-Steven Beall

Like Charles Ives, Steven Beall has enjoyed a successful career as a health care insurance executive, along with his real love, musical composition. His compositions feature the classical guitar in solo, duo and chamber music settings.

Mr. Beall is a self-taught musician with no formal musical education. His most memorable live performances were in 1979 when he played guitar in an orchestra with Dave Brubeck on piano in Brubeck’s Christmas choral pageant, La Fiesta de la Posada; and also in 1979 when he played mandolin in a chamber group that performed a George Crumb composition, Ancient Voices of Children. He was also in Flute & Guitar duo and performed many flute and guitar works including Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Sonatina for Flute & Guitar.

Steven Beall has composed a number of works for guitar, including 24 Fugal Misadventures for 2 Guitars (2003) and Calico Dreams for Marimba and Guitar (2000). A partial world premier of Calico Dreams was given in New York City in May 2005 by Andrew Beall, marimba and Evan Drummond, guitar. They performed the first three movements of this five-movement suite. Steven Beall edited and published Andrew Beall’s Testament: Symphony for Marimba and Orchestra (2004). This was the culmination of a life-long dream to learn the elements of classical music notation and develop the knowledge to understand how to read and interpret an orchestral score.


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-Benjamin Britten

Britten was born, by happy coincidence, on St. Cecilia's Day, at the family home in Lowestoft, Suffolk, England. His father was a dentist. He was the youngest of four children, with a brother, Robert (1907), and two sisters, Barbara (1902) and Beth (1909). He was educated locally, and studied, first, piano, and then, later, viola, from private teachers.

He began to compose as early as 1919, and after about 1922, composed steadily until his death. At a concert in 1927, conducted by composer Frank Bridge, he met Bridge, later showed him several of his compositions, and ultimately Bridge took him on as a private pupil. After two years at Gresham's School in Holt, Norfolk, he entered the Royal College of Music in London (1930) where he studied composition with John Ireland and piano with Arthur Benjamin. During his stay at the RCM he won several prizes for his compositions.

He completed a choral work, A Boy was Born, in 1933; at a rehearsal for a broadcast performance of the work by the BBC Singers, he met tenor Peter Pears, the beginning of a lifelong personal and professional relationship. (Many of Britten's solo songs, choral and operatic works feature the tenor voice, and Pears was the designated soloist at many of their premieres.)

From about 1935 until the beginning of World War II, Britten did a great deal of composing for the GPO Film Unit, for BBC Radio, and for small, usually left-wing, theater groups in London. During this period he met and worked frequently with the poet W. H. Auden who provided texts for numerous songs as well as complete scripts for which Britten provided incidental music.

In the spring of 1939, Britten and Pears sailed for North America, eventually settling in Amityville, Long Island, NY, where they lived with Dr. and Mrs. Wm. Mayer and their family. In 1940 he worked with Auden on what would become his first opera, actually an operetta for high schools called Paul Bunyan, based on traditional American folk characters. However, on a trip to California in 1941, he read an article by E. M. Forster on the English poet George Crabbe, planting the seed for what would eventually be Britten's first opera, Peter Grimes. In 1942, Serge Koussevitzky became interested in Britten's music and performed the Sinfonia da Requiem with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Out of this association came the commission from the Koussevitzky Foundation (in memory of Koussevitzky's late wife Natalie) for the new opera, based on Crabbe's work The Borough. Britten and Pears worked on the scenario during their return voyage to England in March, 1942.

During the early 40s, Britten produced a number of works, outstanding among them the Hymn to St. Cecilia, A Ceremony of Carols, Seven Sonnets of Michelangelo, Serenade (for tenor, horn, and strings), Rejoice in the Lamb, and the Festival Te Deum. Peter Grimes, with a libretto by Montagu Slater, was complete in 1945 and had its premiere on June 7 of that year by the Sadler's Wells Opera Company. (Slightly over a year later, the work had its American premiere at the Boston Symphony's summer home at Tanglewood, under the baton of Leonard Bernstein.)

Other operas appeared regularly in the ensuing years: The Rape of Lucretia (1946), Albert Herring (1947), The Little Sweep (1949), Billy Budd (1951) Gloriana (1953), The Turn of the Screw (1954), Noye's Fludde ((1957), A Midsummer Night's Dream (1960) Curlew River (1964), The Burning Fiery Furnace (1966), The Prodigal Son (1968) Owen Wingrave (1970) [for television], and finally Death in Venice (1973)

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-Yves Carlin

Born in 1966,Yves Carlin starts to study guitar at the age of 8 and study drumming at the age of 9 at the academy of La Louvière and Morlanwelz.

He followed his studies at the Royal Conservatory of Musique of Mons where he got a Superior degree in guitar and drums and a first prize in chamber music.

He has been a percussionist for the Symphonic Orchestra of RTBF from 1985 until 1991.With this orchestra, he got the opportunity to play in Charleston, North Carolina and in Germany and to participate into several TV shows and record.

He has also worked for the National Orchestra of Belgium and for the Chamber Music Orchestra of Wallonie.

His resume gives him the opportunity to play with Odair and Sergio Assad, Jean-Felix Lalanne, Enrico Macias, Jean Vallée, Jeanne Manson, Sandra Kim and many others.

He has also worked under the direction of Léo Brouwer.

Yves Carlin teaches classic guitar, electric guitar, bass guitar and the drums.

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-Ming-ching Chiu

The composer, Ming-ching Chiu, is a currently a DMA student in composition at University of Illinois Urbana Champaign.  He earned his bachelor's degree in percussion performance from Catholic Fu-jen University, where he was active in wind bands and orchestras. He began his formal study of composition as a senior in 2003. Following graduation he taught in Taipei at primary and high schools. He has also served as composer and program coordinator of the Taipei Yueh-fu Drum and Bugle Corps and as composer and music arranger for the Symphony Ochestra of the Taiwan Defense Ministry.

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-Axel Clarke

Axel Clarke has been active as a performer and instructor in the Los Angeles are for 13 years. He holds BA and MA degrees in Percussion performance from California State University, Long Beach. As an educator he has been a member of the studio faculty at Long Beach State since 2001 and also directs the percussion program at the prestigious Orange County High School of the Arts. His performance and recording credits include work with the Long Beach Symphony, Long Beach Ballet, South Coast Symphony, Luis Conte, Ray Holman, Michael Spiro, CK Ladzepko, Sara Haze, Skanic, Chelsea Lena, The Kim Richmond Jazz Orchestra, The Robin Cox Ensemble, DMP, Next Exit, Coto Normal, Mehdi, and Stephen Hartke. He can also be heard in numerous multi-media exhibits in museums across the country and in documentaries for Discovery and Animal Planet. He is a member of the IronWorks Percussion Duo with fellow Long Beach State faculty member Dr. Dave Gerhart. As a composer he has studied with Dr. Bruce Miller, Dr. Martin Hermann, and Dr. Robin Cox and his works have been performed at universities and performing arts schools throughout the U.S.

