Steve Reich: Music for 18 Musicians at The Glasshouse | Preview
Steve Reich’s Music for 18 Musicians comes to The Glasshouse on his 90th birthday, with the Colin Currie Group performing three defining works.
Steve Reich’s Music for 18 Musicians at The Glasshouse takes place on Saturday 3 October 2026, the composer’s 90th birthday, as one of the centrepieces of a full weekend devoted to his music in Gateshead.
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The 7:30pm Sage One concert brings together Music for Pieces of Wood, Quartet and Music for 18 Musicians, performed by the Colin Currie Group. That makes this more than a single-work anniversary performance. Instead, the programme moves from stripped-back percussion into the larger, shimmering sound world of one of Reich’s best-known pieces.
Steve Reich at The Glasshouse on his 90th birthday
The timing gives the Gateshead concert extra significance. Reich turns 90 on 3 October, and The Glasshouse has built an entire festival weekend around the milestone. The wider programme runs from Friday 2 to Sunday 4 October and includes Royal Northern Sinfonia, the Colin Currie Group, Bryce Dessner and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, alongside talks, free performances and an immersive sound installation.
Saturday is particularly packed. Earlier in the day, Royal Northern Sinfonia performs Radio Rewrite, Pulse and Eight Lines in Sage Two, while the Colin Currie Quartet gives a free performance of Mallet Quartet on the Concourse Stage. The 7:30pm concert then becomes the evening’s major statement, placing Music for 18 Musicians at the heart of Reich’s birthday itself.
Why Music for 18 Musicians still stands out
Music for 18 Musicians is built around pulse, repetition and gradual harmonic change, but its scale makes it feel very different from the smaller percussion works elsewhere in the weekend. Voices, clarinets, strings, pianos and percussion combine in a continuous sequence where small cues move the ensemble from one section to the next.
That makes the Colin Currie Group an important part of the appeal. The ensemble specialises in Reich’s music, and Colin Currie has curated the wider Steve Reich at 90 programme. Hearing the piece in Sage One, surrounded by concerts exploring different periods and sides of Reich’s work, gives this performance a context that a standalone date simply would not have.
Steve Reich Music for 18 Musicians: event details
- Date: Saturday 3 October 2026
- Venue: The Glasshouse, Sage One, Gateshead
- Time: 7:30pm
- Performers: Colin Currie Group
- Programme: Music for Pieces of Wood, Quartet and Music for 18 Musicians
- Running time: Around two hours, including a 20-minute interval
- Tickets: £5 to £54.50
- Age guidance: Under-14s must be accompanied by an adult
Tickets and the latest programme information are available from The Glasshouse’s Steve Reich event page. The full weekend programme can also be explored through Steve Reich at 90.
Check The Glasshouse before travelling for any final programme, access or timing updates.
See all upcoming gigs at The Glasshouse on SoundBite North East.
