Department of Music

• March 24th, 2009
• Old Cabell Hall, Room B18
• 8:00pm
• Free

SI2, a percussion duo formed out of the larger organization Sonic Inertia by Matthew Coley and Cory Hills, will make master-class and concert appearances throughout Virginia and Maryland this March. Coley and Hills are Virginia natives, Southwestern and Northern Virginia respectively, but only met years after moving away from Virginia to pursue music studies at Northwestern University. Following that, both spent several years involving themselves in a variety of projects that not only span the percussion field, but delved into dance and theatre as well, continued further educational goals, and eventually brought their diverse experiences with them to form SI2.

SI2 initially began as an improvisational, multi-disciplinary arts group comprised of percussionist, composer, dancer, and choreographer Matthew Coley, and percussionist, composer, actor, and writer Cory Hills. Most recently they performed at the University of Colorado in Denver at the Society for Improvised Music Conference premiering Lies, an interactive work based on an Aboriginal poem about discrimination. The text completely structure the improvised music of the work. In addition, Coley and Hills fuse elements of world and folk music with elements of western classical music through the use of a zarb, a hammered dulcimer, and countless other unique percussion instruments. As a result, SI2 creates an amazing sonic landscape weaving traditional melodies with complex rhythmic structures and has utilized this experience to bring a fresh approach to the contemporary and standard repertoire composed for percussion duo.

Matthew Coley founded SI in 2004 as a collaborative ensemble whose mission is to provide a forum for the creation and performance of new works of music, dance, and electronic media. Coley is currently a doctoral student at Northwestern University and has recently been the first American to place in the prestigious 5th World Marimba Competition in Stuttgart, Germany by winning 3rd, performed as soloist with the San Francisco Sinfonietta, and Moldavian Teleradio Symphony Orchestra, and will perform Steve Mackey's Micro-Concerto with the Millennium Chamber Players later this year.

Percussionist, composer, and educator Cory Hills is a graduate of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois (bachelors degree in percussion performance and music education) and the Queensland Conservatorium in Brisbane, Australia (masters degree in percussion performance). Hills has performed as a section member with the National Symphony Orchestra and the Queensland Orchestra, and has performed as a soloist with the Queensland Orchestra, the United States Army Band, and the Northwestern University Percussion Ensemble. In addition, he was a finalist for the off-Broadway musical STOMP.

SI2 will be conducting a master-class at Longwood University on Tuesday, March 24 at 11:00am, performing a concert at the University of Virginia at 8:00pm in B18, Old Cabell Hall on Tuesday, March 24, conducting a master-class at Noon and performing a concert at 7:30pm on Thursday, March 26 at Virginia Commonwealth University, and performing a concert on Friday, March 27 at the University of Maryland. In April, SI2 will be making appearances in the Chicago area, and then in June will be performing at the "New Days of Music International Festival", Chisinau, Moldova. SI2 is sponsored by Innovative Percussion and Vaughncraft Percussion and can be found on the web at www.sonicinertia.com.