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Glorious Percussion

About this Artist

The ensemble GLORIOUS PERCUSSION takes its name from the piece that brought its members together. In September 2008, they gave the world premiere of Sofia Gubaidulina’s work of the same name for five percussionists and orchestra, performed with the Gothenburg Symphony under Gustavo Dudamel. For the members, who themselves represent three different continents, the name reflects the almost divine ability of their instruments to speak to cultures all over the world and throughout the ages.

The resounding success of the work’s premiere was quickly followed by the German and Swiss premieres with co-commissioners Dresden Philharmonic conducted by John Axelrod and Lucerne Symphony under Jonathan Nott, as well as performances in 2009 with the Berlin Philharmonic. This season, the ensemble will appear with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, Helsinki Philharmonic and the Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestras.

All five musicians are internationally well-renowned as chamber musicians and soloists and continue to pursue their own artistic agenda outside the group. Together, the ensemble plans to commission a series of new works over the coming years. Glorious Percussion is based mainly in Stockholm and Berlin.

Anders Loguin (Sweden)

Anders Loguin studied percussion at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, and also conducting in Sweden, in Finland with Jorma Panula and in the USA. Loguin frequently conducts orchestras and ensembles in Sweden and abroad.

He was a founding member of the percussion ensemble Kroumata. He left the ensemble in 2008, after 30 years of touring over 40 countries and participating in the premieres of more than 200 works. More than 20 CDs also document their work together, most of which are available on the BIS label.

Since 1977, he has held a professorship as head of the percussion department at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm. He was the initiator and Artistic Director of the "Nordic Percussion Festival" in 1991, and of the “Stockholm International Percussion Event” in 1998.

Anders Loguin was elected as a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music in 2002. In 2008, His Majesty the King of Sweden awarded Anders Loguin the royal medal "Litteris et Artibus" for his outstanding contribution to the field of music and art in Sweden and abroad.

Anders Haag (Sweden)

Anders Haag studied percussion at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm. He is currently solo-timpanist with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, a position he has held since 2003.

Before joining RSPO he worked as timpanist and percussionist with Norrköping Symphony Orchestra, Uppsala Chamber Orchestra and the Stockholm Wind Symphony Orchestra.

Anders Haag is also a keen chamber musician. He is engaged in various projects focusing on improvisation and cross-over music, such as with the group "Heavy Breeze".

Since autumn 2008, Anders Haag has been teaching timpani at the Royal College of Music.

Mika Takehara (Japan)

Mika Takehara made her solo debut with the Kroumata ensemble in 1998. She has since established herself as a soloist, appearing frequently at concerts in Sweden, Japan and all over Europe. Mika also performs with the Saito Kinen Orchestra and the Mito Chamber Orchestra under Seiji Ozawa.

Having graduated from Toho Gakuen College of Music in Tokyo, she moved to Stockholm where she completed her solo diploma at the Royal University College of Music with the highest honours in 2001. She studied under Keiko Abe, Yoshitaka Kobayashi, Kyoichi Sano and Prof. Anders Loguin.

Mika Takehara’s solo album "Thirteen Drums" was released by BIS Records. She has recorded the percussion concerto The Baron in the Trees by Britta Byström for the label Phono Suecia, as well as several CDs for Sony Music and Philips.

Eirik Raude (Norway)

Norwegian percussionist Eirik Raude has won several prizes for his performances and has premiered more than 50 works. In 2004, his first solo CD was released to great critical acclaim.

Raude works on many projects comprising other forms of art, such as video art, contemporary ballet and theatre, often involving improvisation. He likes to explore new technologies, and is part of a newly formed electro-acoustic ensemble.

Eirik Raude was a resident percussionst with Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra for 10 years, having now recently resigned in order to maintain his busy schedule of solo performances and chamber music projects. He also teaches percussion at the Norwegian State Academy of Music in Oslo.

Robyn Schulkowsky (USA)

Robyn Schulkowsky was born in USA but has been living in Germany over the past 30 years. She has been an innovator and collaborator throughout her life, intensely dedicated to revealing the wonders of percussion to listeners around the world.

Since moving to Germany during the heyday of experimental and adventurous classical composition, she has premiered and recorded some of the most important percussion works of the 20th and 21st centuries.

Working with improvisers, as well as with composers such as Karlheinz Stockhausen, Kevin Volans, John Cage, Morton Feldman and Iannis Xenakis, she has presented a range of music on tours that have included the former Soviet Union, India, Africa, North and South America, Korea, Japan and numerous European music festivals.