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-Marc Damoulakis

Marc Damoulakis, born in Massachusetts, is currently a member of the percussion section of the Cleveland Orchestra. Prior to joining the Cleveland Orchestra in 2006, Mr. Damoulakis performed regularly with the New York Philharmonic for three seasons, also accompanying them on their national and international tours. He has held tenure positions as principal timpanist of the Long Island Philharmonic, assistant principal percussion of the Harrisburg Symphony and percussionist in the Sun Valley Summer Symphony. Marc has also played with the Atlanta Symphony, Houston Symphony, Kirov Orchestra, Canadian Brass, and Florida West Coast Symphony.

As a chamber musician, he performed a joint recital of piano/percussion music with Emanuel Ax at Lincoln Center. He was also a founding member of the Time Table Percussion Quartet based in NYC.

He has taught master classes and clinics nationally, traveling to the Manhattan School of Music, Boston Conservatory, Cleveland Institute of Music, University of Miami, and DePaul University, and remains committed to teaching students in his private studio in Cleveland.

As a student, he participated in the Tanglewood Music Center, Spoleto Festival Italy and the Pacific Music Festival. He is an alumnus of the New World Symphony, where he studied with music director Michael Tilson Thomas. Marc received a bachelor’s degree in Music from Manhattan School of Music, studying with Chris Lamb, Duncan Patton, and James Preiss.

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-Charlie Descarfino

Percussionist/Drummer/Composer

New York percussionist Charles Descarfino has performed with numerous and diverse professional organizations including: The American Symphony Orchestra, The San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, The American Composer’s Orchestra, The New York City Ballet Orchestra, The EOS Orchestra, Speculum Musicae, The Composers Conference, Mario Davidovsky director, The New Jersey Percussion Ensemble, The Brooklyn Philharmonic, The Louie Bellson Big Band and is featured with composer / pianist Mick Rossi on his latest release “One Block from Planet Earth” on Omnitone records as well as two prior releases “They Have a Word for Everything” on Knitting Factory Records with Dave Douglas and Inside the Sphere on Cadence Jazz Records with Kermit Driscoll. He has also performed with artists including Roberta Flack, Bette Midler, Freddy Cole, Kenny Rankin, Ben Vereen, and Jewel among others.

His most recent position was serving as percussionist and assistant conductor for the Broadway run of Sweet Charity, and has been percussionist for numerous Broadway shows including, Thoroughly Modern Millie, City of Angels, The Who’s Tommy, Titanic, Suessical and the Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

He has recorded on the Nonesuch, New World, Columbia, Sony, Decca, Opus One, Cadence, Knitting Factory, Omnitone, BMG and other labels and for jingles and major film releases including Disney’s Pocahontas, Mulan and the upcoming 2005 release of Mel Brooks “The Producers”.

His compositions for percussion have been performed at colleges around the U.S including William Paterson University, Rowan College of NJ, Peabody Conservatory, The Aspen Music Festival, Cal State Hayward and many others.

Contact:
Email: CharlesTD@aol.com
Phone: 845-365-0318

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-Stefano Del Sole

Stefano Del Sole was born in Bari (Italy) in 1978. Starts early his musical studies with M° Pasquale Maglione on the giutar. Later he starts his studies of Drums and Percussion at Conservatory “ N. Piccinni “ – Bari with M° Luigi Morleo. Stefano Del Sole studied and specialized in drums and percussion with international artists and musicians as Mike Quinn, Jean Jeoffrey, Beniamino Forestiere, etc. He also starts early his artistic work in bands and orchestras . He co-operated with Blackcurrant ( Desert Hill – 1996). Co-operated with Enemy. In 1998 he estabilished Southern Groove with who he recorded the album named “ Homeworks”. In 2000 he starts his work with Orchestra S. Francesco d’ Assisi in Bitonto, 2001 – 02 Percussionist of the Guitars Orchestra “ Manuel De Falla “, 2002–03 Percussionist of Orchestra del Conservatorio “ N. Piccinni “ – Bari. from 2002 he works with Joe Ontario and in 2002 he estabilishs the band “ Pride & Blues “. At the moment he works in duo with Giovanni Chiapperino ( Wu Ming Duo ) and as percussionist of the Orchestra dell’ Accademia Mandolinistica Napoletana. He composes musics for show and musicals. Stefano Del Sole is endorser for UFIP cymbals and Roll drums sticks. He teachs in Bari ( I.T.G. “ Euclide” ), Bitonto (Accademia di musica “ Davide delle Cese “ ), Rutigliano (Accademia Musicale di Rutigliano ), Venice (Il suono Improvviso), Venice (Pablo Neruda).

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-Javier Diaz

Javier Diaz, a native of Cuba, is a percussionist with the American Symphony Orchestra and with several chamber music groups and Latin Jazz Bands in the New York Area. He has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, New York Chamber Symphony, New Jersey Symphony, New York Perspectives Ensemble, Zankel Hall New Music Band, Hilliard Ensemble, Broadway's productions of Man of La Mancha, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Brooklyn and The Lion King. He is currently a percussionist with the Tarzan Broadway production. His studio credits include: ECM's Tituli by Stephen Hartke with the Hilliard Ensemble and the award winning short film Tango Flush. As an Afro-Cuban percussion specialist Mr. Diaz has appeared with: Lazaro Galarraga's Afro-Cuban All Stars, percussionist Angel Luis Figueroa, Candido Camero, Pedro Martinez, Los Acustilocos, The Panamerican Jazz Band, The Ethnix, Anette Aguilar’s Latin Jazz Group, Marta Topferova, Edgar Castaneda and the New York World Music Institute. He has taught Afro-Cuban percussion seminars at the Peabody Institute, University of Southern California, University of California Los Angeles, Percussion Artists Workshops Los Angeles/New York, Los Angeles School District and the Juilliard School. Mr. Diaz currently teaches the Afro-Cuban percussion survey at the Juilliard School. As a composer, Mr. Diaz has been commissioned by the Aspen Music Festival and USC. Mr. Diaz holds a BM from the University of Southern California and a MM from The Juilliard School.

