UCLA’s Percussion Ensemble will set the rhythm straight with an upcoming recital.

Every quarter, percussion performance lecturer Theresa Dimond’s class performs in Schoenberg Hall. After a quarter filled with new obstacles and challenges, Dimond said about 20 students will gather to perform an array of pieces – from a historical military piece to contemporary sounds – Monday at 8 p.m. The ensemble includes students in the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music as well as students from other departments, ranging from undergraduates to graduates, Dimond said.

“We have a lot of graduate students and a lot of freshmen and not a lot in the middle, but that’s fantastic,” Dimond said. “Good playing lifts all boats. If I have a master’s degree student sitting next to a freshman, that freshman’s working harder.”

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This quarter, the ensemble was faced with a variety of timing challenges, Dimond said. The group lost time to practice because of the January wildfires across Los Angeles County, Dimond said, which made the task of orchestrating 20 musicians more difficult. Especially in times of adversity, music can bring people together and comfort their hardships, she added.

The performance will be over an hour, Dimond said, and will begin with a composition called “Ancient Military Aires” by NEXUS. Dimond said the sound of drums was used to communicate during the Crusades in the 13th century. She chose to incorporate this concept within the piece because it challenges the technique of the musicians while also pulling from history, she said. She added that there are also some classical pieces from Claude Debussy in the showcase, as well as more unusual pieces involving hand clapping. The show will end with a contemporary number, Rush’s track “YYZ,” which Dimond said is a rock piece she listened to often during her youth.

Dimond said over the course of several years, the collection of music incorporated by the ensemble has shifted as it expands into a wider variety of options for musicians to perform. She added that the concert provides an opportunity to challenge her students. In terms of the audience’s perception, Dimond said she understands that each attendee will feel differently about each piece, and her goal is not focused on pleasing each viewer but instead evoking an emotional response from the audience.

“We share with the audience a piece of our heart,” Dimond said. “We are creative beings, and this is my art, and I want to share it with you. It’s beautiful, and I want to give you something that you can enjoy for a rare moment.”

Audrey Sherrill, a third-year music education student who studies percussion, said Monday’s event will be her sixth time performing in a UCLA percussion ensemble of this nature. Even though she is not a new performer, Sherrill said there is a fresh and exciting personal aspect to the upcoming recital, including the piece “Escape Velocity” since she chose it for the program. Sherrill added that through her history of Percussion Ensemble participation, she has had the opportunity to build a community of like-minded individuals who not only connect over music but the same type of instrument.

Similar to Dimond and Sherrill, graduate student in music performance Kevin Needham said he is not new to this specific recital. Monday’s performance will be his 16th percussion recital performance, he said, and he is the eldest performer in the group. Needham added that he has a unique perspective on this quarter’s performance, as well as advice to his fellow younger musicians, whom he has told to not be afraid to ask questions.

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The reward of this performance is that it shows the musicians’ progression, Dimond said, and the ensemble will produce the same meaningful music while coming together to make art. After a long quarter, she said the students are able to have the space to showcase their skills to their families. She added that she is confident audiences will expand upon their musical horizons with the eight pieces being played.

“What’s special about every concert is how it affects the performers creatively, physically, mentally, emotionally and how it affects the audience in all those ways,” Dimond said. “Mom and dad and grandma get to come and watch their lovely student – their very creative, interesting student – on stage making art.”