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An electrifying show colliding drums, lighting, and kinetic storytelling.

The
Future is Bright

Full video available on request.

The Future is Bright is an indie-rock-inflected experimental art performance by composer Elliot Cole and featuring percussionist and lighting designer Peter Ferry.

 

Expanding the palette of contemporary percussion alongside drums and cymbals, the work incorporates plastic bags, used car brake drums, static from an AM/FM radio, and home-cut metal pipes, creating a wholly original and imaginative sound world.

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The central composition was originally set to a beautiful abstract film by analog artist Jodie Mack, the work now features Ferry’s own lighting design, heightening its propulsive arc of unpredictable drumming patterns, layered vibraphone textures, and resonant metal-pipe melodies.

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Versions

There are three possible ways to present The Future is Bright:
Evening-length show (90’)

Ferry and Cole as soloists with an ensemble that can vary in size from 3 to many percussionists

Solo work
(20’)

 

Ferry with sound design and original lighting design

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A stand-alone work, or in a mixed repertoire program

Concerto
(20')

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Concerto version: Ferry as guest soloist with percussion ensemble (3 to 9 players)​​

As a stand-alone work, in a percussion ensemble show, or curated into a full set

Previous Presentations of The Future is Bright

The Juilliard School (New York, NY)

University of Calgary (Calgary, AB)

University of Wisconsin Madison (Madison, WI)

University of Akron (Akron, OH)

Utah Tech University (St. George, UT)

Waubonsie Valley High School (Aurora, IL)

Emporium Wicker Park (Chicago, IL)

University of North Carolina at Pembroke (Pembroke, NC)

Lawrence University (Appleton, WI)

University of West Florida (Pensacola, FL)

Western Washington University (Bellingham, WA)

New York University (New York, NY)

Northwest Percussion Festival (Salem, OR)​

Additional Works in Evening-length Show
Hanuman’s Leap (28’, shorter versions available)
Cole retells the 2,500 year-old Hanuman myth through percussive storytelling – singing, hip-hop, throat-singing, reggae, choral textures, and experimental – to create something both ancient and new.

Full audio available on request.

Postludes (3’ each)
Bowed vibraphone chorales performed by four percussionists surrounding the instrument. These can be used as interludes throughout the program.
Juniper (4’)

A brief, lyrical interlude song drawn from Grimm’s Fairy Tales.

Wah (6')
Opening with a trio for handheld wah-wah tubes by composer Juri Seo.

View a full performance from the Lawrence Conservatory of Music here.​

Artistic Contributors
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Peter Ferry

Percussionist, Director

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Elliot Cole

Featured Composer, Singer

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Juri Seo

Composer

Why Presenters Choose The Future is Bright

The Future is Bright is the perfect project for presenters seeking fresh, high‑energy, imaginative work.

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  • Excellent partnership opportunities for student or local percussionists

  • Technically capable spaces with sound and lighting support

  • Access to percussion equipment

  • Appeals to a hip, young, new-music-interested audience​​​​​

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© 2025 by Peter Ferry

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