About Sandbox Percussion

Storytelling Shoulder to Shoulder

Sandbox Percussion expands the breadth and depth of the percussion form through commissions of original work that broaden representation in chamber music. They create new musical experiences by transforming creative challenges into meaningful art that is shared with the community. Sandbox members have collaborated with Metropolis since 2014, including Ian Rosenbaum, Jonny Allen, Terry Sweeney, and Victor Caccese.
 
 
Current Metropolis Project

LIQUIDVERSE: Microcosm & Macrocosm

Ricardo Romaneiro is collaborating with Cosm Studios, Metropolis, and Liquid Light Lab to create an immersive audiovisual symphonic journey into the beginning of the universe for a new Los Angeles venue: the world’s first 87-foot diameter 12K LED dome, opening in 2024.
 
 

“This series included several premieres, among them Christopher Cerrone’s concerto for prepared piano and percussion quartet, which received an exhilarating performance by Conor Hanick and Sandbox Percussion.”

The New York Times reviewed a Caramoor performance featuring Metropolis artists in 2020.
 
 

Other Career Highlights

Sandbox Percussion’s 2021 album "Seven Pillars" was nominated for two Grammy Awards. The monumental evening-length work by composer Andy Akiho has been performed throughout the United States and Europe, including VIVO Music Festival (Columbus) and the Théâtre du Châtelet (Paris).
 
 

“A timbrally-rich fusion of struck metal, wood, porcelain, and glass… Sandbox Percussion’s tight grooves underscore, accompany, and punctuate the video.”

I Care If You Listen featured (Un)Wandering Souls, a Metropolis-commissioned work by Vivian Fung in 2021.
 
 

Previous Metropolis Projects

 
2023

Loud and Soft

This video and audio interactive work from composer Molly Joyce explores the transitions from non-pitched to pitched instruments, performed by Sandbox Percussion and recorded by Continuous Motion Productions. Metropolis Ensemble produced Loud and Soft, including sound descriptions by Stefan Sunandan Honisch and Andy Slater.
 
2021

(Un)Wandering Souls

Metropolis was commissioned to present the world premiere of "(Un)Wandering Souls" from composer Vivian Fung with Sandbox Percussion for an online festival in collaboration with Cambodian Living Arts. This performance was inspired by the 2017 theatrical work, Bangsokol, in partnership with Metropolis, composer Him Sophy and Oscar-nominated filmmaker Rithy Panh.
 
2020

Free Assembly

Metropolis Ensemble, House of YES, and (le) Poisson Rouge, presented our debut digital festival, pairing creators of diverse musical aesthetics and innovative media. The program included a performance of "Pillar V" by Andy Akiho with Sandbox Percussion.
 
2020

House Music

During the pandemic, Metropolis hosted a weekly House Music video series for artists to develop original works, record from home, and share new music. Sandbox Percussion performs "Postlude 6" by Elliot Cole in their studio in Brooklyn, NY.
 
2019

Reiterations

Sandbox Percussion performed works by Andy Akiho, Christopher Cerrone, Viet Cuong, and Julia Wolfe, as part of Cerrone’s "Reiterations" series at Caveat with Metropolis Ensemble, featuring vocalist Elspeth Davis.
 
2017

Memory Palace

Metropolis presented Sandbox percussionist Ian Rosenbaum for an hour-long immersive musical narrative for solo percussion, culminating in Christopher Cerrone’s "Memory Palace." The program featured five composers with electro-acoustic soundscapes, visual projections, and a fluid juxtaposing of unexpected techniques and instruments.