The Colin Currie Quartet was formed in 2018 by Colin Currie to present the diverse works written for percussion quartet. The group is made up of Colin Currie, Owen Gunnell, Adrian Spillett and Sam Walton, who form the core of the Colin Currie Group, and in this new collective they perform works by Steve Reich and branch out into other composers who have been swept along by that highly influential force.
Their 2018/19 debut season performances include the NCPA Beijing and Wigmore Hall, amongst others. A dominant premiere in their first season is a substantial new work for four marimbas by Kevin Volans, and other works in their debut programme include Joseph Pereira’s Mallet Quartet alongside solo pieces by Xenakis and Stockhausen, performed by Currie.
As some of the world’s leading solo, symphonic and chamber percussionists, each player of the quartet brings a different and insightful slant to the art of chamber percussion performance, and the group will be adding substantially to its repertoire in the coming years.
The Quartet performed at this year's BBC Proms as part of the 40th Anniversary of the BBC Young Musician of the Year celebration. They played Steve Reich's Drumming (Part 1) which was well received by critics:
“Colin Currie, Owen Gunnell, Adrian Spillett and Sam Walton generated excitement from the rhythms of Steve Reich’s Drumming (Part 1).”
London Evening Standard
“The biggest thrill of all, for me, was hearing how Part One of Steve Reich’s Drumming can sound in the Albert Hall…as led by Colin Currie, a mere finalist in 1994, with Owen Gunnell, Adrian Spillett and Sam Walton… it’s not possible to play this piece more vibrantly and precisely than these four did.”
The Arts Desk, July 2018