Chara Percussion
Chara Percussion Ensemble, from Orleans, Massachusetts, seeks to bring hope and inspire joy in audiences young and old through the vehicle of percussion ensemble. Chara offers a fresh voice to classical music, ranging from early polyphony to Impressionist and contemporary works. Repertoire includes works by J. S. Bach, Bartók, Burritt, Bruckner, Byrd, Deane, Debussy, Dvořák, Eben, Gjelo, Hale, Handel, Keck, Krasa, Leontovych, Merulo, Mozart, Pergolesi, Piazzolla, Rachmaninov, Reich, Shostakovich, Trevino, Vivaldi, and Westlake.
Members of Chara hold over 100 years of combined percussion ensemble experience, and are all alumni members or associated with Spirit Winter Percussion, the world-renowned competitive indoor percussion ensemble recognized for bringing subtlety and complexity to the art of keyboard percussion. Members have performed in countries including Australia, Canada, Italy, S. Korea, S. Africa, and across the United States, at venues including opera houses, stadiums, cathedrals, and school auditoriums. Performance venue highlights include Seoul Opera House (South Korea); Johannesburg Opera House (South Africa); Siena and Pisa Cathedrals (Italy); Church of the Transfiguration (Orleans, MA); University of Dayton Arena (Dayton, OH); and stadiums including Gillette, AT&T, and Lucas Oil. Members of Chara performed John Luther Adams’s Inuksuit with more than ninety other percussionists at The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University in 2018. They have taught percussion to middle, high school, and college-age students and independent percussion ensembles, marching bands, and drum corps in the United States and Canada, and conducted workshops in South Africa. Chara Percussion is a premiere performing ensemble of Arts Empowering Life.
