@ The next concert in the Farnsworth Concert Series features award-winning percussionist and composer Brian Shankar Adler as he presents a piano trio that blends jazz, Indian classical music, and tango with cinematic improvisations. Brian Shankar Adler is an interdisciplinary percussionist and composer. Described as “a polyrhythmic force… New York City gritty yet still somehow capable of evoking the delicacy of a summer breeze…” (JazzTimes), his work transcends the terrain between genre and geographic region, asking: how can we find connection through rhythm? Adler has performed in caves, forests and adjacent glacial ice fields as well as Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center and The Stone. He has been recorded on over fifty albums including his solo works: For a Gallery on the Moon (Chant Records, 2020), Fourth Dimension (Chant Records, 2019), and his recent collaboration: Air Space: Cricket Cipher (Adhyâropa Records, 2024). Playing primarily a hybrid drum set that includes North Indian tabla, Argentine bombo legüero and found objects, Adler’s work explores the perception of time, the communicative properties of rhythmic gesture and existential questions that reside in the human condition. With equal focus on improvisational and compositional practices, he uses rhythm as a tool for collaboration. An accomplished composer, Adler’s works have been praised as “profoundly exquisite… striking interior chords, where the heart and the mind’s inner ear intersect…” (All About Jazz). He has been commissioned to compose A Memory of Fire (Palaver Strings), Echoes of the Gomero (Rasa String Quartet), We Are a Body of Water (Bates College Gamelan Orchestra) as well as music for Appleton Rum’s “Find Your Rhythm” ad campaign. As a 2025 CASJ Fellow, Adler collaborated with scientists at Shaw Institute to create Dance of the Cephalopod, a solo percussion piece that explores innovative ways to engage the public through social justice. Adler was a composer-in-residence at Antenna Cloud Farm, Avaloch Farm Institute and Vermont College of Fine Arts. He has been the recipient of numerous awards, including Composer’s Now Grants and ASCAP Plus Awards. A Lifetime Arts/National Guild grant winner, Brian Shankar Adler has revolutionized the accessibility of rhythmic pedagogy. In 2013, he published A World of Percussion connecting rhythm, language, mathematics and environment through a study of shared musical concepts from around the globe. Adler is currently on faculties at: Bates, Bowdoin College and Vermont Jazz Center. He is a Vic Firth and Schlagwerk artist and has offered masterclasses and residencies internationally. Cost: $25; $20 for members; students 17 and over $10 ; children 16 and younger are free. This concert is eligible for access rates. We also are offering a subscription rate to the entire music series; please click here to subscribe to all 8 concerts in the series for a discount. Thank you to our sponsors: Add to calendar Google Ca...