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-Michael Eagle

With experience in many different musical communities, Michael is active in performance, private student and public teaching, writing, consulting, product design, artist management, and as a clinician. Currently, Mr. Eagle operates out of New York City, NY where he is a music instructor for the NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development serving as the Drum Sergeant for the NYU Pipe & Drums. Michael is the owner of Eagle Artist Management which organizes several of his performing groups including Axiom Percussion, Metro Line: The East Coast All-Star Drumline, and Formal Marimba. Mr. Eagle is the also the president Eagle Made Products, a manufacturer of unique percussion product; and Landspeed Artist Management, acting as operations manager for the instrumental rock group Cordis (www.cordismusic.com). In addition, Michael is a partner and product designer for Beall Percussion Specialties (www.beallpercussion.com).

Mr. Eagle received his MM in Percussion Performance from the University of Texas at Austin. While at UT he studied with Dr. Thomas Burritt and Tony Edwards, instructed the Longhorn Band Drumline in 2005, performed principal timpanist duties for the 2006 Debussy Congress, directed the percussion section for Bereket: the UT Middle Eastern Ensemble, and was part of the UT Percussion Ensemble, the winner of the 2006 PASIC Collegiate Percussion Ensemble competition. While in Austin, Mr. Eagle also studied Scottish snare drumming with Jon Greene and performed with the North Texas Caledonian Pipes & Drums from Dallas, TX, Celtic Rock group Scottish Mayhem, traditional Irish group Bad Shiner, Percussion Theater group The Procrastinators, and Austin singer/songwriter Kalia Earsley.

Michael received his Bachelors in Music Education with emphasis in performance and composition from the University of Arkansas. At Arkansas he studied under Chalon Ragsdale and was part of the Wind Symphony that toured the east coast including a performance at the illustrious Carnegie Hall. Mr. Eagle also orchestrated two original productions that were presented as his student recitals: Words Unspoken and Uneven Souls. Both shows are of original concepts fusing many different facets of art including dance, poetry, and popular percussive works. In the summer of 2003, Michael participated in the 24th annual Leigh Howard Stevens marimba seminar in Asbury Park, N.J where he studied marimba performance with world-renowned marimbists She-E Wu and Leigh Howard Stevens.

As an educator, Mr. Eagle has taught or performed in master classes and clinics for dozens of public schools and colleges in 6 different states. His students have received individual and group awards from the local to national levels. He has given performance and lecture clinics at the University of Texas, UT Pan-American, Southwestern University, the University of Missouri at St. Louis, Lone Star College at Cy-Fair, and SCC Forest Park in St. Louis, MO. Upon receiving his Bachelors, he taught at Alma High School in Alma, AR where he began the Alma Percussion Ensemble Groups and co-founded River-Valley Regiment winter drumline. Mr. Eagle then moved to south Texas and served as the Percussion Director for the Edcouch-Elsa School District (XV-AAAA) in Edcouch, TX where his group and individual soloists were undefeated in Winter Drumline competitions. Michael’s drumline experiences include marching for Magic of Orlando in 2000 and for Phantom Regiment in 2001 and 2002. As a snare soloist, Michael finished in the top 10 at DCM, DCI, and PASIC competitions while winning the rudiment caption at PASIC in 2001 and 2002. Mr. Eagle has also been on the teaching staff for Memphis Sound Drum and Bugle Corps, and Gateway Indoor.

An avid promoter of the Celtic arts, Michael has studied pipe band drumming since 2000 receiving instruction from such top players as Jim Kilpatrick, John Fisher, Eric Ward, Reid Maxwell, Tom Robinson, Jon Greene, and Jon Quigg. Mr. Eagle is the 3-time EUSPBA Southwest Branch Grade II Snare Champion and currently competes in the open-class category. After a 4-year run with the North Texas Caledonians from Dallas, TX, he joined the Grade II Niagara Regional Police Pipe Band from Niagara Falls, ONT in 2007. The band performed consistently in 07, including top performances at the North American Championships in Maxville, Canada and the World Championships in Glasgow, Scotland. Michael’s next venture to Scotland and ‘The Worlds’ was with the Silver Thistle Pipes & Drums from Austin, TX in 2008. Along with his position with the NYU Pipes & Drums, Michael also performs with the Grade I City of Washington Pipes & Drums from Washington, D.C.

Along with writing scores for numerous drum lines, Michael is a novice composer creating original works and arrangements for various percussion instruments. Some of his works for marimba and various percussion can be purchased through Bachovich Publications and is performed by Axiom Percussion. He is currently working on a compilation of movements from different Beethoven Piano Sonatas arranged for solo marimba. Mr. Eagle has also written several percussion theater skits including an original bit for Canada’s Tartan Terrors.

Michael is an active member of the Percussive Arts Society (PAS), Texas Music Educators (TMEA), Eastern United State Pipe Band Association (EUSPBA), and the Beethoven Society. He is a sponsored educator/artist for Pearl Drums Inc., Innovative Percussion, Tree Works Percussion, Sticktape.com, and Beall Percussion Specialties. Please visit www.michaeleagle.com for more information.

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-Frank Epstein

Frank Epstein has been a percussionist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra since 1968. He is a member of the Tanglewood Music Center Faculty and is Chairman of the Brass and Percussion departments at the New England Conservatory of Music. He is a founding member of Collage New Music Ensemble, and served as it's music director for the ensemble's first 25 years. Published by Hal Leonard, his new book entitled "Cymbalisms" – A Complete Guide for the Orchestral Cymbal Player is now available from this website.

Frank Epstein has made available to percussionists around the world, the finest handle mounted castanets for orchestral use. In addition, his orchestral castanet playing machine is now also available. To complete the product line, a strong, sturdy and distinctive castanet carrying case is now available. His Cymbelt and Caddy, a highly prized bass drum and cymbal mounting system is used by many of his colleagues in orchestras and school music ensembles alike."Cymbalisms" – A Complete Guide for the Orchestral Cymbal Playeroffers keen insights into cymbal playing. His arrangement of the percussion part to Stravinsky's : "L'Histoire Du Soldat" is a must have. It is the only version of the part which allows the player to read the notes from bottom to top, while still playing the pitches as originally written.

Well-known as an experimenter in drumming and percussion equipment, Frank Epstein has created and introduced many innovations, including the Symphonic Castanet. Now you can purchase the results of his efforts, taking advantage of his knowledge and experience. For added convenience and for pricing information, print out the order form


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-Craig Farr

Craig Farr, born 1975 in Hertford, England.

He currently lives in Bergen, Norway, where he holds a position as percussionist in the Norwegian Army Band, Bergen. As well as maintaining a fruitful career as a performer Craig also studies composition at the Grieg Academy of music.

His compositions have been performed at the Bergen International Festival as well as the Durham Brass Festival (UK), Avgarde, Borealis & BrassWind festivals (N). His compositions have inspired commissions from percussionists and wind players as well as professional wind bands, brass bands and festivals.


