As part of our 20th Anniversary celebration, TCP took part in some of our most ambitious artistic collaborations to date, including projects with the legendary choreographer Twyla Tharp, tabla master Zakir Hussain, GRAMMY®-winning composer and violinist Jessie Montgomery, and boundary-breaking jazz pianist Tigran Hamasyan.
TWYLA THARP DANCE
DIAMOND JUBILEE
Featuring Third Coast Percussion
Twyla Tharp celebrated her 60th anniversary with a new dance work set to a reimagining of Philip Glass’s iconic Aguas da Amazonia. The music–arranged by Third Coast Percussion in close collaboration with Tharp–is performed on a unique collection of custom instruments curated and built by TCP. The ensemble performed live with Tharp’s dance company on tour across the United States in 2025, and created a studio recording of the full suite of colorful new Glass arrangements.
ZAKIR HUSSAIN
It is with profound sadness that Third Coast Percussion mourns the loss of our treasured friend and collaborator, Zakir Hussain. Third Coast Percussion commissioned Zakir Hussain to compose Murmurs In Time–a major new work that blends the sounds of tabla with a classically-trained percussion ensemble. We were fortunate to create a studio recording of Murmurs In Time with Zakir, released as an EP and as part of our full album Standard Stoppages.
In February of 2025 we presented the live premiere of the work with Zakir Hussain's disciple, Salar Nader, as part of a special concert presentation which also included works from acclaimed composer/performers Jessie Montgomery, Tigran Hamasyan, and Jlin. We continue to perform the piece with Salar Nader in concert halls across the country. A video of Murmurs in Time with Nader can be found here.
JESSIE MONTGOMERY
GRAMMY® Award-winning composer/performer Jessie Montgomery joined TCP in a dynamic program that equally showcased her excellence as visionary creator and virtuosic performer. Lady Justice, her new work composed specifically for TCP, draws a vast universe of sounds out of a compact set of instruments. Lou Harrison’s Concerto for Violin with Percussion Orchestra (with Jessie as soloist) is a tour de force that draws inspiration from the vibrant sounds of Javanese gamelan.
TIGRAN HAMASYAN
Pianist and composer Tigran Hamasyan crosses boundaries between jazz, classical, electronic, and Armenian folk music. Hamasyan composed Sonata for Percussion, his first percussion quartet, for TCP, which premiered in Fall 2024 as part of the ensemble's 20th Anniversary recital program.