About Glenn Kotche

Glenn Kotche has been the drummer of the groundbreaking rock band Wilco since 2001. With Wilco, he has toured extensively internationally and recorded ten studio albums – garnering a Grammy and 7 nominations along the way. As a composer, he has released seven solo albums and has been commissioned by renowned ensembles and organizations including Kronos Quartet, The Silk Road Ensemble, Bang on a Can All-Stars, Eighth Blackbird, So Percussion, Third Coast Percussion, Carnegie Hall, Muziekgebouw Eindhoven, Norway’s 1B1 Orchestra, the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras and Roomful of Teeth – as well as several other soloists, ensembles, institutions and presenters.

Always exploring new possibilities for growth, Kotche has also done disparate, cross-disciplinary collaborations with the likes of choreographer Danielle Agami, actor Jon Hamm, chef Rick Bayless, WNYC’s Radiolab, Notre Dame’s Engineering Dept. digital media company Thunderlab, and Delta Faucets. In 2015 Kotche commissioned composer John Luther Adams resulting in the 50 minute solo tour de force, Ilimaq. He has also created several sound installations for institutions such as MASSMoCA, Artpark in NY and Eindhoven’s Van Abbemuseum.

Kotche has played on over 180 recordings by artists such as KD Lang, Neko Case, Laura Viers, First Aid Kit, Phil Selway, Ed O’Brien, Andrew Bird, Iron and Wine, On Fillmore, Loose Fur, Neil Finn, William Tyler, Low and Beck. In 2013 he released his book, A Beat A Week and in 2019 began posting weekly examples from his DrumBeatProject, a multi-year process piece that explores the compositional possibilities of drum beats. Kotche has been a member of PAS since 1983 and has appeared on the January 2013 cover of Percussive Notes. He has also been featured on the cover of Modern Drummer Magazine in 2007, 2012 and 2020. He resides in Chicago with his wife Miiri, and their two children.

Photo Credit: Jamie Kelter Davis