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-Trey Files

Trey Files' diverse interests have led him to work with an eclectic array of ensembles and musicians. As a member of Ethos Percussion Group, he has performed contemporary and world music at many of the country’s most prestigious venues, commissioned over twenty works for percussion quartet, released four CD’s and collaborated with Glen Velez, Pandit Samir Chatterjee, Simon Shaheen, Colorado String Quartet, Lark Chamber Artists, Bernard Woma and the Kansas City Symphony. Trey has also performed and/or recorded contemporary music with Manhattan Chamber Orchestra, New Music Consort and the Michael Gordon Band.

His extensive work in commercial and avant-garde theater includes a three-year stint as music supervisor for off-Broadway's De La Guarda and two years as drummer/associate conductor for Spring Awakening, a Broadway musical that won 8 TONY Awards (including Best Musical and Best Score) and a Grammy. Trey is co-artistic director and resident composer for 2nd Species, a collective of aerialists and musicians that has performed for audiences in New York and Los Angeles and for corporate clients such as Diesel Fashion, ESPN and Red Bull.

-Charles Gardner

Charles was born June 1989.  He has studied under Professor Bill Rice at James Madison University and is currently perusing a BM in music education at the University of North Texas.  Charles was a two-time member of the competitive Virginia All Sate Band.  Charles performed on the Virginia premier of Nathan Daughtry’s arrangement of David Dillingham’s Marimba concerto with Nathan Daughtry.  Charles also performed on stage with Kieth Urban during his 2007-2008 tour.  Currently Charles is a percussion tech and arranger for Washington County Schools in Virginia. 


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-Joseph Gramley

Lauded by the Cleveland Plain Dealer as "a Heifetz of the marimba," multi-percussionist Joseph Gramley grew up in Oregon and was named a Presidential Scholar in the Arts as a high-school senior in 1988. He did his undergraduate work at the University of Michigan and also attended the Interlochen Arts Academy, the Tanglewood Institute and Salzburg Mozarteum.

Gramley gave his concerto debut with the Houston Symphony Orchestra in 1992 after winning their National Soloist Competition. Gramley gave his recital debut at Carnegie Hall¹s Weill Recital Hall in 1994. After graduate studies at the Juilliard School in New York, he performed with the Ethos Percussion Group throughout the U. S. and Europe.

An invitation from Yo-Yo Ma in 2000 led Gramley to join Mr. Ma's Silk Road Project. He has toured with Mr. Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble throughout North America, Europe and Asia, performing in the world's finest concert halls. Along the way, Gramley has studied percussion styles and instruments from around the globe, collaborating with internationally-renowned musicans from India, Iran, China, Japan, Korea and Central Asia.

Gramley's performances as a soloist have garnered critical acclaim and enthusiasm from emerging composers, percussion aficionados and first-time concert-goers alike. He is committed to bringing fresh and inventive compositions to a broad public, and each year he commissions and premieres a number of new works. His first solo recording, American Deconstruction, appeared in 2000, followed-up by his solo recording Global Percussion in 2005. In 2007, Gramley will release a duo CD of Organ and Percussion works with English organ sensation Clive Driskill-Smith.

Gramley is director of the Juilliard Summer Percussion Seminar is on the faculty of Queens College in New York and Idyllwild Arts Festival in California. He performs exclusively on Sabian and Black Swamp Percussion instruments.

Josephgramley.com - OrganizedRhythm.com

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-Richard Grimes

Richard Grimes is establishing himself as a pioneer in the field contemporary/crossover performance. By merging the primitive craft of global percussion with the dynamic possibilities of contemporary chamber music, Over the span of his relatively young career, Grimes has worked alongside a growing roster of talent, including cimbalom virtuoso Viktoria Herencsar and Zimbabwean mbirist Cosmas Magaya in venues ranging from intimate performance spaces to Carnegie Hall. In Fall 2003, Richard was a featured performer at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention in Louisville, KY. During the 2006 summer months Richard will complete a book outlining the history and performance practice of the Hungarian concert cimbalom. In addition to his compositional and solo performance efforts, Richard is a founding member of the contemporary quintet Cordis.

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Norman Grossman

Born in 1932, Normal Grossman studied Composition with Edmond de Luca in Philadelphia and Constant Vauclain at the University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Grossman directed the music school at the Emanuel Midtown YMHA and was head of the”Music Studio” at Bronx Community College. As a free lance trumpet player, he has performed with concert and jazz groups in New York and Philadelphia.

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-Wang Guowei

Wang Guowei is one of the most outstanding erhu soloists of his generation. Born 1961 in Shanghai, Wang Guowei joined the Shanghai Traditional Orchestra at age 17, later becoming erhu soloist and concertmaster. He also earned a degree from the Shanghai Conservatory with a major in erhu performance. He gained national prominence in garnering prestigious awards including the "ART Cup" at the 1989 International Chinese Instrumental Music Competition and for his performances at the 15th annual "Shanghai Spring Music Festival." Wang Guowei has toured with the Shanghai Traditional Orchestra to Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Belgium, Canada, and the U.S.

As editor, producer and host of music programs for the Shanghai Radio and East Radio, Wang Guowei introduced music by contemporary composers to Chinese audiences. His performances on the erhu, including his own compositions and arrangements, have been recorded in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Australia. He is also a prodigious author of articles and papers published in major Chinese music journals. Wang Guowei founded and directed the East Radio Invitational Artists Chamber Ensemble in 1994, gathering the most outstanding Shanghai musicians to perform classical and contemporary Chinese music.

Wang Guowei is equally versatile playing the classic repertoire of the erhu as well as new music composed for the instrument and its family of 2-string fiddles. He has performed the music of Zhou Long, Anthony Braxton, Jason Kao Hwang, Pan Hwang-Long, Zhu Jianer, among others.

A composer himself, Wang Guowei has written music for Chinese and Western instruments, including "Sheng," a solo for erhu which he premiered in 1996. He visited Australia in 1997 with a grant from the Australian Ministry of Culture to compose "Tea House." It received its premiere in Melbourne and was broadcast by ABC Radio National and recorded on CD. He was commissioned by the Ethos Percussion Group to write "Two Pieces for Percussion Quartet" which premiered at Weill Recital Hall on March 4, 2000. He is recipient of a commissioning award from the American Composers Forum for "Three Chinese Poems" for Music From China. Wang has performed with the New Music Consort, Peabody Camerata, Norfolk Chamber Consort, Four Nations Ensemble, Ethos Percussion Group, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, Virginia Symphony Orchestra, and Ornette Coleman Trio.

Wang Guowei assumed the position of Artistic Director of Music From China in 1996. In addition to performing, he also teaches erhu and is on the faculty of the Wesleyan University music department as a private lesson instructor and director of the Wesleyan Chinese Music Ensemble.

