Joseph Pereira

Percussion

Joseph Pereira (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 LA Times in 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 orchestra’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 USC’s Thornton School of Music and was also on faculty at the Juilliard School from 2005-2013.

Pereira has also performed with the New York Percussion Quartet, the New York New Music Ensemble, Alea III, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Robert Shaw Festival Singers, and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra as principal timpanist. He can also be heard on Telarc, Teldec, and Deutsche Grammophon/Itunes recordings and has recently been part of recording the soundtracks to major motion pictures in Los Angeles. His custom line of timpani mallets are manufactured and sold by JG Percussion.

As a composer, performances of Pereira’s works this season will be performed by The San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, Harpverk Duo 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 Miro Quartet, the Los Angeles Percussion Quartet, VickiRay/Piano Spheres LA, 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 LA. In 2013, his string trio Blur, was selected as one of the winners of The American Composers Forum of Los Angeles competition. 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 series at Merkin Concert Hall. The New York Times said, “…it is a restless yet lucidly textured work with an astringent harmonic language.” Pereira’s percussion works are published by Bachovich Music.