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Colin Currie

Percussion, Conductor
Artistic Director: Colin Currie Group Visiting Professor of Modern Ensembles: Royal Academy of Music, London

  • Hailed as being “at the summit of percussion performance today” (Gramophone), Colin Currie is a solo and chamber artist who champions new music at the highest level. Currie is the soloist of choice for many of today’s foremost composers and conductors, and has appeared with leading orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Philharmonia Orchestra and London Philharmonic Orchestra.

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  • A dynamic and adventurous soloist, Currie’s commitment to commissioning and creating new music was recognised by the Royal Philharmonic Society in 2015, when he was presented with the Instrumentalist Award. Currie has premiered works by composers such as Steve Reich, Louis Andriessen, HK Gruber, Sir James MacMillan, Mark Anthony Turnage, Jennifer Higdon, Guillaume Connesson, Brett Dean, Einojuhani Rautavaara, Helen Grime, Kalevi Aho, Julia Wolfe, Andy Akiho, Andrew Norman, Sir Harrison Birtwistle, Elliott Carter, Bruno Mantovani, Gavin Higgins, Nicole Lizée, Danny Elfman, Bryce Dessner, Olga Neuwirth and most recently Vasa, a solo work by Dani Howard.


    Highlights of the 2025/26 season include a major European tour with Scottish Chamber Orchestra conducted by Maxim Emylanychev, followed by season opening concerts in Scotland, performing James MacMillan’s Veni Veni Emmanuel – a work Currie has performed more than 130 times during the course of his career. Elsewhere, concerto appearances include the world premiere of a new Double Concerto for violin and percussion with Tamsin Waley-Cohen and United Strings of Europe; Kalevi Aho’s Sieidi with Orquestra Sinfónica do Porto; Louis Andriessen’s Tapdance and Julia Wolfe’s Body Language with Belgian National Orchestra; the German premiere of Andy Akiho’s Percussion Concerto with Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie; Nicole Lizée’s Blurr is the Colour of My true Love’s Eyes with Vancouver Symphony Orchestra; and Danny Elfmann’s Percussion Concerto with Buffalo Philharmonic and Oregon Symphony Orchestras, respectively.


    Currie begins the 2025/26 season in a new collaboration with The King’s Singers built around Steve Martland’s Street Songs alongside premieres of new works by James MacMillan, Missy Mazzoli and Roderick Williams. The tour begins at the Edinburgh International Festival before further performances at Kings Place London, San Diego Symphony and Muziekgebouw Amsterdam.


    Colin Currie Quartet continue their trailblazing exploration of the percussion quartet repertoire and their ongoing commitment to commissioning new music by the next generation of composers. Recent premieres performed by the Quartet include works by Anna Meredith, Freya Waley-Cohen, Ben Nobuto and Aileen Sweeney. In the 25/26 season, the Quartet will give the world premiere of a new work by Joe Duddell at King’s Place, as well as performing at Two Moors Festival, ConcertLab Utrecht, Barber Institute Birmingham, West Road Concert Hall Cambridge and Concentus Morivae Festival. Currie performance a variety of chamber and solo programmes this season including at Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival and with Sheffield Music in The Round.


    Currie’s conducting career launched with the Colin Currie Group in performances of music by Steve Reich, and quickly grew into programmes exploring American minimalism and contemporary British composers. He has conducted the London Symphony Orchestra, Hallé Orchestra, Asko/Schoenberg Ensemble, Britten Sinfonia, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Lapland Chamber Orchestra, Grafenegg Academy and São Paulo Symphony Music Academy, among others. The 25/26 season will see him make his conducting debut with the BBC Philharmonic in a programme featuring two works by Steve Reich, a return project with Scottish Chamber Orchestra and play/direct programme with the Belgian National Orchestra.


    The Colin Currie Group was formed by Currie in 2006 to celebrate the music of Steve Reich, making its five-star debut at the BBC Proms. Since then, with Reich’s personal endorsement, Currie and his virtuosic ensemble have performed at many venues and festivals internationally. In 2021 they premiered a substantial new work by Reich, Traveler’s Prayer, which was commissioned by the Zaterdag Matinee at the Concertgebouw, Royal Festival Hall, Elbphilharmonie, Philharmonie de Paris, Carnegie Hall, CAL Performances and Tokyo Opera City. This season, the Group will release The Sextets, a major new album of works by Steve Reich; they perform Drumming in Madrid and debut a new programme celebrating the music of Steve Martland at King’s Place.


    In 2017, Currie partnered with LSO Live to launch Colin Currie Records, a platform for recording his diverse projects. He has since released three Colin Currie Group discs including Reich’s Drumming (commended as “thunderously exciting”, The Times), a duo disc with Håkan Hardenberger, and an album of HK Gruber’s Percussion Concertos with the BBC Philharmonic, Juanjo Mena and John Storgårds. The most recent release, Music for 18 Musicians, was recorded at Abbey Road Studios and has received widespread critical acclaim, lauded as “a sublime and reflective recording” (Gramophone, Editor’s Choice July 2023). 


