TCP: Resounding Earth

Discover the incredible sounds and history of a variety of different types of bells in thes"Resounding Earth" app from Grammy-winning quartet Third Coast Percussion.

In 2012, internationally renowned composer Augusta Read Thomas wrote a new piece of music entitled "Resounding Earth" for the Chicago-based ensemble Third Coast Percussion, featuring over 125 bells from all over the world. With this app, you can play many of the bells used in the piece and learn a bit about their origins and cultural significance.

Grammy-award winner Augusta Read Thomas was Mead Composer-in-Residence with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra from 1997-2006. Thomas was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2009, she has been on the American Music Center Board since 2000, was a finalist for the 2007 Pulitzer Prize, and she is the 16th ever University Professor at the University of Chicago. Her 4-movement work "Resounding Earth" was the result of a long collaborative process with Third Coast Percussion. Together, they built a unique collection of bells and created a truly unique sonic palette. Third Coast Percussion's recording of "Resounding Earth" is available on CD and DVD from New Focus Recordings, and the quartet can be seen performing this work on concert series around the country. Third Coast Percussion premiered a new concerto for these bells with orchestra entitled "Sonorous Earth" in 2017.