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-Jonathan Haas

Virtuoso timpanist Jonathan Haas has raised the status of the timpani to that of a solo instrument throughout his unique career that has spanned more than twenty years. From classical concertos to jazz and rock & roll, from symphonic masterpieces to the most experimental compositions of living composers, Haas has championed, commissioned, unearthed and celebrated music for his instrument, becoming, as Ovation magazine hailed him, "The Paganini of the timpani."

His concerts on the world's most prestigious musical stages and his ground-breaking recordings have delighted critics and listeners on both sides of the ocean. The New York Times wrote, "Wherever one finds a percussion instrument waiting to be rubbed, shook, struck or strummed, [Haas] is probably nearby, ready to fulfill his duties with consummate expertise... he is a masterful young percussionist."

Haas has garnered widespread praise and attention for his performances of Philip Glass' Concerto Fantasy for Two Timpanists and Orchestra, a piece conceived by Haas and completed because of his quest to spotlight the timpani. The Concerto Fantasy features not only two timpanists, but also 14 timpani, all placed downstage in front of the orchestra. In 2000, Haas performed the world premiere of the piece with the American Symphony, and he has subsequently performed it at Carnegie Hall and in Phoenix, New Jersey, Baltimore, Pasadena, Long Beach (California), St. Louis and Mexico City. Haas also performed the European premiere with the BBC Symphony in London, the world premiere of a chamber orchestra version with the Iris Chamber Orchestra in Memphis, the Czechoslovakian premiere with the Prague Symphony Orchestra at the International Music Prague Spring Festival, the Norwegian premiere with the Bergen Philharmonic, and he will perform the Australian premiere with the Sydney Symphony and the Turkish premiere with the Istanbul Philharmonic.

Haas' successful efforts to expand the timpani repertoire have led him to commission and premiere more than 25 works by composers in addition to Philip Glass such as Stephen Albert, Marius Constant, Irwin Bazelon, Eric Ewazen, Thomas Hamilton, Robert Hall Lewis, Jean Piche, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Andrew Thomas, and many others.

Haas also attracted plaudits when he built the world's largest timpani, which is nearly 6' wide, nearly 4' tall, and 70 inches in diameter, almost twice the size of the world's second-largest timpani (a 48-incher used by Amsterdam's Concertgebouw Orchestra). Haas discovered the kettle in an Aspen cow pasture. It had originally been used to manufacture Swiss cheese at the turn of the century and, remarkably, matched the exact size specifications of a timpani. Haas debuted a prototype of this unprecedented, incredible instrument at the Aspen Music Festival in August 2003, and it made its official premiere at the Percussive Arts Society's annual convention in Louisville, KY, in November 2003.

Additionally, Haas recently invented a process to improve the performance of crash cymbals that has been developed into a new instrument called "The Master Series Anti-Lock Cymbal" produced by Zildjian, the largest manufacturer of cymbals in the world.

Haas' recordings include the trail-blazing 18th Century Concertos for Timpani and Orchestra and Johnny H. and the Prisoners of Swing, both on Sunset Records. The latter was named for his jazz group and features innovative renderings of jazz compositions featuring "hot timpani" in front of a full jazz ensemble. His rediscovery of Duke Ellington's brilliant composition for jazz timpani, "Tympaturbably Blue," is included on this recording, as are other jazz standards played on a set of ten kettledrums.

Demonstrating a remarkable versatility as a musician, Haas has performed and recorded with Emerson, Lake and Palmer, played on the Grammy Award-winning recording Zappa's Universe, recorded with Aerosmith, Michael Bolton, Black Sabbath, and explored heavy metal with his rock group Clozshave.

The rarest of modern virtuosi, Haas embarked on his career as a solo timpanist by performing the only solo timpani recital ever presented at Carnegie Recital Hall in 1980. As an orchestral soloist, he made his debut with the New York Chamber Orchestra under Maxim Shostakovich and his European solo debut with the Bournemouth Sinfonietta. He made his French debut performing Andrez Panufnick's Concerto for Percussion, Timpani and Orchestra with the Orchestra de la Garde Republicaine. He was the soloist in the Druschetsky Concerto for Eight Timpani, Oboe and Orchestra with the Aspen Chamber Orchestra. He has also performed as a solo timpanist for the Distinguished Artists Recital Series at New York's 92nd Street 'Y' and as a guest artist with the Lincoln Center Chamber Society, the Chamber Music at the 'Y' Series, and the Newport Chamber Music Festival. He has championed new music by presenting adventuresome programming such as The Music of Frank Zappa, showcasing the music of Edgar Varese and Frank Zappa, under the auspices of Lincoln Center's Great Performers Series.

Haas is the principal timpanist of the EOS Orchestra and the Aspen Chamber Orchestra and principal percussionist of the American Symphony Orchestra, as well as a member of the American Composers Orchestra. He performs with the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, New York Pops, and New Jersey Symphony and has performed and recorded with the New York Philharmonic, the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, the New York Chamber Orchestra, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and virtually every other New York-area performing arts organization.

A graduate of Washington University in St. Louis, Haas received his Master's Degree from the Juilliard School as a student of Saul Goodman. An inspiring teacher, he has been the director of the Peabody Conservatory Percussion Studio for twenty years and a faculty artist of the Aspen Music School, and he conducts the percussion ensembles at both schools. He has presented master classes throughout the United States and internationally at the Toho Gauken, Hanoi Conservatory, Paris Conservatory, and the Graz Percussion School. Sharing his enthusiasm for music with young people, he has presented over two hundred concert-demonstrations with his "Drumfire" program, under the auspices of the Lincoln Center Institute, the New York Chamber Symphony's Sidney Wolff Children's Concert Series, and the Aspen Festival Young Person's Concert Series.

As active an entrepreneur as he is an artist, Haas heads Sunset Records, Kettles and Company, and Gemini Music Productions (www.geminimusic.com), which contracts musicians for Lincoln Center, New York Pops, and many other organizations. He also works closely with percussion industry manufacturers Pearl/Adams, Promark and Zildjian, among others.

Haas' official web site can be visited atwww.aboutjonathanhaas.com

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-Tom Hamilton

TOM HAMILTON has been composing and performing for over 40 years, and his work with electronic music originated in the late-60s era of analog synthesis. Hamilton often explores the interaction of many simultaneous layers of activity, prompting the use of “present-time listening” on the part of both performer and listener.

Hamilton is a 2005 Fellow of the Civitella Ranieri Foundation, participating in a residency at the foundation’s center in Umbria. His CD London Fix received an honorary mention in the 2004 Prix Ars Electronica. His performing and recording colleagues have included Peter Zummo, Bruce Gremo, Karlheinz Essl, Bruce Arnold, Rich O’Donnell, Jonathan Haas, Jacqueline Martelle, Steve Nelson-Raney, Hal Rammel, Thomas Buckner, Richard Lerman, and Lisle Ellis. He has been a collaborator with visual artists, including Fred Worden (filmmaker), Van McElwee and Morey Gers (video artists), and the late Ernst Haas (photographer).

