For 20 years and counting, Sō Percussion has redefined chamber music for the 21st century through an “exhilarating blend of precision and anarchy, rigor and bedlam” (The New Yorker). The quartet is celebrated by audiences and presenters for a dazzling range of work: live performances in which “telepathic powers of communication” (The New York Times) bring to life the vibrant percussion repertoire; an extravagant array of collaborations in classical music, pop, indie rock, contemporary dance, and theater; and work in education and community, creating opportunities and platforms for music and artists that explore the immense possibility of art in our time.

The quartet members’ commitment to the creation and amplification of new work, and their extraordinary powers of perception and communication have made them trusted partners for composers, allowing the writing of music that expands the style and capacity of brilliant voices. Sō’s collaborative composition partners include Caroline Shaw, David Lang, Julia Wolfe, Nathalie Joachim, Dan Trueman, Kendall K. Williams, Angélica Negrón, Bora Yoon, Bobby Previte, Matmos, and many others.

This season, Sō’s schedule includes performances with composer-performer Shodekeh Talifero at the Library of Congress, in Berlin with Caroline Shaw, and in Burkina Faso with Olivier Tarpaga. Other recent highlights have included performances at the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Big Ears Festival, Cal Performances, Barcelona’s Palau de la Música Catalana, London’s Barbican, The Kennedy Center, Penn Live Arts in Philadelphia, University of North Carolina, and New York’s 92nd Street Y.

Sō’s Nonesuch recording—Narrow Sea with Caroline Shaw, Dawn Upshaw, and Gilbert Kalish—won the 2022 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition. Other recent albums include the co-composed cycle with Shaw, Let the Soil Play its Simple Part; A Record Of … with Buke and Gase; and—on new imprint Sō Percussion Editions—an acclaimed version of Julius Eastman’s Stay On It, plus Darian Donovan Thomas’s Individuate. This adds to a catalog of more than 25 albums that feature landmark recordings of works by David Lang, Steve Reich, Steven Mackey, and many more.

In September 2023, Sō Percussion began its 10th year as the Edward T. Cone Performers-in-Residence at Princeton University. Rooted in the belief that music is an elemental form of human communication, and galvanized by forces for social change, Sō enthusiastically pursues a range of social and community outreach through its nonprofit umbrella, including partnerships with local ensembles Pan in Motion and Castle of Our Skins; the Sō Laboratories concert series; a studio residency program in Brooklyn; and the Sō Percussion Summer Institute two-week seminar for percussionists and composers.

Milena Casado is a composer, flugelhorn player, and trumpeter from Spain, whose sound and creativity have led her to perform with acclaimed artists such as Terri Lyne Carrington, Kris Davis, Aaron Parks, Jorge Rossy, Kenny Werner, Jazzmeia Horn, George Garzone, and Francisco Mela, among others.

In 2016, Casado received a full scholarship to the Berklee College of Music in Boston, where she graduated in December 2019. At Berklee, she studied with Sean Jones, Nicholas Payton, and Ralph Peterson. She was also part of the Berklee Global Jazz Institute, studying with artistic director Danilo Pérez and Joe Lovano. Additionally, she pursued studies at the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice directed by Terri Lyne Carrington.

During the course of her career, Casado has performed and recorded alongside renowned artists at the Village Vanguard and Blue Note New York, as well as the Monterey, DC, Toronto, and Marciac jazz festivals. She is currently composing original music and sharing it in different ensemble configurations, including her trio, quartet, and quintet.