Orchestra Iowa ablaze with Percussive Fire

Being part of a first-ever event has appeal. Britton-Rene Collins is thrilled to be part of Orchestra Iowa's initial percussion concerto, “Percussive Fire,” on Saturday in Cedar Rapids and Sunday in Iowa City.

“I’m more excited than nervous,” Collins said while calling from Macon, Ga. “It’s exciting to bring something different to an audience.”

Collins, 24, will be the focal point of “Dreamachine,” created by Grammy Award-winning composer and Cedar Rapids native Michael Daugherty.

“That fact makes it that much more meaningful,” Collins said. “It’s going to be a special event.”

“Dreamachine” tips its hat to the imagination of inventors who developed machines, both real and fictitious. Daugherty pays tribute to Leonardo da Vinci, Rube Goldberg and even to the iconic “Star Trek” character Mr. Spock. The concerto will be delivered with a wide variety of percussion instruments that connect man and machine.

“You can look forward to a lot of different sounds from very different worlds,” Collins said. “I will be playing a number of different textures.”

The winner of the 2020 Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmahleh Competition will play 23 different percussion instruments.

“I love the variety of percussion,” she said. “I don't know if people are aware of how many percussive instruments there are.”

Collins will play drums and marimba during the first movement. She will use a variety of handheld instruments during the second movement. She’ll play the vibraphone during the third movement, and the final movement will be driven by the snare drum.

“You’ll be able to see why I was drawn to the percussion when I was growing up,” she said.

The University of Toronto alum originally played the piano, which also is a percussive instrument striking strings. But the piano wasn’t the right fit for Collins.

“My life changed for me when I was 8,” she said. “I was taking a piano lesson at the time, and I heard a student playing a drum set down the hall. I just had to play the drums. I begged my parents to let me play the drums — and when they allowed me to try the drums, my whole life changed. I give them a lot of credit for allowing me to bang away on my drum set in our living room for so many years.”

Collins, who grew up in Gainesville, Fla., joined the middle school jazz band, where she experienced the marimba for the first time.

“The marimba is such a cool instrument,” she said. “There’s nothing like the sound that emanates from a marimba. You’ll be able to hear the unique sounds from all of the instruments I play when I come in to perform.”

The concert has given Collins an excuse to visit Iowa for the first time.

“I’m sure it’ll be cool since it’s a college town,” Collins said. “I grew up in a college town. This is a special event and it’s so special that my parents are coming in for this show.”

Collins hopes to return with her other project, Vision Duo, which features violinist Ariel Horowitz.

“The combination of percussion and violin is amazing,” Collins said. “You also have to experience what Ariel can do. She’s a powerhouse.”

Dame Evelyn Glennie, the iconic deaf percussionist who has performed as a soloist with myriad orchestras and eclectic musicians such as Bjork, Bela Fleck and Mark Knopfler, inspires Collins.

“I have the utmost respect for Dame Evelyn Glennie,” Collins said. “She is the first percussionist to make a living out of having a solo career, and she has accomplished so much. She plays with so much joy and is so much fun to watch. When you see her perform you see how limitless the possibilities are with percussion.”

Collins hopes to inspire children to explore percussion.

“I particularly hope to move those who are Black and non-male,” she said. “Percussion is an exciting instrument. Percussion is for everyone.”

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