An active participant in New York’s new music scene, Hamilton was the co-director of the 2004 Sounds Like Now festival, and he has co-produced the Cooler in the Shade/Warmer by the Stove new music series since 1993. Since 1990, Hamilton has been a member of composer Robert Ashley's touring opera ensemble, performing sound processing and mixing in both recordings and concerts.

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-Joel Harrison

As guitarist, composer and vocalist, Washington D.C. native Joel Harrison resists categorization: jazz, African and Indian, contemporary classical, blues and Appalachian tunes all have a place in his unique approach. He is equally at home writing songs and complex chamber music, playing modern jazz and bar blues.

Harrison graduated from Bard College with a BA in composition and performance in 1980, studying with Joan Tower; in the ensuing years he worked privately with Allaudin Mathieu, Ran Blake, Charlie Banacos, Ali Akbar Khan and others. While living in the San Francisco area in the 1990's Harrison released two cd's of original works for jazz octet and sextet, Range of Motion and Transience, as well as 3+3=7, works for three guitars and three percussionists featuring Nels Cline. After moving to New York City in 1999, he continued his headlong rush into ever-inventive bands and projects including: Free Country: ACT (radical renditions of old country and Appalach ian music); Harrison on Harrison (re-composed improvisations of the music of George Harrison featuring Dave Liebman), and The String Choir (string quartet and two guitars play music of Paul Motian). In 2007 he released a new cd for Highnote Records entitled Harbor with renowned guitarist Nguyen Le.

Harrison's latest projects are being released on Intuition Records in May 2008: “The Wheel”, an extended suite for String quartet and jazz quartet plus guitar, and Passing Train, a collection of original songs produced by Ben Wittman.

Harrison is best known for his composing and arranging skills. He has twice been selected as the winner of the Jazz Composer's Alliance Julius Hemphill Composition Competition, and has been the recipient of commissions from Chamber Music America, Meet the Composer, the Cary Trust, NYSCA, Jerome Foundation, and others. His solo for marimba recently took first prize in the Percussive Arts Society's worldwide competition. Other recent chamber works include a two movement work for four percussion and piano, a violin solo, and a commission for the group Mosaic (fl.,vc.,pn.,perc.). H arrison has been a guest of the MacDowell and VCCA artist colonies. His allies in his various projects have included Dave Liebman, Norah Jones, David Binney, Jamey Haddad, Dan Weiss, Dewey Redman, Uri Caine, Todd Reynolds, Wendy Sutter, Christian Howes, and Caleb Burhans.

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-Matt Jordan

Matt Jordan currently lives in the Denton, TX area, where he is a Graduate Teaching Fellow at the University of North Texas. His duties at UNT include teaching the UNT Percussion Group, as well as the 8:00 Steel Band. Before starting at UNT, Matt earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Performance (Cum Laude) from Middle Tennessee State University. He has been on the percussion staff for Spirit Drum and Bugle Corps since 2007, and has previously worked with Music City Mystique. Matt is also an active arranger, writing for ensembles throughout the United States such as Father Ryan High School, Solace Indoor Percussion, McGavock High School, Grissom High School, Franklin High School, Mountain View High School, and Middle Tennessee State University.

Matt is currently principal percussionist with the world-renowned University of North Texas Wind Symphony, as well as playing in the 2:00 Lab Band, UNT Percussion Ensemble, and other ensembles. Matt is also an active solo performer, having been a soloist with the UNT Percussion Ensemble at PASIC 2009 and TMEA 2010, the MTSU Wind Ensemble and Percussion Ensemble, and the Eastern Music Festival percussion ensemble.

Matt was the timpanist of the Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps in 2003 and 2004, and Music City Mystique from 2000-2005. In 2004, he received 1st place in both the PASIC and DCI Timpani Individuals competitions. Matt’s major influences include - Lalo Davila, Erik Johnson, Christopher Deane, Mark Ford, Robert Schietroma, Leigh Howard Stevens, Christopher Norton, John Feddersen, Scot Corey, and Bill Wiggins.

Matt performs with Innovative Percussion sticks and mallets exclusively.

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-Gene Koshinski

Percussionist and composer Gene Koshinski has delighted audiences worldwide with his artistic performances and dynamic programming. He is currently instructor of percussion at the University of Minnesota Duluth and in constant demand as a soloist and chamber musician having performed in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Jordan, Slovenia, Canada, and throughout the US. In 2002, Koshinski won the National MTNA Percussion Competition in Cincinnati, OH and in August 2004 finished 3rd in the prestigious Universal Marimba Duo Competition in Sint-Truiden, Belgium. Throughout his career, Koshinski has worked with many notable performing organizations and artists including NFL Films, Late Show with David Letterman, Mary Wilson (the Supremes), David Samuels, Wycliffe Gordon, Philadelphia Boys Choir, The Lettermen, Hartford Symphony, Lehigh Valley Choral Arts, Minnesota Ballet, and is currently section percussionist for the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra and a member of Nebojsa Zivkovic’s Jovan Perkussion Projekt.

For his work with NFL Films, he can be heard on the Emmy award winning soundtrack A Century of NFL. Performances have also been heard on the CBS, PBS, and EPSN television networks as well as NPR (National Public Radio). In addition, his debut CD entitled Klung is carried by the Equilibrium record label. Koshinski is a founding member of the Quey Percussion Duo, a touring group established to generate new works for percussion while also bringing standard repertoire to a broad audience. He is also director of percussion at the annual 6-week Performing Arts Institute international summer music festival in Kingston, PA. Recently, Koshinski served as a judge for the 2009 Percussive Arts Society Solo Competition at the PAS International Convention in Indianapolis. He recently published a method book entitled The Additive Method of Two-Mallet Study which focuses on keyboard percussion technique and performance.

As an advocate for new music, Koshinski has commissioned and premiered works by renowned composers including Stuart Saunders Smith, Alejandro Viñao, David Macbride, and Dave Hollinden. Gene Koshinski is endorsed by Korogi, Sabian Cymbals, Remo, and Innovative Percussion. His works are published by HoneyRock and Bachovich Music Publications and his method book and compositions are distributed internationally by The Percussion Source.

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-Andrew Kruspe

Andrew Kruspe attended the University of Central Florida and graduated in 1999 with a Bachelor of Music Education. Mr. Kruspe was active with many university ensembles, including the Wind Ensemble, Orchestra, Marching Knights, Chamber Percussion Ensemble, Pop Percussion Ensemble, and the steel drum band “Black Steel”. His undergraduate instructors include Jeffrey Moore and Clif Walker.

