeles Percussion Quartet
The Grammy-nominated Los Angeles Percussion Quartet is an innovative and dynamic chamber music ensemble, whose performances of 20th and 21st century music is acknowledged for “championing composers of thought provoking and uncompromisingly intelligent music”. (Percussive Notes) Newly commissioned works by the quartet have garnered numerous awards from the FROMM Foundation, Theodor Presser Foundation, ASCAP, and BMI. In 2012, the LAPQ’s seminal album, Rūpa-khandha, was released by record label Sono Luminus, breaking new ground as the first 7.1 surround-sound high-fidelity recording of percussion chamber music. The quartet’s work on Rūpa-khandha “presents the entire color-spectrum of global percussion instruments intelligently and with great competency” (Neue Musikzeitung), and subsequently earned multiple nominations for the 55th Grammy® Awards, including the prestigious category of Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance.

In the LAPQ’s five-year history, their performances have delighted audiences throughout concert halls, museums, warehouses, and living room salons, with appearances in many of California’s most distinguished concert series, including Monday Evening Concerts, Music and Conversations, People Inside Electronics, Morrison Artists, Fullerton Friends of Music, April in Santa Cruz, and the L.A. Composers Project. The LAPQ has presented workshops and masterclasses to students at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, University of Southern California, California Institute of the Arts, CSU Sacramento/Bakersfield/East Bay, and Occidental College, among others.

Each member of the LAPQ is an active performer and educator in Southern California, and have trained at leading music conservatories, including the University of California – San Diego, Oberlin Conservatory, the Thornton School of Music (USC), and the Herb Alpert School of Music (CalArts).

Matt Cook
performs in a variety of projects from classical art music to Middle Eastern, Jazz and popular music ensembles. He has recently performed with the Robin Cox Ensemble, California E.A.R. Unit, Sonic Generator, Ensemble Green, PARTCH Ensemble, the Cabaza de Vaca Arcestra, Loud Objects, Tehachapi Symphony Orchestra and the United Musicians Symphony Orchestra of Los Angeles. He has worked closely composers Roger Reynolds, Sofia Gubaidulina, Philppe Manoury, Olga Neuwirth, Tristan Perich, David Johnson, and Lewis Nelson. As a drummer and world percussionist, Matt has performed with singers Claudia Vasquez, Coco York, Anthony Starble, Joanna Lemle, indie-pop band Artichoke Heart Souffle, and various musical theater companies in Los Angeles.

Dr. Justin DeHart
is an avid performer and dedicated teacher of a wide variety of musical styles - from classical to pop, and from world to electronic. DeHart’s musical resume includes performances with the San Diego symphony, pipa master Wu Man, and various pop legends, including Cheap Trick. As a California native, he holds a B.M. from CSU Sacramento, a M.F.A. from California Institute of the Arts, and a D.M.A. from UC San Diego. DeHart was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship for percussion studies in India (2001) and his talents have been featured at concerts and festivals throughout the United States, Canada and Asia. He will release his debut solo CD entitled Strange Paths on Innova Recordings on February 26th, 2013, featuring works by Brian Ferneyhough, Iannis Xenakis, Michael Gordon and Stuart Saunders Smith. Dr. DeHart currently teaches percussion and improvisation classes at Chapman University Conservatory of Music.

Nick Terry
has performed throughout the United States, Asia, and Europe, he has worked closely with such musical luminaries as Pierre Boulez, Peter Eötvös, Chinary Ung, Steven Schick & red fish blue fish, Fritz Hauser, Eighth Blackbird, the California E.A.R. Unit, and the Los Angeles Master Chorale. He is an active performer in many of Los Angeles’ most acclaimed music series, and his discography includes releases on Albany, Innova, New World, Capstone, and <541> Records. Terry is the Director of Percussion Studies in the Conservatory of Music at Chapman University’s College of Performing Arts, where he additionally lectures in non-Western musical traditions and improvisation. He is a proud Artist Endorser for Sabian Cymbals.

Booklet for Rupa-khandha