Sidney Hopson

I’m still processing all that I learned and experienced last week in Washington DC. I’m grateful for the NATO (and UN) leaders, staff, and partners working everyday to make this world safer despite the politics and noise. And I’m honored to have presented thoughts on artists’ current and potential impact on global security (inside and beyond the alliance).

Since my college days, I’ve been discontent with many of the narratives artists inherit regarding our “purpose” in the world; it often seemed like us professional storytellers were the first to fall victim to these convenient and reductive myths. They may help us cope with mammoth tasks of social change and peaceful coexistence, but they can inadvertently limit us beyond measure. Simply put, when artists get informed on big issues, show up to big conversations armed with thoughtful solutions, and create works and systems accordingly - big things can happen.

Endless thanks to the ones who continually inspire me to show up, to rise above circumstance and rhetoric, and to never stop aiming for better. Detailed thoughts to come.

Only love.

Tonight is gonna be 🔥🔥🔥.
Thank you and for having me aboard. I’m honored to be leading the percussion section in this space - and grateful for every shoulder we stand on.

Shoutouts to my fellow percussionists and for the magic and mastery they bring to every stage everyday. It’s always a gift to drum alongside you, family. 👑👑🥁🥁

Hollywood Bowl | 8pm show | Gate opens at 6pm.

Let’s Go. 🔥



Repost :
…This Juneteenth, T-Pain invites Ledisi, David Banner, Jordin Sparks, LaRussell, D Smoke, Lloyd, Flyana Boss, Iniko, Tina Campbell of Mary Mary, Durand Bernarr, Tevin Campbell, Elena Pinderhughes, DC6 Singers Collective, Good People Club, conductor Derrick Hodge and the Color of Noize Orchestra—and you! All hosted by Affion Crockett. Join us on Wednesday!

Glad this recording is out in the world! 🎊🙌🏾
It was a blast providing percussion orchestrations to this gem of a concerto by .

Big shoutouts to for a characteristically stellar performance 👊🏾—to the , maestra JoAnn Falletta, and the entire artistic and production teams who made this record possible—to all of the invisible labor inside and outside the recording stage—and of course, to the boss Elf himself. 🥂🔥



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Wonderful to have worked on these incredible works for with and .hopson out with recorded by and and Pete Cobbin. Conducted by JoAnn Falletta

What a night.

Playing with the & was a joy.
The musical mind of has no bounds.
, , , and Mike Johnson are rockstar humans who happen to also be rockstar musicians.
is unstoppable 🔥.
’s arrangements are 🔥🔥.

Thank you to everyone who came.

Thank you to everyone who made it possible.

Only love. ✊🏾

TONIGHT | 8PM | @ 2220 Arts & Archives (Los Angeles)

Cannot wait to debut some original music about people, places, and ideas that are near and dear to me.

Truly honored to be joined by friends/legends , , and . 🔥🔥🔥

Tickets and info in bio.




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Cannot wait to share this with you. 🖤

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Join us for a night of percussion and personal histories with Sidney Hopson (.hopson)! Hopson will present the world premiere of “Through the Looking Glass” on Saturday, February 24, 8pm . Tix and more at the link in bio!⁠
⁠
Percussionist, composer, activist, and arts futurist Sidney Hopson builds a multi-media project underscoring his work with refugee musicians in Jordan and Afghanistan. Part concert, part documentary video, part conversation, “Through the Looking Glass” shows music as a container for our hopes and histories, the personal and the universal.

Mom would have turned 70 today.
Sometimes it feels impossible to comprehend how different - and how similar - the worlds she entered and departed were.

15 years ago today, I called her to ask If I could change my travel plans—
Instead of returning home from London where I’d been studying over the holidays, I told her I wanted to travel to Washington DC for time-sensitive research and interviews “to help out a friend”. Despite my murky sense of what I would/could accomplish there, she just chuckled for a moment, told me to iron my suit once I unpacked in DC, and wished and me good luck (pronounced: “What is my teenage son doing now?…”)

That trip changed my life forever. In the weeks that followed, I witnessed ’s first Presidential inauguration, made life-long friends and colleagues in unlikely places, learned how our government funds, engages, and limits the arts, and unknowingly laid a foundation for a career that would encompass far more than I ever could have imagined.

My relationship with mom was always complicated. But she always gave me room to explore, expand, fail, fail better, and succeed. She left us in 2017, and I’m still learning from her.

