Carnegie Hall

Third Coast Percussion (TCP) is a Grammy Award–winning Chicago-based percussion quartet and Grammy-nominated composer collective. For more than 15 years, the ensemble has created exciting and unexpected performances that constantly redefine the classical music experience. The ensemble has been praised for “commandingly elegant” (The New York Times) performances, the “rare power” (The Washington Post) of its recordings, and “an inspirational sense of fun and curiosity” (Minnesota Star Tribune). TCP maintains a busy tour schedule, with past performances in 39 of the 50 states and Washington, DC, plus international tour dates across four continents.

A direct connection with the audience is at the core of all of TCP’s work, whether the musicians are speaking from the stage about a new piece of music, inviting the audience to play along in a concert or educational performance, or inviting fans around the world to create new music using one of TCP’s free mobile apps. The four members are also accomplished teachers who make active participation by all students the cornerstone of their educational offerings.

The quartet’s curiosity and eclectic taste have led to a series of unlikely collaborations that have produced exciting new art. The ensemble has worked with engineers at the University of Notre Dame, architects at the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, dancers at Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, and musicians from traditions that range from the mbira music of Zimbabwe’s Shona people, to indie rockers and footwork producers, to some of the world’s leading concert musicians. TCP served as ensemble-in-residence at the University of Notre Dame’s DeBartolo Performing Arts Center from 2013–2018, and currently serves as ensemble-in-residence at Denison University.

A commission for a new work by Augusta Read Thomas in 2012 led to the realization that commissioning new musical works can be—and should be—as collaborative as any other artistic partnership. Through extensive workshopping and close contact with composers, TCP has commissioned and premiered new works by Philip Glass, Missy Mazzoli, Danny Elfman, Gemma Peacocke, Flutronix, Jlin, Tyondai Braxton, Augusta Read Thomas, Dev Hynes, Georg Friedrich Haas, Donnacha Dennehy, Glenn Kotche, Christopher Cerrone, David T. Little, and today’s leading up-and-coming composers through TCP’s Currents Creative Partnership program.

TCP’s recordings include 14 feature albums and appearances on 14 additional releases. The quartet has put its stamp on iconic percussion works by John Cage and Steve Reich, and has also created recordings of commissioned works. In 2017, TCP won the Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music / Small Ensemble Performance for its recording of Reich’s works for percussion. The quartet has since received four additional Grammy nominations as performers, and in 2021 received its first nomination for composition.

The four members of TCP met while studying percussion music at Northwestern University with Michael Burritt and James Ross. They also hold degrees from the Eastman School of Music, Rutgers University, New England Conservatory, and Yale School of Music.

Movement Art Is (MAI), co-founded by Jon Boogz and Lil Buck, is an organization that uses movement artistry to inspire and change the world while elevating the artistic, educational, and social impact of dance. Through movement art films, workshops, performances, and exhibitions, MAI is resetting the spectrum of what dance can be.

MAI’s award-winning short film Color of Reality was directed by Boogz, and features the art of Alexa Meade. The film has gone on to receive international acclaim, winning Great Big Story’s Art as Impact Award, Best Experimental Short at the Toronto Shorts International Film Festival, and Concept Video of the Year from World of Dance. Other projects include a short film created in collaboration with DAIS entitled Am I a Man, a performance at a TED Conference called Honor Thy Mother, a live rendition of Color of Reality at Aspen Ideas Festival, and a virtual reality collaboration with director Terrence Malick and Facebook launched at South by Southwest and the Tribeca Film Festival.

The duo recently choreographed for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago with music composed by Dev Hynes (aka Blood Orange) performed by Third Coast Percussion, and is currently touring a new full-length show Love Heals All Wounds.

Jon Boogz is a movement artist, choreographer, and director who seeks to push the evolution of what dance can be, sharing with audiences of all backgrounds an appreciation of the melding of art forms while inspiring and bringing awareness to social issues. Originally motivated to dance by the work of Michael Jackson, Boogz has choreographed for notable icons, including Mikhail Baryshnikov, Naomi Campbell, Gloria Estefan, and Pharrell Williams; he has also served as a creative consultant for international brands. Boogz’s collaborators include Tribeca Film Festival, Benjamin Millepied, and Flying Lotus. His choreography has been seen on FOX’s So You Think You Can Dance and in Cirque du Soleil’s Michael Jackson ONE. He was also featured at the Geffen Playhouse with his dance company Control Freakz and spoken-word artist Robin Sanders to honor Morgan Freeman and Jeff Skoll. His forthcoming projects seek to merge movement with fine art, film, technology, and the stage.

International phenomenon Lil Buck (Charles Riley) began jookin’—a street dance that originated in Memphis—at age 13 alongside mentors Marico Flake and Daniel Price. After receiving early hip-hop training from Teran Garry and ballet training on scholarship at the New Ballet Ensemble, he performed and choreographed before relocating to Los Angeles in 2009.Named one of Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch,” his collaboration with Spike Jonze and Yo-Yo Ma performing The Swan went viral in 2011. Since then, he has collaborated with a broad spectrum of artists, including JR, Damian Woetzel, the New York City Ballet, Madonna, Benjamin Millepied, and Spike Lee. Buck is an avid arts education advocate, recipient of the WSJ. Magazine Innovator Award, and a frequent collaborator with global brands. 

Cameron Murphy is a movement artist, actor, and former Junior Olympian (bronze medalist). He has infused various styles of street dance, body contortion, and acting techniques into his performances, spending his initial years training as a self-taught dancer in the heart of Las Vegas. Street performing helped prepare him to eventually take on larger roles, such as the lead character of Cirque du Soleil’s Michael Jackson ONE and a featured dancer for Aerosmith’s Deuces Are Wild residency.