It’s admittedly “a little silly” for all four members of Third Coast Percussion to gather around a single marimba, says founding member David Skidmore. But that’s exactly the scenario the chamber music quartet asked rising composer JaRon Brown to create with the new work This Too Shall Pass.

Skidmore describes “dancing around each other” to perform it, which undoubtedly necessitates some functional choreography. He adds, “JaRon’s music is really thoughtfully put together, with a sense of lightness, fun, and whimsy.” (Third Coast once performed a piece by the South Carolina composer that’s meant to mimic the feeling of having butterflies in your stomach.) This Too Shall Pass gets its world premiere February 25 as part of Third Coast’s concert at Gottlieb Hall in the West Loop.

Taking on a new challenge is very much in the DNA of the acclaimed group, which celebrated two decades together in 2025. Its anniversary year included the April release of Standard Stoppages, its 23rd studio album, full of new commissions. “We’re constantly reaching out to people with musical experiences and backgrounds different from ours,” Skidmore says, “learning from them, and finding ways their music can inform ours.”

Looking at a wall featuring Third Coast’s many albums in the group’s office-studio suite in North Center, ensemble member Sean Connors reflects further on that notion: “The experience was so different every time. You’re still like, Oh, I’m so excited to work with this new composer. The things that might be challenging are also invigorating – like musical vitamins.”

The members, who also include Robert Dillon and Peter Martin, met while studying percussion at Northwestern University. In 2017, they became the first percussion group to win a Grammy in the classical genre, for Steve Reich, an album of works by the hugely influential composer. Over the years, Third Coast has commissioned pieces from a wide range of talents, including legends Philip Glass and Danny Elfman, Wilco’s Glenn Kotchke, and electronic innovator Jlin, who is from Gary.

By the time of its February concert, the quartet might well have another Grammy or two to add to its shelf for Standard Stoppages, which earned a pair of nominations. Collaborators on the album include violinist Jessie Montgomery-one of her compositions is on the set list for the concert, along with a Reich number – and the late tabla virtuoso Zakir Hussain, who died before Stoppages‘ release. “Our favorite role,” Skidmore says, “is to be a vehicle for artists who’ve never played in this world or written music in this way before.”

That goal connects to the mission of Nova Linea Musica, the organization presenting the concert. Established in 2024, NLM is devoted to creating and promoting contemporary chamber music in Chicago. While most of NLM’s concerts happen in an intimate 60-seat theater in the Loop, the 350-seat Gottlieb Hall was booked to accommodate Third Coast’s larger draw. All NLM concerts include a commissioned work-this time, Brown’s marimba piece. As a bonus, Third Coast will also perform a new piece by Dillon.

“That’s the fun thing about this,” says NLM’s artistic director, Desirée Ruhstrat, a violinist and founding member of the twice-Grammy-nominated Lincoln Trio. “It’s new music, and the composer and the artists explain the piece and what to listen for, which brings a whole new life to it.”

What will the next decade or two look like for Third Coast? Skidmore muses that the quartet could tackle pre-20th-century classical music, which wasn’t written for percussion instruments, and “reinvent it in ways that make sense for us. We’ve also never done a bluegrass album.” Whimsy beckons as well. Interjects Dillon: “And we have to get on Sesame Street!”

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