The Southern Oregon University Percussion Ensemble, directed by Dr. Terry Longshore, will present “Toy Story,” an exciting evening of percussion music celebrating the spirit of play on Thursday, March 5, 2026, at 7:30 PM in the SOU Music Recital Hall. “Toy Story” will feature a playful blend of percussion ensemble music, including circus music, ragtime, hand drumming, and new premiere titled “Sophie Song,” a four-part work commissioned by the SOU Percussion Ensemble and composed by SOU alum Dean Kyle (BS 2024).
Repertoire will include:
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
Honor Memories, a piece co-composed by Terry Longshore and the 25 students in his SOU Honors College “Making Music” course
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.”
“This concert is guaranteed to be fun for all ages – who can’t love circus music, ragtime music, and games played on stage?!”—Terry Longshore
The SOU Percussion Ensemble will travel in April to the annual Northwest Percussion Festival, held this year at Central Washington University in Ellensburg. They will present “Toy Story” at their concert there on April 12. Terry Longshore and SOU hosted the festival last year.
The SOU Percussion Ensemble will also be joined by Terry Longshore’s SOU Honors College “Making Music” course students, who will perform their group composition, Honor Memories, which was premiered at ScienceWorks in February. In this inspiring project, Terry Longshore and the 25 students of his “Making Music” course in the SOU Honors College have designed and composed a multi-media, multi-instrumental performance titled “Honor Memories,” and invoking the SOU Honors College’s 5 values: Curiosity, Community, Critical Thinking, Creativity and Innovation, and Civic Engagement/Citizenship.
Originally utilizing the entire space of ScienceWorks in the premiere performance, this version has been adapted for suitability of the SOU Music Recital Hall.
Event Details:
Date: Thursday, March 5, 2026
Time: 7:30 PM
Location: SOU Music Recital Hall, 1250 Siskiyou Blvd, Ashland, OR
Tickets: free admission, no tickets required
For more information, please visit oca.sou.edu/events/ or contact the SOU Box Office at (541) 552-6348.