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In 1940 composer Henry Cowell (1897-1965) wrote the following in an article he titled "Drums Along the Pacific":
"During the last two years an extraordinary interest in percussion music has developed on the Pacific coast. In Seattle, San Francisco, Oakland and Los Angeles, orchestras have been formed to play music for percussion instruments alone. They are directed chiefly by two young Western composers, John Cage and Lou Harrison, who have concocted innumerable creations for these instruments ..."
The year prior to Cowell's article, young composers John Cage (1912-1992) and Lou Harrison (1917-2003) presented a series of landmark percussion concerts at the Cornish School (now College) of the Arts in Seattle, Washington, featuring a wide range of new and 'found' percussion instruments from Chinese gongs to automobile brake drums. They later took the instruments on a concert tour of the Pacific Northwest, to Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana.
In March 2009, Cornish College of the Arts celebrated the 70th anniversary of these percussion concerts with a four-day festival of music by Cage, Harrison, and their mentor Henry Cowell. Curated by two Cornish faculty members, percussionist Matthew Kocmieroski and flutist Paul Taub, the festival included a wide range of percussion music of the period, many related works from throughout the composers' careers, and several lectures and reminiscence.
Here is a selection of live performances from the Drums Along the Pacific festival:
 Double Music (1941) by John Cage and Lou Harrison
Imaginary Landscape No. 2 (March) (1942) by John Cage
In Memory of Victor Jowers (1967) by Lou Harrison
May Rain (1941) by Lou Harrison
Rest (1933) by Henry Cowell
Simfony #13 (1941) by Lou Harrison
Ryoanji (1983-1985) by John Cage
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