January 27, 2018 – Program Notes – Los Angeles Philharmonic – CAMA's International Series at The Granada Theatre

Biography
Joseph
Pereira
Joseph Pereira (b. 1974) enjoys a
multi-faceted career as a timpanist/
percussionist, composer, conductor,
and teacher. His work in all areas has
been widely hailed for his creativity and
virtuosity, and has been profiled in feature
articles in both The New York Times
(2006) and the Los Angeles Times (2012
and 2015). In 2015, Pereira was featured
on the PBS series Craft in America.
Pereira was appointed Principal
Timpanist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic
by Esa-Pekka Salonen in 2007. He
regularly appears as a solo percussionist
in the LA Phil’s Green Umbrella new music
series. Previously he was the Assistant
Principal Timpanist/Section Percussionist
of the New York Philharmonic, from
January 1998 to September 2008. He
currently runs the percussion studio at
the USC Thornton School of Music and
was previously on faculty at The Juilliard
School from 2005 to 2013.
Pereira’s works as a composer have
been performed by the San Francisco
Contemporary Music Players, Duo
Harpverk at the Dark Days Music Festival,
Iceland, New York Philharmonic/Music
Academy of the West, Hear Now/Paris,
Aspen Music Festival, pianists Joanne
Pearce Martin and Vicki Ray, Los Angeles
Percussion Quartet, and the Manhattan
School of Music.
Pereira’s recent commissions have
come from percussionist Colin Currie, the
Miró Quartet, the Los Angeles Percussion
Quartet, Vicki Ray/Piano Spheres, the
Manhattan School of Music, and the Los
Angeles Philharmonic.
In 2016, he conducted his piece
for amplified bass quartet, which was
selected for the Hear Now Music Festival
in L.A. Also in 2016, his string trio Blur
was performed at the Hear Now Paris
American Music Festival. In 2012, the
Los Angeles Philharmonic premiered his
Percussion Concerto with soloist Colin
Currie. The work was programmed again
the following season with Pereira as the
soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic
and Gustavo Dudamel, in Los Angeles
and at London’s Barbican. His works
can be heard on Yarlung Records, Sono
Luminus, Electrum Duo, and New Focus
Recordings.
In 2007, his first orchestral piece,
Mask, was selected by the American
Composers Orchestra’s annual new music
readings for top emerging composers. At
the New York Philharmonic, he conducted
the premiere of his Quintet for Winds
in 2005 on the Chamber Ensembles
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