Nine Rivers

The North American premiere of James Dillon’s maximalist epic Nine Rivers at Miller Theatre is the first major cultural event of the season. Written over the course of 18 years and finally performed in its entirety, to great fanfare, in the composer’s hometown of Glasgow last November, the piece requires more than 50 musicians, an octophonic sound system and a 48-channel mixing board. To accommodate the vast technical requirements, Miller has divided the piece into three bite-size concerts featuring drum guru Steven Schick and his San Diego–based percussion ensemble, red fish blue fish, as well as Philly vocal group the Crossing and New York’s own International Contemporary Ensemble. For full impact, we suggest that you take the plunge and invest in the three-concert pass.