Allen Otte came to the University of Cincinnati in 1977 with The Blackearth
Percussion Group which he co-founded in 1972; in 1979 he founded Percussion
Group Cincinnati.
The three members of the Group are faculty and ensemble-in-residence at the conservatory, with an international touring schedule of concerts, concerto appearances, masterclasses, and childrens programs.
A large body of new and often experimental music has been created
specifically for the Group throughout its history, including special
relationships with John Cage, Herbert Brun, John Luther Adams, and Qu
various literature seminars, and coaches and conducts traditional and
contemporary chamber music. He is a regular summer faculty member at
Oberlin where he has also done a course in traditional and creative music for Javanese gamelan. With and without the Group he has concertized,
recorded and taught throughout North America, Europe, and in Asia, including
solo concerts and guest presentations in Shanghai, Saarbrucken, Aukland, and
at Tanglewood.
As both percussionist and composer he works occasionally with soprano Audrey Luna, poet Don Bogen, the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, and extensively in computer music with Mara Helmuth; he has also worked in Lucca, Italy with opera director Malcolm Fraser creating experimental music theater pieces. The evening-length monodrama CLOTHO for
percussionist, soprano, and computer, based the life of Camille Claudel, was
premiered in 2001. A CD of 5 collaborative works with Mara Helmuth is available on EMS; Percussion Group Cincinnati is recorded on their own