     

    https://www.colincurrie.com/

    Colin Currie plays Zildjan cymbals and is a MarimbaOne Artist.

    2025-26 season / 774 words. Not to be altered without permission.

Performances

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Concerto repertoire

For symphony orchestra or chamber orchestra


Kalevi Aho
Sieidi


Andy Akiho
Percussion Concerto 


John Corigliano
Conjurer


Joe Duddell
Ruby


Tan Dun
Concerto for Water Percussion


Danny Elfman
Percussion Concerto 


Peter Eötvös
Speaking Drums


Helen Grime
Percussion Concerto 


HK Gruber
Into the open... 
Rough Music


Jennifer Higdon
Percussion Concerto


Simon Holt
a table of noises


Robert Honstein
Juvenalia 


Nicole Lizee
Blurr is the Colour of My True Love's Eyes (premiere 2022)


Tania León
New concerto (premiere 2025)


Steven Mackey
Time Release


James MacMillan
Veni, Veni Emmanuel 
Percussion Concerto No. 2  


Bruno Mantovani
Allegro barbaro 


Dave Maric
Towards Future's Embrace

Olga Neuwirth
Trurliade-Zone Zero


Andrew Norman
Switch 


Einojuhani Rautavaara
Incantations


Joey Roukens
Percussion Concerto


Christopher Rouse
Der gerettete Alberich


Mark-Anthony Turnage
Martland Memorial 


Julia Wolfe
Body Language


Iannis Xenakis
Aïs (baritone, percussion and orchestra)


For mixed ensemble or string ensemble


Louis Andriessen
Tapdance


Luke Bedford
Staggered Nocturne (premiere 2022)


Elliott Carter
Two Controversies and a Conversation


Joe Duddell
Snowblind 


Philippe Hurel
Quatre Variations (vibraphone and ensemble)


Dave Maric
Lifetimes 


Kurt Schwertsik
Now you hear me, now you don't (string orchestra)

Colin Currie Conducts

Colin Currie conducting engagements Spring 2025


24th January 2025
Royal Academy of Music Manson Ensemble: Martland, Andriessen, Reich, Tippett


14 & 15 February 2025
Hallé Orchestra & RNCM: Philip Glass
Hallé Orchestra: Philip Glass


23 March 2025
Brighton Philharmonic: Steve Reich


3,5,8,11 April 2025
Asko/Schoenberg Ensemble: Steve Reich


18 May 2025
OSESP Academy Orchestra: Meredith, MacMillan, Andriessen, Grime

Colin Currie Quartet

The Colin Currie Quartet is a virtuosic percussion quartet led by Colin Currie, and performance highlights include concerts at the BBC Proms, Wigmore Hall, Kings Place, Paris Présences Festival, NCPA Beijing, Toolbox Festival Hong Kong and Nagakute Cultural Center.  


Programme 1
Andy Akiho Pillar I
Aileen Sweeney Starburst
Ben Nobuto percussion quartet
Interval
Steve Reich Mallet Quartet
Anna Meredith Dodgem Studies 


Programme 2 
John Luther Adams Qilyuan
Rolf Wallin Twine
David Lang So Called Laws of Nature Part 2
Interval
Steve Reich Drumming Part 1
Connor Shafran Continental Divide
Julia Wolfe Dark Full Ride


Programme 3: Steve Reich 90th birthday celebration 2026
Steve Reich Clapping Music
Steve Reich Nagoya Marimbas
Aileen Sweeney Starburst
Steve Reich Mallet Quartet
Interval
Steve Reich Drumming Part 1
Julia Wolfe Dark Full Ride


FILM GALLERY


Colin Currie Quartet perform Pillar IV by Andy Akiho
Colin Currie Quartet perform Reich Mallet Quartet
Colin Currie Quartet perform extract from Julia Wolfe Dark Full Ride
Colin Currie Quartet perform Steve Reich Drumming Part 1


REVIEWS


“The Colin Currie Quartet made Kings Place resound with radical rhythms and technical precision…  This was rhythm as pure excitement, and it concluded a concert that richly explored the nature of music and rhythm.” Financial Times, January 2023


“A sonic display of startling magnificence. The centrepiece was Drumming, tuned bongos impeccably synchronised, slipping and looping in and out of phase...  Julia Wolfe’s Dark Full Ride, crackling, eruptive, dangerous, made a noisy and spectacular finale.” Observer, January 2023


"I have described Currie and his friends as daredevils and super-heroes, for their bravura performances of Xenakis." Bachtrack


"In John Luther Adams’ Qilyaun, the performers stood at all four corners of the auditorium balcony, sending out waves of unruly noise through rolling crescendos and decrescendos... at times it felt as if we were caught in a storm swirling round a vast open landscape, while at others a more synchronised regular beat filled the room with a sense of ritual." Arts Desk


