QUOTES & REVIEWS
“Andy Akiho’s landmark percussion work Seven Pillars, first performed in 2021, extends the scope of percussion composition across 11 movements that embrace varied global and traditional musical influences. Performed at the Forbidden City Concert Hall by Sandbox Percussion, for whom the piece was written, Seven Pillars was an undoubted festival highlight.”
— GRAMOPHONE, on the group’s China debut at the 2024 Beijing Music Festival
“I’ve come to regard these four young men as the foremost interpreters of my percussion music. And I welcomed the invitation to compose Prophecies of Fire — a concert-length work specifically for them.”
— Pulitzer Prize-winning composer John Luther Adams (program note)
“[A] New York quartet of players who make unusual sounds with unconventional instruments.”
— Variety
“one of world’s finest percussion ensembles”
“[A] percussion ensemble of established leaders in contemporary art music.”
— AirMail
“The amplified piano was played by experienced [George] Crumb collaborator, Gilbert Kalish, and the percussion quartet, the expert Sandbox Percussion — Jonathan Allen, Victor Caccese, Ian David Rosenbaum, and Terry Sweeney … [who] brought an urgent elegance to their virtuosity.”
“Sandbox Percussion — Jonathan Allen, Victor Caccese, Ian David Rosenbaum, and Terry Sweeney — faced a colossal, rock-star ovation from the packed house – everyone screaming and whooping it up in appreciation for this unique musical experience.”
“Sandbox Percussion took a head-first deep dive into learning the piece [Simeon ten Holt’s Canto Ostinato] and adapting it for 30 mallet players.”
“Commissioned and performed by Grammy-nominated ensemble Sandbox Percussion … the 80-minute, 11-movement suite for percussion [Seven Pillars] comprises seven quartets around four solos that reflect the personality of each performer… a trailblazing work that redefines how one listens to and experiences music”
— ChinaDaily, on the group’s China debut at the 2024 Beijing Music Festival
“Grammy-nominated ensemble Sandbox Percussion recently showcased their utmost prowess in Beijing, delivering a mesmerizing rendition of Andy Akiho’s composition Seven Pillars. Prior to their grand performance, CGTN reporter Xu Fei had the opportunity to capture the ensemble’s meticulous rehearsals, where every nuance was honed to perfection.”
— China Global Television Network, on the group’s China debut at the 2024 Beijing Music Festival
“An eighty-minute wall of sound, [Seven Pillars] was a showcase of supreme virtuosity, grit and groove by Sandbox Percussion.”
— Seen and Heard International, on the group’s China debut at the 2024 Beijing Music Festival
“With its intricate internal connections, Seven Pillars was an exemplar of the BMF itself, where the links between musics of countries and cultures around the world are always in focus, providing a model for international cooperation.”
— Blogcritics, on the group’s China debut at the 2024 Beijing Music Festival
“Sandbox Percussion … use glass bottles that are all tuned chromatically, teacups, planks of wood and cowbells. I felt that sound would be an interesting texture for the sound of the wilderness.”
— Composer Kris Bowers on scoring The Wild Robot, for Variety
“Sandbox Percussion approaches it more like Foley … They’re playing oxygen tanks, metal pipes, wooden planks, teacups, glass bottles … it was about writing for them with this detail to have it be this almost ASMR texture that’s on top of the orchestra.”
— Composer Kris Bowers on scoring The Wild Robot, for DEADLINE
“…a primarily classical percussion ensemble, but they play in this unorthodox way. It’s four guys, and they set up these crazy workstations that are tuned metal pipes, wood planks, an oxygen tank, and a tea kettle and tea cups and bottles. It’s more like foley and sound design, but then they play those as instruments.”
— Composer Kris Bowers on scoring The Wild Robot, for motionpictures.org
“In early fall 2021, I watched this quartet rehearse Andy Akiho’s ‘Seven Pillars,’ a brooding, thrilling, Mahler-length taxonomy of noise that Sandbox had already captured on a vivid recording. But it wasn’t until nearly two years later, in June at Caramoor, that I finally saw these four musicians burn through the Akiho, in a spectacle of flashing lights and constant motion.”
“Sandbox Percussion’s multiple versions of Jason Treuting’s ‘extremes’ are an awesome example of how a great composition can renew itself with each interpretation.”
“[Sandbox Percussion] advocates for the music of 21st century composers.”
— AllMusic.com
“Sandbox Percussion … have been expanding the repertoire for their vast array of instruments since 2011. The four works on their debut album, And That One Too, reveal both the refined virtuosity the musicians have cultivated and their exceptional taste in choosing composers who write for percussion with vibrant and elegant imagination.”
“Seven Pillars strikes a wonderful balance between timbral and rhythmic variety. It is a real showcase for everything the percussion ensemble is capable of when placed in the hands of four more-than-capable musicians like those in Sandbox Percussion, who exhibited a stunning display of technicality throughout.”
“Sandbox Percussion offered excellent musicianship and a dazzling, up-close experience.”
“Sandbox plays most music from memory, as they did with the Ligeti piece and the second work, Sonata by Jonny Allen, who is also one of the group’s members.”
“[The group’s debut album] And That One Too is a testament to Sandbox Percussion’s first decade: of honing their ensemble, of developing their collaborations. This album embodies the ‘secret’ of New Music, the success inherent in finding your people and building each other up through your work.”
“The highlight of the concert was a short work by Sandbox’s Jonny Allen, titled Sonata. This tonal work was both hypnotic and resonant, with the vibraphone supplying a bluesy, descending line allowing other instruments to become the musical decoration. At the end, all the musicians came together on the vibes in an interplay of mallets and hands striking the instruments.”
— San Francisco Classical Voice
“And That One Too changes what a listener might expect of an album of music from a percussion quartet in the 21st century. It’s a fresh take on the high art of percussion albums from the 70’s through the 90’s. Shedding the manic, glossy style and aesthetic of many modern percussion groups, Sandbox Percussion has quietly been carving their own route and unique voice for nearly a decade, and this album has been well-worth the wait.”
“one of the most pristine and crystalline albums I’ve listened to for a while…”
— Higher Plain Music, on And That One Too