Fun Facts About Third Coast Percussion with Movement Art Is

April 20, 2022
Third Coast Percussion with Movement Art Is

Founded in 2005, Third Coast Percussion has performed hundreds of concerts across the country, presents an annual concert season at home in Chicago, teaches musicians of all ages and experience levels, and has commissioned dozens of new works by composers including Glenn Kotche, Philip Glass, Devonté Hynes, Chris Cerrone, Augusta Read Thomas, Donnacha Dennehy, David T. Little, and Ted Hearne. The percussion ensemble consists of Sean Connors, Robert Dillon, Peter Martin, and David Skidmore.

Co-founded by Lil Buck and Jon Boogz, Movement Art Is (MAI) is an organization that uses movement artistry to inspire and change the world while elevating the artistic, educational, and social impact of dance. Through movement art films, workshops, performances, and exhibitions, MAI is resetting the spectrum of what dance is.

Third Coast Percussion joins forces with the groundbreaking choreography of Movement Art Is (interpreted and performed by Cameron Murphy and Quentin Robinson) for an intimate, evening-length program that explores the duality of human nature. At once intensely personal and fiercely virtuosic, two disparate styles of street dance blend seamlessly with new music by Jlin and Tyondai Braxton, as well as Third Coast Percussion’s critically-acclaimed arrangements of Philip Glass’s Aguas da Amazonia.

Still from "Move"

Video still from Move © Netflix

Netflix + Network TV. Movement Art Is co-founders Jon Boogz and Lil Buck are featured in the mesmerizing Netflix documentary Move and both participated in FOX’s hit show, So You Think You Can Dance.

Third Coast Percussion posing with their Grammy.

Photo by Rich Polk

Major Award. Third Coast Percussion has received five GRAMMY® nominations and in 2017, won Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance for their Steve Reich album

Lil Buck  posing in various outfits and movements for GQ.

Lil Buck for GQ. Photo by Sebastian Kim.

Make It Work. Choreographer Lil Buck expanded his abilities in 2015 when he started modeling in ads for companies like Gap, Kaporal Jeans, Diesel Jeans, and Rag & Bone. He has also designed a line of sneakers with both Nike and Versace.  

Musicians from Third Coast Percussion band photo

Photo by Saverio Truglia

Collegiate Connections. Third Coast Percussion members David Skidmore, Rob Dillon, Sean Connors, and Peter Martin met at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois where they were all studying—you guessed it—percussion. Since graduating, the group has served as ensemble-in-residence at the University of Notre Dame’s DeBartolo Performing Arts Center from 2013-2018. Third Coast Percussion performed world premieres including compositions by Glenn Kotche and Augusta Reed Thomas as a Presenting Series artist at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center. 

Video still of Cameron Murphy 'Moonwalking' on a sidewalk next to a teal wall.

Video still from Instagram @officialmidas

Cirque Life. Cameron Murphy is a movement artist, actor, and former bronze medalist Junior Olympian. Murphy was also a performer in Cirque du Soleil’s Michael Jackson ONE before working with Movement Art Is.

Musicians playing various percussion instruments in front of young children.

Third Coast Percussion in school classroom. Photo by Philip D. Lanum.

Giving Back. Third Coast Percussion is passionate about music education. Partnering with The People’s Music School, they bring free, specialized music projects to the students of Chicago to emphasize creativity, collaboration, and inspiration. 

Quentin Robinson

Thank You for Your Service. Performer/Interpreter Quentin Robinson is a Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq, Afghanistan, and various other locations on combat tours. Robinson is also founder and lead facilitator of the non-profit Movements 4 Movements

Image from Color of Reality.

Art Meets Life. “Think of it as a Van Gogh — that is, if one of his paintings were brought to life as a performative protest.” (NYT). In Kalie Acheson’s video Color of Reality, Jon Boogz and Lil Buck explore themes of police brutality and racial injustice in modern America incorporating the illusionistic painting of Alexa Meade. Movement Art Is uses movement artistry to inspire change in the world. The group also choreographed a piece titled Love Heals All Wounds which addresses police brutality, mass incarceration, and why the cycle of trauma needs to end.