Albums
NPR Best of 2026
Canto Ostinato
Released Apr 3, 2026
Simeon ten Holt's landmark minimalist opus Canto Ostinato has a known magnetism — its captivating harmony and winding, open-form structure an adventurous enterprise for any like-minded players who embark down its path.
Metropolis Ensemble, pianist Erik Hall, and Sandbox Percussion expand ten Holt's piano manuscript into a large chamber arrangement for mallet percussion, woodwinds, strings, and piano — a hypnotic, ever-shifting journey through its looping cells.
- Sections 1-16 11:25
- Sections 17-30 7:28
- Sections 31-40 4:33
- Sections 41-55 3:32
- Sections 56-73 5:34
- Sections 74-87 8:36
- Sections 88-90 11:24
- Sections 91-94 5:40
- Sections 95-106 7:35
Credits & personnel
Composed by: Simeon ten Holt (1976–79)
Arrangements: Erik Hall, David Leon, Jonny Allen and Ben Wallace
Metropolis Ensemble: Suliman Tekalli, Isabelle Ai Durrenberger, Madison Greenstone, Jennifer Liu, David Leon, Pauline Kim, Henry Wang and Kristin Lee
Sandbox Percussion: Ian Rosenbaum, Jonny Allen, Victor Caccese and Terry Sweeney
With: the New School Sandbox Percussion Summer Seminar and Bergamot Quartet
Conductor: Andrew Cyr
Produced by: Andrew Cyr and Erik Hall
Engineered by: Mike Tierney
Mixed by: Erik Hall and Mike Tierney
Mastered by: Warren Defever
Artwork: Aaron Lowell Denton
Label: Western Vinyl (WV294)
