Steven Schick Will Release New Percussion Album
The percussionist's latest project, It’s About Time, arrives this November as the conclusion to a trilogy.
Updated on Sept. 21, 2026 in Classical
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Islandia Music Records will release the 2-CD album It’s About Time featuring Steven Schick on November 20, 2026. The album serves as the final installment in his three-volume Weather Systems series exploring percussion music.
Why it matters
The project serves as a culmination of Schick’s career-long exploration of time as both a macro-scale concept and a micro-temporal element. By featuring works from various contemporary composers, the series aims to capture the evolving landscape of percussion performance.
The album is a 2-CD set and marks the third volume in the Weather Systems series, which spans seven total discs. Schick has previously commissioned or premiered over 150 works throughout his career.
The players
Steven Schick
He is a renowned percussionist and a Distinguished Professor of Music at the University of California, San Diego.
Islandia Music Records
This is the music label responsible for producing and distributing the Weather Systems album series.
William Brent
He is a computer musician who contributed to the recordings for the new album.
Aleck Karis
He is a pianist who provided instrumental contributions to the recording project.
The details
The album features performances of works by Lang, Gordon, Birtwistle, Xenakis, Ferneyhough, Saariaho, and Steiger. Recordings were produced at Studio A at the University of California, San Diego, utilizing specialized equipment such as MIDI-triggered kick-drum beaters and custom metallic instruments.
Timeline
A single from the album will be released on November 6, 2026.
The full album, It's About Time, will be released on November 20, 2026.
Industry Dynamics
This project continues the long-standing tradition of academic-led contemporary music production pioneered by the University of California, San Diego. It reflects a broader shift toward institutional labels documenting experimental performance techniques that might otherwise go unrecorded.
Listeners can access the new single starting in early November followed by the full 2-CD set later that month. These works provide a rare opportunity to hear specialized percussion equipment and experimental composition techniques produced in a studio environment.
The takeaway
This album serves as a definitive document for listeners interested in the intersection of traditional percussion and custom digital-mechanical instruments. Schick’s work highlights the complex relationship between temporal precision and contemporary sound design.
What happens next
A single from the album is scheduled for release on November 6, 2026, followed by the full 2-CD album launch on November 20, 2026.
Further reading
Discover more about the local performance scene on the Classical section page.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Broadway World.
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