Big gratitude for all the legends who continue teaching in their absence—and big love to everyone still learning from those we lost too soon.

Honored our Grammy-nominated album (Julius Eastman: Vol. 3: “If You’re So Smart, Why Aren’t You Rich?”) was named one of this year’s best by the . 🖤




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Thrilled that ’s record is among the best of the year!

Congrats everyone to everyone on the record! Your playing is emotional, shaking, and ever committed. It feels as if we’re doing these remarkable pieces of Eastman’s justice. CC standout contributions from:




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And congrats to our amazing colleagues who are also on the list:





(go blue)


Eric Wubbels


Steven Schick
and

Honored to be featured in this month’s issue of International Musician magazine.

Thank you to Cherie Yurco & Antoinette Follett at the for your time, energy, and thoughtful care of this piece.

Above all, thank you to the friends, colleagues, collaborators, mentors, family, and global music and policy communities that have carried me, challenged me, inspired me all along the way. Special love to my Los Angeles / home team. ✊🏾

Showtime. 🔥

Excited to make my debut tonight and honored to join this roster of festival percussionists past and present.

Even better doing it with friends.
🥁🛢️👏🏾🪘



https://theconrad.org/summerfest/

“Julius Eastman Vol. 3: If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Rich?” is out TODAY!!!

I’m proud of our record, proud of our band, honored to pay tribute to the life and genius of Julius Eastman, and pumped for the road ahead.🔥

Join us tonight in for an album release listening party and conversation at with Harmony Holiday (writer, dancer, experimental filmmaker), Christopher Rountree, Elizabeth Cline, and yours truly. 🖤

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Today is the day! We’re thrilled to share with you the most recent installment in our GRAMMY®-nominated Julius Eastman Anthology, Julius Eastman Vol. 3: If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Rich? – The record the is calling “A Deliriously Great Tribute.” 💿


Tracks
•If You’re So Smart, Why Aren’t You Rich? (1978) - premiere recording of new version. Open score, large ensemble, voices, arr. and

•The Moon’s Silent Modulation (1970)
premiere recording. Stings, percussion, two pianos, and voices.

•Evil N****r (1979)
premiere recording of new version
, piano / leader
, piano / leader
New version arr. Devonté Hynes, Adam Tendler, , Christopher Rountree

📸
#1: Alex Brown
#2: Christine Rusiniak
#6: Joseph Sinnott ()
#7(l):
#7(r): Jenna Putnam

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is in theaters.

The mastery, power, innovation, scope, and range of ’s epic score can’t be understated. It was an honor to watch him work and witness his musical vision come to life.

Grateful to have been a part of this outstanding percussion section, led by my brother , and featuring the one and only on a drumset made entirely of tires.

See the movie.
Listen to the soundtrack.
Maximize. 🛞🔥

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Thank you for everything, . 🖤💙

What an incredible first experience. Can’t wait for you all to see this.

Next stop, east coast tour!! ✈️

Kicking it off with a residency at (thanks for hosting us, !!), followed by another at in NYC + a few secret goodies.

Can’t wait for these shows and conversations with the band, our very special guests and , and our awesome and ever-growing community. Hope to see you there!!

Thank you to everyone who made last night’s concert at the truly magnificent. So grateful to .ruo and this fantastic ensemble for the stunning music and fun memories.

Coming at you, NYC!

Truly blown away by my colleagues’ performances on this one. And grateful to have been a part of the journey. 💙🥁🚀

Check out season 3 soundtrack today!



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Joel McNeely, John Debney, Andrew Cottee, and Kevin Kaska have written the finest, most lush, sophisticated, expressive orchestral scores in television today. To my ear, they’ve even run circles around most contemporary theatrical scores. I hope you enjoy their brilliance and hard work as much as I do. Here, at long last, is The Orville: New Horizons - the Original Television Soundtrack, available wherever you stream. (Link in bio)

And just like that, I departed Indianapolis today with some great memories and new friends. It was such a joy to perform “Speechless” by with again, and to share a concert with , , and Yang Guo.

I had a BLAST presenting a masterclass to Jon Crabiel’s outstanding percussion students. I’m still buzzing from their stellar performances!

Thank you to everyone at , , , and who made this week possible - and to our full house of concert attendees who ventured into the freezing rain for an intimate night of music making.

Hey Indy!

I’m excited to join Sphinx Artists & , and ISO players & Yang Guo for “An Evening With Sphinx” - presented in partnership by the and .

