Uncharted: Excelsis Percussion

Greenwich House Music School is pleased to present Excelsis Percussion as part of its 11th annual Uncharted Concert Series, part of the Baisley Powell Elebash Artists in Residence Program.

Excelsis Percussion—comprising Mariana Ramirez, Britton René-Collins, Aya Kaminaguchi, and Marcelina Suchocka—is a quartet of classically trained percussionists hailing from diverse backgrounds. They come from different parts of the world, speak various languages (English, Spanish, Japanese, Polish), and work across a wide range of spaces, from orchestral settings to experimental theater. Despite their differences, they come together to create a unified voice, collaborating to understand how their individual expressions can fit into a collective whole. Even when words fall short, they communicate through gesture, rhythm, and musical ideas, with rhythm itself serving as their universal language.

For Uncharted, Excelsis Percussion will present their environmental justice project, Rooted in Rhythm, an immersive 360-degree concert experience that places the performers directly within the audience. For this performance, they will experiment with electronics and found objects, to merge works by contemporary composers with the sounds of nature—chirping birds, croaking frogs, and dripping rain. Each performance is shaped by its unique setting, ensuring that no two experiences are alike. Attendees can expect to be enveloped in the act, drawn into a dynamic dialogue between sound, space, and environment.

Uncharted, now in its eleventh year, has been an invaluable resource for New York-based musicians to develop original material, foster new collaborations, and premiere first-look projects in an intimate concert setting.

Host or Publisher Greenwich House Music School