Entering a recital hall to see the Oberlin Percussion Group concert, one expects wild new music and a particularly tight ensemble performance. When the OPG played on Tuesday night in Warner, those expectations were certainly met. The performance, under the direction of Michael Rosen, had three notable premieres: the world premiere of Lewis Neilson’s Ideogram, the American premiere of Howard Skempton’s Shiftwork (1994) and the American premiere of Harrison Birtwistle’s For o, for o, the hobbyhorse is forgot (1976).

The second piece of the program, Synthecisms No. 6, composed by Brian Bevelander, had the greatest effect. The piece, written for percussion ensemble and pre-recorded tape, begins with haunting sounds coming from the speakers, reminiscent of a horror movie soundtrack. Then, slowly, percussionists start to join, mirroring the tape sounds by gliding a violin bow on the edge of the xylophone keys. This eerie sonic world is periodically interrupted by events on drums, the keyboard percussion instruments and, most notably, by the solo on the marimba. Every note, rhythm and gesture is exceedingly important in this work, and all were impeccably executed.

Another distinctive piece was Gérard Grisey’s Stèle. This work explored the range of timbres one instrument can make, in this case the bass drum. The piece started at an almost inaudible volume, rose slightly and then shrank back to nothing. Because the piece was so quiet, it involved tremendous concentration to hear the differences in texture, thus encouraging an intense level of focus from the listener. Every detail was rendered with precision and grace.

The last piece, Birtwistle’s For o, for o, the hobbyhorse is forgot, was by far the most striking and impressive. The stage was arranged with two percussionists facing each other and perpendicular to the audience, while the other four percussionists formed a square within. The two percussionists perpendicular to the audience steer the piece; their gestures change the music’s timbre, mood and tempo. There are two sets of opposing forces: the two guiding percussionists versus the other four and the larger struggle of the individual versus the group.

Another captivating part of the piece were the extra-musical gestures. Michael Rosen spoke of these gestures in the program notes, where he wrote, “Percussion is the only instrument that can imply performance by just using movements that, without actually striking the instruments, imply the sound, thusly ‘playing’ the silence in a sense.” This was implemented when the percussionists held their mallets in the air and then swung them down without actually hitting the instruments. This was an interesting idea executed flawlessly.

Overall Michael Rosen directed an absorbing presentation. The works picked were effective and the performance was top-notch.