Seven Pillars

Renowned for their adventurous programming and extraordinary precision, Sandbox Percussion returns to String Theory with Andy Akiho’s Seven Pillars. Described by The New York Times as a “lush, brooding celebration of noise,” the work received nominations for two Grammy Awards and the Pulitzer Prize in Music, further establishing Akiho as one of today’s most distinctive musical voices.

Akiho and Sandbox Percussion’s collaboration on Seven Pillars evolved over nearly eight years, growing through an extended creative partnership between close friends and collaborators. Consisting of seven ensemble movements and individual solo movements for each member of Sandbox, Seven Pillars is a mesmerizing fusion of sound, light, and movement. Blending traditional percussion instruments such as vibraphone, glockenspiel, and marimba with found sounds including glass bottles and metal pipes, this ambitious work pushes Sandbox to its virtuosic and expressive limits.