A brass ensemble and jazz drummer, led by former resident conductor Edwin Outwater, held forth from a high perch in the rear. [...] to hear a piece like “Ice Field,” which was commissioned for Thomas and the orchestra by Other Minds, is to be reminded yet again how many creative tools composers have left untouched over the years. Western music has a long history of works that exploit the spatial aspects of performance venues — going back at least as far as the 16th century tradition tied to St.