#5202, With Erik Hall, Sandbox Percussion, and Metropolis Ensemble, Live

A few years ago, The New York Times published an article written by Hugh Morris, titled “The Minimalist Composer Who Keeps Getting Left Out,” highlighting the legacy of the late Dutch composer Simeon ten Holt and his most well-known piece, Canto Ostinato. One of the readers of that article was the founder and artistic director of Metropolis Ensemble, Andrew Cyr, who discovered Erik Hall’s solo interpretation of the piece shortly thereafter. Cyr, despite never having met the Michigan-based pianist before, called Erik Hall and presented his idea to expand Hall’s arrangement to be performed by a large ensemble at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Cyr’s proposal eventually brought Erik Hall, Metropolis Ensemble, and Sandbox Percussion together, and a new, highly cinematic, and meditative rendition of Canto Ostinato was born.

For this episode of New Sounds, Erik Hall, Andrew Cyr, and Jonny Allen from Sandbox Percussion join us in the studio to tell the story of their momentous collaboration. Several musicians from both Metropolis Ensemble and Sandbox Percussion are also present for an exclusive live performance of Canto Ostinato’s Sections 1-84, with Erik Hall on piano, Ian Rosenbaum and Terry Sweeney on marimba, Jonny Allen and Victor Caccese on vibraphone, Henry Wang on violin, and David Leon on woodwinds. - Sırma Munyar

Program #5202, With Erik Hall, Live (First aired 11/04/26)

ARTIST: Erik Hall
WORK: Pulses [0:36]
RECORDING: Music For 18 Musicians (Steve Reich)
SOURCE: Western Vinyl
INFO: https://erikhall.bandcamp.com/track/pulses

ARTIST: Erik Hall
WORK: Canto Ostinato: Sections 1-16 [0:31]
RECORDING: Canto Ostinato (Simeon ten Holt)
SOURCE: Western Vinyl
INFO: https://erikhall.bandcamp.com/album/canto-ostinato-simeon-ten-holt

ARTIST: Erik Hall, Metropolis Ensemble & Sandbox Percussion
WORK: Canto Ostinato: Sections 1-16 [0:46]
RECORDING: Canto Ostinato
SOURCE: Western Vinyl
INFO: https://erikhall.bandcamp.com/album/canto-ostinato-2

ARTIST: Erik Hall
WORK: Canto Ostinato: Sections 1-16 [0:57]
RECORDING: Canto Ostinato (Simeon ten Holt)
SOURCE: Western Vinyl
INFO: https://erikhall.bandcamp.com/album/canto-ostinato-simeon-ten-holt

ARTIST: Erik Hall
WORK: Canto Ostinato: Sections 1-16 [0:29]
RECORDING: Canto Ostinato (Simeon ten Holt)
SOURCE: Western Vinyl
INFO: https://erikhall.bandcamp.com/album/canto-ostinato-simeon-ten-holt

ARTIST: Erik Hall & Ensemble
WORK: Canto Ostinato: Sections 1-84 [27:40]
RECORDING: Live for New Sounds, October 2026
SOURCE: This performance is not commercially available.
INFO: https://www.erikhall.net/

ARTIST: Erik Hall
WORK: Section VI [0:47]
RECORDING: Music For 18 Musicians (Steve Reich)
SOURCE: Western Vinyl
INFO: https://erikhall.bandcamp.com/track/pulses

ARTIST: Laurie Spiegel
WORK: Appalachian Grove III [0:52]
RECORDING: The Expanding Universe
SOURCE: Unseen Worlds, LLC
INFO: https://lauriespiegel.bandcamp.com/album/the-expanding-universe

ARTIST: Erik Hall
WORK: Laurie Spiegel: A Folk Study [3:13]
RECORDING: Solo Three
SOURCE: Western Vinyl
INFO: https://erikhall.bandcamp.com/album/solo-three

ARTIST: Erik Hall
WORK: Canto Ostinato: Sections 95-106 [4:13]
RECORDING: Canto Ostinato (Simeon ten Holt)
SOURCE: Western Vinyl
INFO: https://erikhall.bandcamp.com/album/canto-ostinato-simeon-ten-holt