While in college, Mr. Kruspe was active with Drum Corps International. He was a performing member of the Madison Scouts and Magic of Orlando and was a member of the instructional staff with Southwind Drum and Bugle Corps.

Mr. Kruspe attended graduate school at Louisiana State University, where he performed with the Wind Ensemble under Frank Wickes and the LSU Percussion Ensembles under Dr. Michael Kingan. After his first year of graduate school, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and served as a field musician with the Marine Forces Reserve Band- New Orleans. He finished his Master of Music in 2003 amidst military ceremonies, domestic and European concert tours, and required field and weapons training.

After his enlistment, Mr. Kruspe began a career as a public school teacher. He was most recently the Assistant Director of Bands at Spain Park High School in Hoover, Alabama.

Mr. Kruspe is currently a freelance performer and teacher in Huntsville, Alabama. His clients include the University of Alabama in Huntsville, Virgil I. Grissom High School, The Randolph School, Mountain Gap Middle School, and Whitesburg Middle School. He has performed with the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra and has been a featured soloist with the Brass Band of Huntsville. He also performs regularly with SlipJig, a local Celtic band.

Mr. Kruspe is a member of the Alabama Bandmasters Association, Percussive Arts Society, MENC (The National Association for Music Education), and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia.

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-John La Barbera

For more than three decades, guitarist, mandolinist, and composer arranger, John La Barbera, has enchanted audiences throughout the United States, Europe and South America. Among the concert halls and music festivals where John has been invited to perform include: The Montreal Jazz Festival, Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall-Lincoln Center, The Felt Forum, Guggenheim Museum, Metropolitan Museum of New York, Smithsonian Institute, UCLA, the Field Museum in Chicago and the Philadelphia Museum of Fine Arts, the San Francisco World Music Festival, Central Park Summer Stage and at the Jones Beach Theater. Also tours throughout Eastern Europe, Italy, France, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland and in Brazil, where he was sponsored by the Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, Brasil Festeiro and SESC, in Sao Paulo.

As a composer, La Barbera has won several awards and commissions. From The Jerome Foundation he was commissioned to write a work for the ETHOS Percussion ensemble, The Marimba Ba Suite for percussion, which premiered in 2001 and released on their CD Sol Tunnels; in 1996 by Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, The Martin Gruss Foundation and the New York State Council on the Arts in New York, to compose The Dance of the Ancient Spider, which premiered at Alice Tully Hall; Funding from the New York State Council on the Arts and meet the Composer; commissioned by the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in New York City to compose the Opera: Stabat Mater-Donna Di Paradiso. His music has been recorded by various artists including percussionists; Yousef Sheronick and Joseph Gramley with Danza del Fuego for Marinba and Dumbeck; Jazz harmonica artist Enrico Granafei together with Fred Hirsh, Alan Nussbaum and Mark Johnson, who recorded Waltz for Waiting. He has received numerous composer awards from ASCAP and his song Sun Goes Down was awarded Jazz finalist in the John Lennon Songwriting Competition. He is the author of Southern Italian Mandolin and Fiddle Tunes, Mel Bay Publications.

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-Gregory Landes

Gregory Landes has appeared as both a timpanist and percussionist in many symphony orchestras, as well as a drummer and percussionist for many Broadway productions.

Gregory was the principal timpanist with the New Haven Symphony and has also performed as principal timpanist and percussionist with the American Symphony Orchestra, New York Chorale Society, The Brooklyn Philharmonic, Albany Symphony, Manhattan Philharmonic, Little Orchestra Society of New York, Westfield, Greenwich, Stamford, and Westchester Symphonies, Masterwork Chorale Orchestra, Opera Northeast and the Goldman Band. Gregory has performed in every major concert hall in New York, including Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Merkin Concert Hall, BAM and The Allen Room (Lincoln Center Jazz). He has participated in several prestigious summer music festivals including: The Bard, Caramoor, Waterloo, Cape May, and National Repertory Orchestra. Gregory has performed throughout the world including performances on all four islands of Japan with the opera "Porgy and Bess", a tour of Australia and Germany with the ground-breaking new music group Absolute Ensemble, Kristjan Jarvi director and throughout Europe with various orchestras. Gregory has performed with many great artists including Paquito D’Rivera, Chuck Mangione, Steve Gadd, Julie Andrews and Steven Sondheim.

Gregory received his B.M. from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and his Masters degree from the Juilliard School, where he studied with Roland Kohloff, principal timpanist of the New York Philharmonic. While attending Juilliard, Gregory performed under the batons of Zubin Mehta, Leonard Slatkin, Gerard Schwartz, Lucas Foss and Otto Werner Mueller. Gregory also recorded two premiers with the Juilliard Orchestra (on New World Records), and traveled to Norway with the Juilliard Brass Ensemble.

Gregory has performed as both drummer and percussionist for numerous Broadway and Off-Broadway productions, including “Curtains,” “The Grinch,” “Altar Boyz,” “Wicked,” “Chitty2 Bang2,” “42nd Street,” “Play Without Words,” “Ragtime,” “Les Miserables,” “Falsettos,” “Putting It Together,”(with Julie Andrews), “Gypsy,” “Guys and Dolls,” “Forum,” “Showboat,” “Crazy for You,” “BatBoy,” “Big,” “Grease,” and many others.

Gregory Landes' recording credits include the Summit Brass: American Tribute as well as The Hora Decima Brass Ensemble both on Summit Records, The Julliard Orchestra on New World Records, the musicals, “Curtains” on The Blue Note Label Group “Falsettoland” on DRG Records, and “Putting It Together” on RCA Victor/BMG Classics as well as “A, My Name Will Always Be Alice” on Original Cast Records.

In 1997, Gregory and his brother Garah Landes formed the Piano and Percussion duo, Synchronicity.

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Stanley Leonard

STANLEY LEONARD has been an active participant in the world of percussion for over sixty-five years. He began performing professionally as percussionist at the age of seventeen with the Kansas City Philharmonic, later the Rochester Philharmonic, and had a distinguished thirty-eight year career as Principal Timpanist of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. This career included nationwide and international concert performances, television series, five solo appearances with the Symphony that presented two world premier performances of commissioned works and two American premieres. He performed with the PSO on more than fifty recordings for Capitol, Angel, Phillips, Columbia, Command, Everest and Sony. Pittsburgh Symphony Music Directors were consistent in their appreciation of Stanley’s artistry. William Steinberg stated, “He is the number one man in the orchestra, the embodiment of tympanum playing.” Andre Previn said, “He is not only a virtuoso timpanist but a consummate musician.” When Leonard retired Lorin Maazel commented, “He is a hard man to replace.”

