Axe ’Em, Jacks!
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The Omojo Percussion Duo will perform a guest recital at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 5, in Cole Concert Hall on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University as part of the SFA School of Music’s Calliope Concert Series.
Oliver Molina and Joe W. Moore III will perform duo works by living composers. Their goal is to highlight living composers that are composing exciting and interesting works for the percussion duo idiom.
Moore’s four-movement “Secrets We Keep” was inspired by “the secret truths we all have but don’t always share,” the composer said. Each movement is individually titled: Whispering – speaking under your breath; Concealing – hidden agenda; Withholding – half-truths; Revealing – coming to light.
“Ultimately, my goal was to write an intimate work of art that both the performers and the audience would enjoy on stage and in their seats, respectively,” Moore said.
Also featured is Ivan Trevino’s “Hold Fast,” a vibraphone and drum set duo commissioned by a consortium of 28 percussionists and colleges across the U.S.
“The piece is groove-heavy and technically very challenging,” Trevino said, “requiring each player to hold steady and be a foundation for the other.”
Moore is assistant professor of percussion at the University of Texas Rio Grand Valley. Prior, he was director of percussion studies at the University of Texas Brownsville. He has performed with the Rio Bravo Percussion Ensemble during their showcase performance at the 2015 Texas Music Educators Association Convention. He has performed in Ukemerge and Kaunas, Lithuania, as a soloist with the UCF Percussion Ensemble during the Ukemerge Annual Percussion Festival. Moore has also held performing positions at Walt Disney World, as a sub-list member of the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra, and as a member of the Rhythm-N-Blue Drum Line for the Orlando Magic NBA team.
Molina is an assistant professor of music and assistant director of bands at Northwestern State University of Louisiana. He is a doctoral candidate in percussion performance and pedagogy at the University of Iowa. Molina has worked with and arranged for many band programs throughout the United States. He has performed with the Boston Crusaders Drum and Bugle Corps and the Southwind Drum and Bugle Corps, and has worked with the front ensembles for the Colts Drum and Bugle Corps from Dubuque, Iowa, and the Magic Drum and Bugle Corps from Orlando, Florida. Before teaching at NSU, Molina was the associate band director at University High School in Orlando.
Tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and $3 for students and youth. For tickets or more information, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or visit www.finearts.sfasu.edu.