I am thrilled to be performing Adam Schoenberg’s fabulous 2019 percussion concerto, Losing Earth, with the Rogue Valley Symphony! When I was approached by RVS about performing the piece, I didn’t know it, and when I listened to it I instantly fell in love. The music is moving – dark, haunting, exciting – and also beautiful.
Adam writes,
“On August 1, 2018, The New York Times Magazine published Losing Earth: The Decade We Almost Stopped Climate Change. After reading this haunting article, I could feel myself becoming fearful of our future. Of what was to come. We’ve been aware of global warming for quite some time, but I was suddenly beginning to wonder how this would ultimately affect my children. Would they survive? Would the earth survive?
When I was first commissioned by the San Francisco Symphony to write this piece, I began to think about the history of percussion and how it can be traced back to the beginning of time. It is the most earthy and grounded of instruments, and in many cultures is considered to be the heartbeat of music. With the ability to make rhythm, keep time, and create melody, drums were a way for our ancestors to communicate love and joy, danger and survival. They have also traditionally been at the center of oral history, with percussionists being the storytellers. Second only to the human voice, this instrument has watched the earth endure all of its phases, including the devastation that is now beginning to emerge because of global warming. Losing Earth pays homage to this history.”
The instruments Adam chose to tell the story trace my own history with percussion in many ways: rudimental snare drum, cajón, vibraphone, a “Frankenstein drum set”…when I heard the piece and saw the score I knew this was the piece I had been looking for!
Even more special is getting to perform this incredible music with my friends and colleagues in the Rogue Valley Symphony – I am honored to share the stage with you all!
Concert and ticket info:
II: Vienna Woods
Concert Sponsored By: Paul & Rebecca Smith
Terry Longshore Sponsored By: Ingrid LeBlanc
Wagner
Overture to The Flying Dutchman
Schoenberg
Losing Earth
Terry Longshore, percussion
Brahms
Symphony No. 2
Saturday, November 1, 2025 • 3:00pm • Ashland (SOU)
Sunday, November 2, 2025 • 3:00pm • Medford (Craterian)