The Southern Oregon University Percussion Ensembles will perform at the 2026 Northwest Percussion Festival from April 10-12 at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, WA.

The overarching theme of the 25–26 season is “playtime,” and this concert will feature toys in many ways.

Featured repertoire:

The Traveling Carnival: III. “Rides, Games and Trickery” by Joe Porter, featuring Nolan Pierson, vibraphone soloist

Wart Hog #3 by Austin Wrinkle, for hand drum quartet

Girlfriends Medley, by Bob Becker, featuring Clara Kidd, xylophone soloist

Insomnia, by Cody Holmes, a marimba duet featuring Clara Kidd and Nolan Pierson

Sophie Song by Dean Kyle, featuring the entire ensemble and toy piano soloist and SOU alum (MM 2024) Sophie Chin, and cajón/glockenspiel soloist, Terry Longshore

Dean Kyle writes of his new work, “This piece seeks to revel in togetherness of all kinds. It coordinates grooves, games, movement, narrative, and interconnectivity to tell a living story of community. A particular multidimensional togetherness is the very fabric of a percussive collective, which reaches far beyond ordinary bandhood. It is a symbiosis of art and living; to understand the world as a musical playground and to share it.”