On Sunday evening, a tribute to the late College of William & Mary composer William DeFotis will play out on stage at the Williamsburg Regional Library.
Thanks to the Ewell Concert Series – sponsored by the department of music at W&M – Percussion Group Cincinnati will play, among other pieces, music that DeFotis wrote for founding group member Allen Otte. According to the Williamsburg Regional Library’s website, the group has played experimental music from the U.S., Chile, Bali, China and Africa.
The group’s website says they formed in 1979 and consists of three percussionists: Otte, James Culley and Russel Burge. The trio is known to use unconventional instruments like computers, newspapers or a deck of cards.
“It’s quite a lot of fun,” said Katherine Preston, former Ewell Concert Series chairwoman. “It’s a very interesting experience.”
Preston said Otte and DeFotis knew each other well. She decided to invite Otte’s group back to Williamsburg this year, 10 years after DeFotis’ death.
Preston herself is no stranger to the group. She first saw them in 1989 during another Yule Concert series.
DeFotis was born in 1953 in Chicago. He studied composition at the University of Illinois and conducting at the University of Iowa. He was awarded a Fulbright Commission Grant in 1977 to study in Germany.
In 1986, he started teaching composition, theory and women’s studies at the College of William & Mary. Aside from being an educator, DeFotis composed instrumental, vocal and electronic pieces.
