CINCINNATI SANDBOX
EVENT DESCRIPTION
A sandbox is a place for experimentation: materials can be assembled, taken apart, and reshaped into something new. Cincinnati Sandbox takes that idea into the concert hall, exploring what happens when composers and performers reconsider the materials already around us.
Wood, metal, glass, found objects, and discarded materials become instruments, each contributing its own sounds and physical qualities to the music. Grammy-nominated Sandbox Percussion and violinist Kristin Lee join concertnova for the Cincinnati premiere of Vivian Fung’s Goddess//Insect. Works by John Corigliano, Andy Akiho, and Viet Cuong further explore the musical possibilities of familiar and unconventional materials.
The idea of creative reuse continues throughout the concert. In Spark, a new work by Miami University composer Tyler Henderson, performers use lighters, inspired by one the composer found discarded on the ground. Cincinnati’s Heavy Metal Marching Band will also perform using instruments created from reclaimed materials during a community workshop at Wave Pool (sign up below).
By transforming overlooked objects into sources of musical expression, Cincinnati Sandbox asks how we might listen differently and recognize the creative possibilities already present in our surroundings.
ADDITIONAL EVENTS
Instrument-Making Workshop at Indigo Hippo
Sunday, September 20, 2026, from 3:00–5:00 PM
Instrument-Making Workshop at Wave Pool with Heavy Metal Marching Band
Tuesday, September 29, 6:00-8:00 PM
Subscriber and Donor Event at Cincinnati Public Radio
Saturday, October 24, 2026, time to be announced
An exclusive performance by Sandbox Percussion and Kristin Lee inside Cincinnati Public Radio’s recording studio.
Get your season pass now for a chance to attend.
THE PROGRAM
Tyler HENDERSON: Spark
Anna Reider, violin
Benjamin Hughes, cello
Brianna Matzke, piano
Joe Bricker, percussion
Viet CUONG: Water, Wine, Brandy, Brine
Sandbox Percussion
John CORIGLIANO: STOMP
Kristin Lee, violin
Andy AKIHO: Pillar III
Sandbox Percussion
INTERMISSION
Performance from Heavy Metal Marching Band
Andy AKIHO: Karakurenai
Members of Sandbox Percussion, CCM Percussion Studio, concertnova, and Heavy Metal Marching Band
Vivian FUNG: Goddess//Insect (cincinnati premiere)
Kristin Lee, violin and Sandbox Percussion