Steve Reich: Drumming Part 1 at The Glasshouse | Preview
Steve Reich’s Drumming Part 1 comes to The Glasshouse Gateshead on 2 October 2026 as part of the composer’s 90th-birthday festival weekend.
Steve Reich’s Drumming Part 1 comes to The Glasshouse in Gateshead on Friday 2 October 2026 as part of the composer’s 90th-birthday festival weekend. The late-night Sage Two performance strips the music back to one of Reich’s most elemental ideas, using repeated rhythmic cells and gradual phase shifts to build tension from a deceptively simple starting point.
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The work is one of the clearest examples of how Reich turns repetition into movement, with tiny rhythmic changes creating a sense of constant evolution. In a smaller room like Sage Two, those shifts should feel especially immediate because the audience can hear the pattern change almost from inside the ensemble.
Drumming Part 1 at The Glasshouse
The performance follows the opening Sage One concert earlier in the evening, giving audiences a second way into Reich’s music on the same night. Where the larger programme uses voices and ensemble colour, Drumming Part 1 focuses attention almost entirely on pulse, timing and the physical impact of percussion.
Event details
- Date: Friday 2 October 2026
- Venue: The Glasshouse International Centre for Music, Gateshead
Current information is available through The Glasshouse’s official event page. Check the venue listing before travelling for final timings and any programme changes.
See all upcoming gigs at The Glasshouse on SoundBite North East.
