March 24, 2006—Kroumata, the Swedish percussion group known around the world for moving percussion from the back row of the orchestra into the limelight of center stage, performs Thursday, April 6, at Finney Chapel, on the Oberlin College campus. The concert, part of the College's Artist Recital Series, begins at 8 p.m.

The program includes John Cage's Third Construction, Arne Mellnäs's Fragile, Morgan Ågren's She Came, She Went, Iannis Xenakis's Okho, John Eriksson's Träd (Tree), and Georg Katzer's Schlagmusik 2. Finney Chapel is located on the southwest corner of Route 511 (Lorain Street) and North Professor Street.

The Oberlin concert will feature five of Kroumata's six members: Roger Bergström, Ulrik Nilsson (standing in for John Eriksson, who has a work on the program), Anders Holdar, Leif Karlsson, and Johan Silvmark.

Since its founding in 1978, Kroumata has performed more than 200 world premieres, including 146 by Swedish composers; many of these were commissioned works. Kroumata is credited with greatly expanding the repertoire for percussion.

The ensemble has toured more than 35 countries and has attracted a loyal following in Sweden. The group has its own headquarters in Stockholm, a former cinema that now serves as both concert hall and studio. Kroumata also has performed in less conventional venues, such as a quarry in northern Sweden. Many audiences have met Kroumata in appearances with symphony orchestra; others as an integral part in a performance of modern dance.

Among the group's 20 CD recordings is a recent collection of favorite encores ranging from Bulgarian dance to foxtrot and from the lyricism of Alfvén's Skogen to the sultriness of a tango. Most of the pieces were composed or arranged by members of Kroumata, and they fully exploit all the colors, nuances, and spectacular effects of the ensemble. Writing in Fanfare, Paul Rapoport called Kroumata "a truly exhilarating group" that has "a thorough understanding of the nature of sound and a limitless imagination informs what it does."

Tickets for the concert are $7 for students; $16 for those with an Oberlin I.D. (faculty, staff, alumni, and parents), area educators, and senior citizens; and $20 for the general public. Tickets purchased at the door on the evening of the performance are an additional $3. To purchase tickets in advance, call the Central Ticket Service box office (440-775-8169) or visit the CTS box office, located in the lobby of Hall Auditorium, 67 North Main Street, Oberlin.

For more information, please visit www.oberlin.edu/con .

About the Artist Recital Series
Since the inception of the Artist Recital Series in 1878, more than 1,000 of the most acclaimed and accomplished musicians, conductors, orchestras, chamber ensembles, and composers have graced the stage of Finney Chapel. Stars of such international stature as Dave Brubeck, Alicia de Larrocha, Glenn Gould, Denyce Graves, Jascha Heifetz, Vladimir Horowitz, Yo-Yo Ma, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Isaac Stern, George Szell, and Eugene Ysaÿe, to name but a few, have performed under the auspices of the series. Since 1919, the Cleveland Orchestra has appeared on the series every season for a total of 204 performances under the baton of such illustrious--and varied--conductors as Nikolai Sokoloff (38 times), Artur Rodzinski (25 times), George Szell (60 times), Robert Shaw, Pierre Boulez, Lorin Maazel, Simon Rattle, Yoel Levi, Christoph von Dohnányi, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Jahja Ling, Robert Spano, Franz Welser-Möst, Mitskuko Uchida, and Steven Smith. More than an impressive "Who's Who," the list of artists and ensembles to appear on the series is an illumination of the best of serious music, spanning the late 19th century to the present.

The Artist Recital Series is sponsored by the Conservatory and the Friends of the Artist Recital Series. Media sponsorship is provided by 104.9 FM-WCLV, ideastream WVIZ/PBS and 90.3 WCPN, and Northern Ohio Live magazine. All programs and artists are subject to change.

Calendar Listing:
Thursday, April 6 at 8 p.m., Finney Chapel, 90 North Professor St., Oberlin, OH 44074

The Oberlin College Artist Recital Series Presents Kroumata
Program: John Cage, Third Construction; Arne Mellnäs, Fragile; Georg Katzer, Schlagmusik 2; Iannis Xenakis, Okho; Morgan Ågren, She Came, She Went, John Eriksson, Träd (Tree)

Ticket Information: Students, $7: OCID, $16; Seniors, $16; Area Educators, $16; General Public, $20; At the door, Additional $3. Group discounts are available.

Free parking 
Box Office: 440-775-8169