David T. Little To Release 'Haunt Of Last Nightfall' Performed By Third Coast Percussion On February 25th 2014

New Amsterdam Records is pleased to announce that David T. Little will release his new album Haunt of Last Nightfall on February 25, 2014. Performed and commissioned by acclaimed ensemble Third Coast Percussion, the piece looks to a tragic moment in El Salvadoran history, the massacre at El Mozote, El Salvador in December 1981.
 
Third Coast Percussion will perform David T. Little's Haunt of Last Nightfall at their early album release show at Le Poisson Rouge on Wednesday, January 29th, joined by Daniel Wohl and TRANSIT performing Corps Exquis. Immediately following the New York show, Haunt of Last Nightfall will be taken on the road by Third Coast Percussion, including January 31st at Atlas Performing Arts Center in Washington, DC and February 1st at Shenandoah Performing Arts Live in Winchester, VA.
 
The work of American composer David T. Little does not shy away from difficult topics. Whether it's in his operas (a recent commission came from the Metropolitan Opera's MET/LCT new works program) or with his Orwell-inspired ensemble Newspeak, Little uses the juxtaposition of blunt force and subtle textures to explore themes of power, truth, corruption, and desperation. Haunt of Last Nightfall is no different. 
 
Of the piece, Little says, "I think a lot about ghosts...of things that remain behind as the fleeting evidence of what once was. Since reading about El Mozote, I have been unable to get it out of my mind: how this village, innocent by virtually every account, was wiped out.  Caught in the crossfire of a stupid ideological battle, its people now ghosts. What we know shapes us, and whether I like it or not, I now know this."
 
In addition to Third Coast Percussion, the album features instrumental contributions from Eileen Mack (Newspeak, Victoire), Mellissa Hughes (Newspeak, John Zorn), Andrew McKenna Lee (The Knells) and Toby Driver (Kayo Dot, Secret Chiefs 3). David T. Little himself provides snare drum, claps and Ableton Live programming on the record. Andrew McKenna Lee, who has previously worked with Daniel Wohl, William Brittelle and The Knells, mixed Haunt of Last Nightfall.
 
David T. Little's potently dramatic music draws upon his experience as a rock drummer, and fuses classical and popular idioms to powerful effect.  His music has been performed throughout the world by groups such as the Kronos Quartet, London Sinfonietta, Alarm Will Sound, eighth blackbird, So Percussion, Newspeak, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra under Marin Alsop; at the Park Avenue Armory, Peak Performances @ Montclair, Ecstatic Music Festival and the 25th anniversary Bang On A Can Marathon.  The Wall Street Journal called Little's first opera Dog Days, "one of the most exciting new operas of recent years." Written with Royce Vavrek, after the Judy Budnitz short story,  The New York Times raved "it's only a matter of time before this riveting show is confirmed as a groundbreaking American classic," saying that the work "proved beyond any doubt that opera has both a relevant present and a bright future."
 
Recent works include AGENCY for the Kronos Quartet, Haunt of Last Nightfall for Third Coast Percussion, CHARM for the Baltimore Symphony under Marin Alsop, and haunted topography for Alarm Will Sound, under Alan Pierson.  Upcoming projects include a concerto for cellist Maya Beiser, a new opera, JFK (working title), commissioned by the Fort Worth Opera/American Lyric Theater, a new work commissioned by The Metropolitan Opera and Lincoln Center Theater's new works program, and Artaud in the Black Lodge, a work of experimental music-theatre being developed with poet Anne Waldman for Beth Morrison Projects.  From 2010-2012, Little was the Executive Director of the MATA Festival, and is currently the Director of Composition at Shenandoah Conservatory.  He is the founding artistic director of the amplified chamber ensemble, Newspeak.
 
Hailed by The New Yorker as "vibrant" and "superb," Third Coast Percussion explores and expands the extraordinary sonic possibilities of the percussion repertoire, delivering exciting performances for audiences of all kinds. Since its formation in 2005, Third Coast Percussion has gained national attention with concerts and recordings that meld the energy of rock music with the precision and nuance of classical chamber works.
 
These "hard-grooving" musicians (New York Times) have become known for ground-breaking collaborations across a wide range of disciplines, including concerts and residency projects with engineers at the University of Notre Dame, architects at the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture, astronomers at the Adler Planetarium, and more.  In addition to their work with David T. Little, Third Coast has also commissioned and performed world premieres by many of today's leading composers, including Augusta Read Thomas, Timo Andres, Glenn Kotche, Marcos Balter, Ted Hearne, and ensemble members Owen Clayton Condon and David Skidmore.

Third Coast Percussion is the Ensemble-in-Residence at the University of Notre Dame's DeBartolo Performing Arts Center.

MORE INFORMATION:

http://davidtlittle.com