Otte, Allen

Allen Otte was in 1972 a cofounder of America’s first professional percussion ensemble, the Blackearth Percussion Group, and in 1979 of Percussion Group Cincinnati, with whom he toured for decades throughout the world performing new and experimental music created for the group. Close personal relationships with composers Brun, Rzewski, Cage, Saya, Qu, Kowalski, and Rachel Walker have been vital throughout his performing career. Otte regularly presents his own creative work in residencies on arts advocacy and performing social justice, primarily his evening-length work with John Lane, The Innocents.  He is the regular percussionist with the medieval music group Trobar, and Professor Emeritus, University of Cincinnati. In 2017 Percussion Group Cincinnati was inducted into the International Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame.