Iowa Percussion, Jean-François Charles + Will Yager, Dimma Sax Quartet

Iowa Percussion, Jean-François Charles + Will Yager, Dimma Sax Quartet promotional image

Part of HANCHER’S 2026–2027 SEASON and FIFTY FOR THE FUTURE
Presented by HANCHER AUDITORIUM

Audiences travel through three of Hancher’s spaces for performances by Iowa-based musicians. The format is part concert, part architectural tour, and each set brings a different texture: percussion ringing through the lobby's open volumes, a low-end duo with electronics in the club space, and a saxophone quartet in the behind-the-scenes backstage transfer area.

Iowa Percussion starts the tour with music by Susie Ibarra inspired by Philippine kulintang traditions. University of Iowa composition professor Jean-François Charles and University of Northern Iowa bass professor Will Yager perform an arrangement of a Tod Machover work for bass clarinet, double bass, and electronics that draws on MIT research into therapeutic brainwaves. They will follow it up with a remix of music by Henry Threadgill. The Dimma Saxophone Quartet, drawn from the UI School of Music’s celebrated saxophone studio, closes with a piece by Fodé Lassana Diabaté which evokes the 13th-century Mali Empire.

PROGRAM
Iowa Percussion: Susie IBARRA: Pulsation / Smith Lobby
Jean-Francois Charles: Todd MACHOVER: Gammified (a version for clarinet(s) and electronics) & Henry THREADGILL: Sixfivetwo / Club Hancher
Dimma Saxophone Quartet: Fodé Lassana DIABATÉ: Sunjata's Time / Transfer Area

Fifty for the Future website

TICKETS
Free and open to the public, RSVP required.

Registration opens Wednesday, January 20 on hancher.uiowa.edu/2627-fifty.

HANCHER EVENT PARTNERS
Bruce Gantz
David McCartney & James Petersen
John R. Menninger
Hazel H. Seaba
Joyce & Dick Summerwill Ventures Fund
Stephen & Victoria West
George & Carrol Woodworth

Sunday, February 28, 2027 3:30pm
Hancher Auditorium
Smith Lobby, Club Hancher, Backstage Transfer Area
141 Park Road, Iowa City, IA 52242
View on Event Calendar
Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all University of Iowa–sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in this program, please contact Paris Young in advance at 319-467-4849 or paris-sissel@uiowa.edu.