Dust: A Solo Percussion Recital

Dust: A Solo Percussion Recital

Contemporary Music Festival @ Goethe
Percussionist Reed Puleo presents the US premiere of Strange Symmetry, a work by Isaac Blumfield for percussion and electronics, alongside the East Coast premiere of dust by Rebecca Saunders. This concert showcases Puleo’s dedication to contemporary music, featuring groundbreaking compositions that explore unique sonic textures and the innovative use of percussion and electronics.
Reed Puleo is a renowned percussionist who specializes in performing contemporary music, both in solo and collaborative settings. With performances across the US and Europe, he has appeared at prestigious events including the Aspen Music Festival, the Percussive Arts Society International Convention, the Grafenegg Festival, and the Lucerne Festival. Puleo has worked with distinguished composers such as Helmut Lachenmann, Beat Furrer, Rebecca Saunders, Michael Gordon, and Augusta Read Thomas. His collaborations extend to esteemed ensembles like Klangforum Wien and the Nieuw Ensemble.

Puleo holds a Master’s degree from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor’s from the Boston Conservatory at Berklee. He also studied at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam and was a Fulbright Scholar in Graz, Austria, where he worked with Klangforum Wien. He currently resides in Denver, Colorado.
Isaac Roth Blumfield is a composer based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, originally from Saint Paul, Minnesota. His work blends acoustic and electronic instruments, delving into resonance, materiality, and memory. Blumfield’s music embraces the complexity and beauty of life, creating expressions that are often uncanny and enigmatic.
His compositions have been performed by the Schallfeld Ensemble, Ensemble Proton Bern, line upon line percussion trio, and others at prestigious festivals such as Impuls, Klangspuren Schwaz, and the Banff Centre for Creativity. Blumfield is currently developing a new work for Yarn/Wire, slated for premiere in 2025, and has recently worked with the SWR Experimentalstudio in Freiburg. He is pursuing a PhD at Harvard University under the guidance of Chaya Czernowin and Hans Tutschku.

Rebecca Saunders, a British-born composer, is recognized as one of the leading figures in contemporary music. Her compositions are known for exploring the sculptural and spatial aspects of sound, often created in close collaboration with musicians and artists. Saunders has received numerous accolades, including the Ernst von Siemens Music Prize (2019), the Golden Lion for Music at the Venice Biennale (2024), and several British Composer Awards.
Her works are regularly performed by prominent ensembles such as Ensemble Musikfabrik, Klangforum Wien, and Ensemble Modern. In addition to her composition work, Saunders is an esteemed educator, teaching at the Darmstadt Summer Courses and holding memberships in the Berlin Academy of Arts and the Sachsen Academy of Arts in Dresden.

Host or Publisher Reed Puleo/Goethe-Institut