Wednesday, January 18th @ 7pm.
, Eidson-Duckwall Recital Hall

Program to Include:

Duo for violin and cello by

“Speechless” for percussion and cello
by

String Quartet No. 2 by Florence Price

I hope you can make it!
Link in Bio.

I am so proud to have to worked on 4 albums nominated this year across multiple Grammy categories (recorded percussion on “Stay On It”, “Encanto” and “Big Mess” - provided orchestrations, music prep, and production services on “Perspectives”/Danny Elfman]’s Percussion Quartet)

Today is the final day of voting. If you’re a Recording Academy member and have any votes to spare, I would be honored if you consider these nominees:

Best Orchestral Performance—
| “Stay On It” (Julius Eastman)
*I am especially proud of this record, of my WildUp crew, and our amazing community for their support throughout our deep dive into the life, times, and music of Julius Eastman.

Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media—
“Encanto” | Various Artists

Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media—
“Encanto” | , composer

Best Song Written for Visual Media—
“We Don’t Talk About Bruno” (, songwriter (, , , , , , and the Encanto Cast)

Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Packaging—
Big Mess | , art director (Danny Elfman])

Best Engineered Album, Classical—
“Perspectives” | Jonathan Lackey, Bill Maylone & Dan Nichols, engineers; Joe Lambert, mastering engineer ()

Huge congrats and cheers to all of this year’s nominees!!!

Much Love,
S

One final bit of good 2022 news from .

I’m honored to have led the ’a stellar percussion section for the historic Celebration at the last June (No. 45) - featuring: , , , , , , , , , and . Much love to maestros and Thomas Wilkins, , , and everyone who made this show a masterpiece of .

And I’m still buzzin from our awesome Halloween shows with (also at the Bowl). Danny, , , , , , , our rockstar orchestra and choir, , , , , , , , and a village of outstanding designers, engineers, music prep staff, techs, and audience members made that weekend truly one for the history books.

Grateful to be surrounded by folks who inspire me on the daily.

Wishing everyone an incredible 2023!!

#2022

It’s finally here!! I’ve been excited to share this news for a bit…

I had the absolute joy of recording percussion/drums for Avatar 2: The Way of Water alongside some of LA’s finest percussionists, led by . ’s score is an immense, action-packed, and stunning achievement.
Huge thanks to for bringing me aboard, and to my colleagues throughout the orchestra and choir, in the booth, and across the world - for their artistry, technical mastery, and the great memories!

On a personal note—
Growing up, I often found my courage to navigate life and its challenges with the stories and characters I consumed through film & TV; this and a love for film music are what drove me toward a career that encompassed them. At 33, it’s an honor every time I get to participate in that cinematic tradition and pay that light forward. And it’s a gift to do it alongside people, minds, and voices I admire so much.

See in theaters today!!

Much love—💙

Honored to have worked on two of NPR’s ”10 Best Classical Albums of 2022”. Big congrats to my fam and to / .💙

“Wild Up once again gives astonishingly committed performances...If you're interested in art that prizes connection with one's "authentic self," this album is the sound of freedom."

“…Elfman's Percussion Quartet weaves colorful threads in a transparent way…”

’s recording of “Stay On It” (Julius Eastman) is GRAMMY nominated!!! ✨💫

So proud of our band, excited for our present and future, and honored to help carry Julius’ music into new spaces and brighter days.

’s recording of “Stay On It” (Julius Eastman) is GRAMMY nominated!!! ✨💫

So proud of our band, excited for our present and future, and honored to help carry Julius’ music into new spaces and brighter days.

Loving the shots and videos coming in from our performance of Simeon Ten Holt’s “Canto Ostinato” at .
Thank you to everyone who joined us!!

📸: Anneliese Goldman

Happy from me and the pickiest tambourine coach in the biz.

#🎃 #2021

Night #1–
Here. We. Go. 🔥

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It's GRAMMY® time again!

’s album - Julius Eastman Vol. 2: Joy Boy - is on the first round ballot in multiple categories:
- Best Classical Compendium
- Best Orchestral Performance
- Best Arrangement
- Best Engineered Album, Classical
- Producer of the Year, Classical — Lewis
Pesacov

If you have a spare vote, we would be honored by your consideration.

See link in bio for more info and links to listen.

Five years later, she is still teaching me - about her life, about myself, about the world. 🖤