NOCCO Presents: Darkness

NOCCO Presents: Darkness comes to Washington Hall on Sunday, October 25, with a program that puts three very different composers on the same stage. The evening is built around the idea of shadow and light, and the lineup follows that theme across the centuries: Camille Pépin, Maurice Ravel, and Joseph Haydn.

Camille Pépin is the contemporary voice here, a French composer whose work often sits at the intersection of classical and electronic music. His writing tends toward the atmospheric, with a focus on texture and space that fits right in with the "shadow and light" theme. Ravel brings the early 20th century, known for that precise, shimmering orchestration that can shift from a whisper to a full room in a few bars. Then there's Haydn, the 18th-century anchor of the group, whose clarity and wit provide a bright contrast to the moodier corners of the program.

Putting them together in one night lets you hear how different eras handle the same kind of tension. You've got Pépin's modern textures, Ravel's impressionism, and Haydn's classical structure all playing off one another, rather than standing in their own separate boxes. It's the kind of program that works best when you can hear the pieces back-to-back, and the contrast between them is a good part of the draw.

The concert is at Washington Hall, 153 14th Avenue in Seattle, and it starts at 7:30 PM. If you're planning to go, it's a Sunday night, so keep that in mind for your Monday morning.