Great Lake Concerto
for 2 Percussion & Symphony Orchestra
Great Lake Concerto
The most recent performance of the Great Lake Concerto was on July 25, 2025 by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Chief Conductor Marin Alsop.
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As the Chicago Tribune put it: ”Corpus’s writing is consistently inventive: It’s never quite clear whether the soloists are teasing one another or casually trying to one-up each other, and you’ll never hear a xylophone sound more mournful than it does at the middle of the movement. I’s always a high endorsement, to both performer and composer, when people start hooting in the middle of a classical music piece like they’re at a stadium show.”
“The Great Lake Concerto”, a concerto for double percussion, serves as a powerful ode to water conservation and the city of Chicago. Composed for my former percussion teachers Ed Harrison & Vadim Karpinos, the concerto not only showcases the technical prowess of the percussionists but also resonates with a message about the interconnectedness of communities and their natural surroundings. The concerto explores the symbiotic relationship between humanity and water, drawing inspiration from Lake Michigan, which stretches over 22,406 square miles and serves as a lifeblood for Chicago.
Opening with the deep resonance of water through the water gong, the first movement explores the ebb and flow of water, deep and expansive, shallow and fragile. The second movement features a folk song, selected by Vadim Karpinos, this song celebrates another city shaped by water, Kiev, Ukraine. The closing movement showcases the star performers, making space for unique solos from the maracas and the xylophone.
Photographer: Tong Hao Courtesy of Ravinia Festival
The most recent performance of the Great Lake Concerto was on July 25, 2025 by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Chief Conductor Marin Alsop.
More information
As the Chicago Tribune put it: ”Corpus’s writing is consistently inventive: It’s never quite clear whether the soloists are teasing one another or casually trying to one-up each other, and you’ll never hear a xylophone sound more mournful than it does at the middle of the movement. I’s always a high endorsement, to both performer and composer, when people start hooting in the middle of a classical music piece like they’re at a stadium show.”
Photographer: Tong Hao Courtesy of Ravinia Festival
The Great Lake Concerto world premiere was on February 5, 2024 at Chicago’s Auditorium Theatre.
Coming soon.
Instrumentation
2.2.2.2-4.2.3.1-tmp+2-hp-strings
As the Chicago Tribune put it: ”Corpus’s writing is consistently inventive: It’s never quite clear whether the soloists are teasing one another or casually trying to one-up each other, and you’ll never hear a xylophone sound more mournful than it does at the middle of the movement. I’s always a high endorsement, to both performer and composer, when people start hooting in the middle of a classical music piece like they’re at a stadium show.”
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