Josh Quillen: Percussion, Process, and Concert Honesty

On this episode of The Bandwich Tapes, I sit down with percussionist, composer, educator, and Sō Percussion member Josh Quillen for a wide-ranging conversation about teaching, ensemble life, steel pan, podcasting, grief, musical history, and the value of listening closely.Josh joined Sō Percussion in 2006 and has spent nearly two decades helping the ensemble develop its distinctive approach to contemporary chamber music. We talk about how the group has evolved from a model built around four percussionists playing similar setups into one that more openly reflects the individual musical identities of its members. Josh shares how composers such as Steven Mackey helped the group recognize the value of those differences, from steel pan and drum set to marimba, electronics, singing, and synthesizers.We also spend time discussing the Sō Percussion Summer Institute, which Josh describes as one of the most demanding and rewarding parts of his year. He explains how the institute asks young musicians to learn an enormous amount of music with unfamiliar collaborators, confront insecurity, and discover that missing a note is rarely the most important problem in the room.The conversation becomes deeply personal as Josh talks about losing his father to ALS, preserving one of the final recordings of his voice, and how that experience helped shape his podcast, Concert Honesty. We discuss the importance of documenting artists as full human beings, the danger of turning musical heroes into myths, and what Josh has learned from speaking with musicians such as Russ Hartenberger, Bob Becker, Joan Tower, Steve Reich, and others.Along the way, Josh reflects on growing up in rural Ohio, learning discipline from his father’s work at a bottling warehouse, discovering steel band in high school, traveling to Trinidad without a phone, and learning that musical development often comes from curiosity, failure, repetition, and the freedom to make mistakes without having every moment permanently documented.Key Takeaways• The Sō Percussion Summer Institute is designed to give young musicians an intensive taste of professional ensemble life, including uncertainty, limited rehearsal time, unfamiliar collaborators, and ambitious repertoire.• Josh believes strong teaching requires precision, empathy, and the ability to give honest criticism without stripping students of their confidence.• Sō Percussion’s musical identity has gradually shifted from four players demonstrating similar technical skills toward a model that embraces each member’s individual musical interests.• Steven Mackey’s It Is Time became an important turning point by highlighting Josh’s steel pan background and the distinct musical personalities of the Sō Percussion members.• Josh’s approach to Steve Reich’s music is rooted in chamber music precision, shared pulse, groove, and a clearly defined ensemble identity.• Concert Honesty began partly as a way to preserve the voices, experiences, and humanity of musicians beyond their résumés and major accomplishments.• Losing his father to ALS shaped Josh’s understanding of memory, grief, recorded sound, and the importance of preserving a person’s voice.Music from the EpisodeMusic for Wood and Strings (Part 1) - Bryce Dessner (Sō Percussion)To the Sky - Caroline Shaw (Sō Percussion)Let the Soil Play Its Simple Part - Caroline Shaw (Sō Percussion)Rectangles and Circumstance - Caroline Shaw (Sō Percussion)About the PodcastThe Bandwich Tapes is a podcast about how music gets made and the people who make it. Hosted by musician Brad Williams, the show features thoughtful, musician-to-musician conversations about craft, collaboration, creative process, artistic growth, and life in music.Connect with the ShowQuestions, comments, or guest suggestions:[email protected]