Hamza Able (Percussion '23) Featured On WHYY's "On Stage at Curtis"
The 2023 Curtis graduate performs pieces from Elise Arancio (Composition '23) and George Crumb
Season 18 of WHYY’s acclaimed On Stage at Curtis series is premiering this fall. As the school prepares to kick off the 2023–24 academic year, we look back at one of last season’s final episodes featuring a portrait of recent graduate Hamza Able (’23).
The Moroccan-born percussionist grew up in Jacksonville, Florida, and completed his post-baccalaureate diploma at Curtis this past spring. He aspires to become a percussionist with a major orchestra in the years ahead. In this feature, Mr. Hamza discusses the process of bringing to life Elise Arancio‘s (’23) Made for Broken Mockingbirds, an original composition for timpanists and electronics, which requires him to recite poetry while playing.
He then shares the performance history of George Crumb‘s Kronos – Kryptos and talks about the revised version he played with Ensemble 20/21. This theatrical piece consists of four tableaus for a percussion quintet and a wide variety of instruments alongside bursts of sound—shouting, pantomime, and whispers.
Click HERE to watch the On Stage at Curtis episode, or click the video below.
Photos of Hamza Able courtesy of the artist.