"the performance was scintillating for its dextrous precision and intoxicating interaction... the Reich-like adrenalin rush of Julia Wolfe’s Dark Full Ride had a sense of exhilaration as this dazzling floor show powered towards its final thump." VoxCarnyx, April 2024


 


 

Solo Recital

Solo Percussion Recital


Premiere: 2025 Wigmore Hall & Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival


Kevin Volans Asanga
David Horne Pulse
Tansy Davies Dark Ground   
Dani Howard Vasa   
Interval    
Andy Akiho Spiel   
Toshio Hosokawa Reminiscence   
Iannis Xenakis Psappha   


 

Conductors

Marin Alsop, Andrey Boreyko, Dougie Boyd, Martyn Brabbins, Baldur Brönnimann, Joanna Carneiro, Alpesh Chauhan, David Danzmeyer, Thomas Dausgaard, Tan Dun,  Kevin John Edusei, Maxim Emylanychev, JoAnn Falletta, Thierry Fischer, Michael Francis, Fabien Gabel, James Gaffigan, Edward Gardner, HK Gruber, Giancarlo Guerrero, Matthew Halls, Håkan  Hardenberger, Antony Hermus, Manfred Honeck, Pietari Inkinen, George Jackson,  Carlos Kalmar, Francois Leleux, Hannu Lintu, Brad Lubman, Christian Macelaru, Sir James MacMillan, Bruno Mantovani, Juanjo Mena, Gemma New, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Eva Ollikainen, Sakari Oramo, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Ruth Reinhardt, Andre de Ridder, David Robertson, Kwame Ryan, Donald Runnicles, Yutaka Sado, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Jukka-Pekka Saraste,  Clemens Schuldt, Alexander Shelley,  Leonard Slatkin, Dima Slobodeniouk, Chloé van Soeterstède, Tugan Sokhiev, Thomas Søndergård, Carl St Clair, John Storgårds, Frank Strobel, Rebecca Tong, Bramwell Tovey, Osmo Vänskä, Gilbert Varga, Ilan Volkov, Joshua Weilerstein, Ludwig Wicki, John Wilson, Naomi Woo

Chamber projects

Colin Currie & Håkan Hardenberger
Trumpet and Percussion Duo


Joe Duddell Catch
Tobias Brostrom Dream Variations 
Toshio Hosokawa Reminiscence (solo percussion)
Toru Takemitsu Paths (solo trumpet)
HK Gruber Passing the Buck 
Brett Dean ...the scene of the crime...


“A breathtaking performance… Both players exhibited stunning virtuosity, though always at the service of musical effect, never for its own sake.” San Francisco Classical Voice


Colin Currie & JACK Quartet
programme includes: 


Suzanne Farrin Hypersea (percussion & string quartet)
Andy Akiho Aluminous (percussion & string quartet)
Steve Martland Starry Night (percussion & string quartet)


Colin Currie & Huw Watkins (percussion & piano)


Dave Maric Predicaments
Britten Holiday Diary (solo piano)
Joe Duddell Parallel Lines
Interval
Hannah Lash C
Tansy Davies Dark Ground (solo percussion)
Helen Grime Harp of the North (solo piano)
Huw Watkins Seven Inventions


Colin Currie & Nicholas Hodges (percussion & piano)


Birtwistle Intrada for piano and percussion
Stockhausen Klavierstück V (piano)
Birtwistle Variations from the Golden Mountain (piano)
Feldman King of Denmark (percussion)
Birtwistle Intrada for piano and percussion
Interval
Stockhausen Kontakte (piano & percussion)


“The combined genius of pianist Nicholas Hodges and percussionist Colin Currie, armed with a battery of percussion and piano, made thrilling theatre out of it, amplifying the electronic cues with a visceral immediacy that brought every moment to life. The entire presentation was directional, engaging and unquestionable proof that Stockhausen was not only onto something, but way ahead of the game.” Scotsman


Colin Currie & Sam Walton (percussion), Pavel Kolesnikov & Samson Tsoy (piano)


Ravel: Rhapsody Espanol M.54 for two pianos and two percussion
Rolf Wallin: Realismos mágicos (solo marimba)
Piano duo work
Interval
Bryce Dessner: Tromp Miniature (solo marimba)
Piano duo work
Bartók: Sonata for Two Pianos & Percussion

Colin Currie is at the summit of percussion performance today.

Gramophone

...the work confirms Currie’s status as an athlete and a star, as well as an outstanding musician.

Guardian

The soloist was Colin Currie, surely the world’s finest and most daring percussionist.

Spectator

Downloads

Intermusica represents Colin Currie worldwide

Catherine Gibbs
Associate Director
+44 20 7608 9946
cgibbs@intermusica.com

Isabel Pott
Assistant Artist Manager
+44 20 7687 8716
ipott@intermusica.com

All artists

Contralto

Avery Amereau

Actor / Narrator

Amira Casar

Chansonnier

HK Gruber

Harpsichord

Richard Egarr

Piano accompanist

Roger Vignoles

Saxophone

Branford Marsalis