The New York Percussion Trio was a three-member musical groupconsisting of two percussionists and one pianist, active in the New York City area from the early 1950s until the mid-1970s. The group was originally formed in 1954 as the Dance-Percussion Trio, to accompany performances by the modern dancerDaniel Nagrin; Nagrin was a member of the trio along with the pianist David Shapiro and the percussionistRonald Gould. The group toured the United States in June and July 1954. Following this tour, the Dance-Percussion Trio disbanded and the musicians added a second percussionist, Arnold Goldberg, thus forming a trio of two percussionists and a pianist. Shapiro was later replaced by Rolf Barnes, though he later rejoined the group. The trio commissioned a number of new works from contemporary composers, including Harold Farberman, Halim El-Dabh, and Gitta Steiner. They were one of the first American percussion ensembles to utilize traditional percussion instruments from India, which Gould brought back following a 1959 tour of that nation with The Little Orchestra Society of New York. The group's primary focus was presenting percussion music to young people, with most of their performances arranged by the Young Audiences, Inc. organization of New York. Through their performances across the United States, the group did much to promote percussion music to the general public. They released an LP recording, entitled Holidays for Percussion, and a film, Percussion, the Pulse of Music, and appeared on the I've Got a Secrettelevision program, hosted by Steve Allen, on January 24, 1966, as well as several other television programs, particularly those for children. In addition to their work with the trio, Goldberg and Gould served for many years as members of the New York City Ballet Orchestra and the orchestras of the Martha Graham Dance Company and Joffrey Ballet; Gould retired from his post with the New York City Ballet Orchestra in 2005 and Goldberg remains with the orchestra as timpanist and orchestra manager. Shapiro was also active as a pianist, orchestra conductor, and opera producer in South Korea, Hong Kong, and the United States. In the 1960s, a Boston, Massachusetts-based group called the New BostonPercussion Ensemble, also comprising two percussionists and a pianist, was formed. This group also performed programs for the Young Audiences organization and performed some of the same repertoire as the New York Percussion Trio.
