Today’s video premiere features Land’s End Ensemble and percussionist Ben Reimer performing “Twister” by composer Vincent Ho from their upcoming album Kickin’ It 2.0.
The second album from the Calgary-based ensemble (John Lowry, violin; Beth Root Sandvoss, cello; Susanne Ruberg-Gordon, piano; Vincent Ho, Artistic Director), Kickin’ It 2.0 is dedicated to new works by contemporary Canadian composers Vincent Ho, Omar Daniel, Analia Llugdar, and Derek Charke.
Here’s what Vincent had to say about “Twister:”
“Twister” is the first movement to my 4-movement piece Kickin’ It 2.0 written for piano trio and drum kit (premiered by Dame Evelyn Glennie and Land’s End Ensemble), based from the original piano/drum kit duo version Kickin’ It (written for Vicky Chow and Ben Reimer). This movement represents a confluence of three streams that I have been developing for several years: my pianistic, percussion, and string language. For each player, I wrote a series of virtuosic “finger twisters” or “arm twisters” while featuring them on equal levels of importance as they maintain a constant kinetic dialogue. Special thanks to the music video director Emil Agopian for his film noir inspired interpretation of my piece.
Kickin’ It 2.0 is out on Centrediscs on October 25th, but you can pre-order the album here.
About Land’s End Ensemble
Juno-nominated Land’s End Ensemble of Calgary (John Lowry, violin; Beth Root Sandvoss, cello; Susanne Ruberg-Gordon, piano; Vincent Ho, Artistic Director) is a group dedicated to introducing audiences to new music by Canadian and International composers, and to performing landmark chamber works of the 20th and 21st centuries. For over 20 years, they have presented countless works by living composers with an extraordinary array of guest artists, including Hans Graf, James Campbell, Joel Sachs, Barry Shiffman, Aiyun Huang, François Houle, Dame Evelyn Glennie, and many others. Together they have premiered and commissioned many works, presented cabarets, theatrical shows, and special events.
About Ben Reimer
Montreal-based percussionist Ben Reimer has been called a “genre-bending wiz” (Push Festival) establishing himself as a leading figure in contemporary drumset performance. He has spent the past fifteen years exploring a new role for drumset in the context of through-composed music. Ben’s album Katana of Choice: Music for Drumset Soloist is described as “an exhilarating musical ride” (Wholenote) and “a modern classic” (I Care If You Listen). Reimer holds a Doctor of Music and teaches percussion at the Schulich School of Music, McGill University. He is a member of Architek Percussion Quartet (Montreal) and Park Sounds duo (with violist Jennifer Thiessen) and is a Sabian Cymbals, Yamaha Canada and Vic Firth artist.
About Vincent Ho
Vincent Ho (b. 1975) is a composer of orchestral, chamber, vocal, and theatre music. His works have been described as “brilliant and compelling” by The New York Times and hailed for their profound expressiveness and textural beauty, leaving audiences talking about them with great enthusiasm. His many awards have included Harvard University’s Fromm Music Commission, The Canada Council for the Arts Robert Fleming Prize, ASCAP’s Morton Gould Young Composer Award, four SOCAN Young Composers Awards, and CBC Radio’s Audience Choice Award (2009 Young Composers Competition). He was also nominated for two Juno Awards for “Best Classical Composition of the Year” (2018 and 2019).
During the period of 2007-2014, Dr. Ho has served as the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra’s composer-in-residence and had presented a number of large-scale works that have generated much excitement and critical praise. He is currently the Artistic Director of Land’s End Ensemble and the New Music Advisor to the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra.