Led by Colin Currie ("the world’s finest and most daring percussionist", Spectator), the hand-picked ensemble was formed in 2006 for a performance of Drumming at the BBC Proms to celebrate the 70th birthday of Steve Reich. In the subsequent decade, the Colin Currie Group have performed Drumming around the world. They have expanded their repertoire to include many of Reich’s most popular works, including Music for 18 Musicians, Sextet, Tehillim and Music for Pieces of Wood and are privileged to have frequently had the composer present when rehearsing and performing these works. 

A major recent highlight was the world premiere performances of a new work written for the Group by Steve Reich, Traveler’s Prayer, which they toured in October and November 2021 to The Concertgebouw, Royal Festival Hall, The Elbphilharmonie and Philharmonie de Paris, with subsequent co-commissioned premieres to follow at Tokyo Opera City, Carnegie Hall and CAL Performances. The Group have previously premiered Steve Reich’s Quartet in 2014 (for two pianos and two vibraphones), dedicated by Reich to Colin Currie. Since the premiere of Quartet at London’s Southbank Centre, the group have given multiple performances of this work, including across the UK, Europe, Asia and America.

The Colin Currie Group performs regularly at London’s Southbank Centre and have appeared in concert at major halls and festivals worldwide at Shanghai MISA Festival, Esplanade Concert Hall, Singapore, Paris Cité de la Musique, Fondation Louis Vuitton, Cologne Philharmonie, Rotterdam De Doelen, Helsinki Festival, Macau Festival, Saffron Hall, the Barbican Centre and made their concertante debut at the 2019 Edinburgh International Festival performing Gubaidulina Glorious Percussion under the baton of Thomas Dausgaard with BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.

Recent recording highlights include the release on Colin Currie Records of their second album of selected works by Steve Reich, taken from a residency at Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris in December 2017. The disc includes works such as Pulse, Proverb and Clapping Music performed by Colin Currie and Steve Reich. The recording received outstanding reviews and was selected for Best New Classical Albums by Gramophone, following on from their highly successful debut release Drumming in 2018, and their release of Quartet on Nonesuch in 2019.

2021/22 season, 392 words. Not to be altered without permission.