During the Pittsburgh years Stanley taught percussion, timpani and percussion ensemble at Carnegie Mellon University. He held this position for twenty years, later assuming responsibilities at Duquesne University as Adjunct Professor of Percussion, teaching timpani and conducting the percussion ensemble. His students have found places in the performing world, education, and the music industry. Former students are, or have been, regular percussionists/timpanists in the National Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic, Houston Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Pittsburgh Opera and Ballet Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony, Fort Worth Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Army, Navy, and Air Force bands in Washington, DC and regional professional orchestras.

Starting his university teaching career in 1958, Stanley discovered a shortage of music for students to use for technical study and to perform in ensemble. He began writing technical studies, etudes, solos for snare drum, timpani and percussion ensemble music. Established publishers in the United States and Europe became interested in his music and there are now over forty of his works for percussion, timpani, and percussion ensemble published by LudwigMasters Music, C. Alan Publications, Drop 6 Media, Boosey and Hawkes, PerMus Publications, Studio Four, Rowloff and Bachovich Music. Forty-seven more pieces are listed in the Stanley Leonard Percussion Music catalog. The music is performed worldwide. He is the author of the well known method Pedal Technique for the Timpani. Stanley is a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers. He performs and conducts his compositions on two CDs, Canticle, and Collage.

Active participation in the percussion world continues in retirement. Stanley is resident timpanist/composer/handbell director at Vanderbilt Presbyterian Church in Naples, Florida. Percussion Summit performances in Naples have included premiers of his works Hurricane and Traveling Music. He has appeared as a soloist at the Philharmonic Center for the Arts and performed with members of the Naples Philharmonic. Stanley has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Percussive Arts Society (PAS) and is a member of the PAS Symphonic Committee. He has made several presentations at the international conventions of the Percussive Arts Society. He has presented master classes at conservatories and universities throughout the United States, Europe and Asia.

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-Robert Levin

A specialist in traditional West African music, Robert is a composer whose credits include the feature film Inside, directed by Arthur Penn, as well as many documentaries and works for television. He has composed new music commissions which have been performed throughout the USA and Europe. He is also an active performer on keyboards, percussion and West African drums, and has played for film soundtracks, Broadway shows, TV programs, album projects, and live tours in the USA and abroad. Since the show opened in 1997, he has been performing regularly on Broadway in The Lion King.

Robert studied ethnomusicology at Wesleyan University and received his Masters in composition at Yale University. He has spent much time in Ghana, West Africa, studying drumming, singing and dancing. He also founded a public elementary and junior high school in a farming village in southeastern Ghana in 1988, and has been building and supporting it for the past twenty-one years (visit www.kgsf.org).

Robert has brought traditional West African Music to many students in the USA, including classes at Juilliard, Manhattan School of Music, Tufts University, Sarah Lawrence, University of Northern Iowa, Princeton University, Yale and Wesleyan, and Brooklyn Academy of Music’s DanceAfrica Festival.

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-Alexandre Lunsqui

Alexandre Lunsqui (Sao Paulo) is a graduate of the University of Campinas, and pursued postgraduate studies in composition at University of Iowa, Columbia University, and IRCAM (year-long course of composition and computer music). His mains composition teachers were JosÈ Augusto Mannis and Tristan Murail. His music has been played in Argentina, Austria, Brazil, China, England, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Switzerland, and around the US. He has participated in festivals such as Gaudeamus Music Week, Manca, Darmstadt, CrossDrumming, Aspekte, Time of Music, Musica Nova, Beijing Modern, Music at the Anthology, Creative Music Festival, PASIC, Luxembourg Fest and Resonances. He has been awarded the Virtuose Prize given by the Ministry of Culture of Brazil. Ensembles that have played his music include Ensemble Aleph, Arditti String Quartet, Argento Chamber Ensemble, Ensemble L'Arsenale, Ensemble Piano Possibile, Ensemble Counter)induction, New York New Music Ensemble, New York Miniaturist Ensemble, Talea Ensemble, TimeTable Percussion, ECCE, MATA Micro Orchestra, International Contemporary Ensemble, and Due East. A CD with his chamber music was released in spring 2008. His compositions have been recorded on the Gravina Musica, Usk and Metronome labels (http://www.lunsqui.com).

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-Pedro Malpica

Peruvian composer Pedro Malpica has been performed in North America, Latin America and Europe, by ensembles such as the Peruvian National Symphony Orchestra, the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra, the Uninorte Orchestra of Paraguay, ALEA III, the Hellenic Group of Contemporary Music, NEXTET, the Cygnus Ensemble, The TALEA Ensemble, The Juilliard Pierrot Ensemble, and ECCE, in important venues and festivals such as the Tsai Performance Center, Alice Tully Hall (Lincoln Center), Paine Hall (Harvard University), the Juilliard School, the Oberlin Conservatory, the Composers Conference at Wellesley College, the CrossSound Festival in Alaska, Morelia Música Nueva, the III, IV and VI Festival de Música Clásica Contemporánea de Lima, and the II Festival de Música Contemporánea de Asunción, among many others. His music has been described as “…a storm of blurry, jagged sound that seems to come from some distant, dangerous past... perhaps the strongest of an evening of generally strong work,” (David Salvage, Sequenza21), as well as “... impressive work… reaches hypnotic levels...” (Distinguished conductor Carmen Moral, Lundero Magazine)

A 2006 UNESCO Artist in Residence at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Malpica has also been Artist in Residence at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, as well as Guest Composer at the Contemporary Music Festival in Lima, and has taught courses and given lectures, seminars and master classes at Boston University, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, the Peruvian National Conservatory of Music, as well as for Circomper, the Circle of Peruvian Composers.

Malpica is a graduate of the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico, Boston University and The Juilliard School. He has studied composition with Alfonso Fuentes, Theodore Antoniou, Lukas Foss, Christopher Rouse, David Del Tredici and Tania Leon, and theory with Carl Schachter, David Kopp, Philip Lasser, Joseph Straus, Poundie Burstein and William Rothstein.

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-Brian Mason

Brian S. Mason is a highly respected innovator of the contemporary marching percussion ensemble. In high demand as a clinician, designer, and adjudicator, he has traveled extensively throughout the United States, Japan,mCanada, Korea, and Mexico. Brian gained worldwide recognition for his percussion writing and teaching with the Cavaliers and the Phantom Regiment Drum & Bugle Corps, claiming numerous awards and honors with both organizations during his tenure, and is currently the Music Director and Percussion Coordinator/Designer with the Santa Clara Vanguard.

Currently, Brian is a member of the percussion faculty at Morehead State University in Morehead, KY, and is the director of the award-winning Marching Percussion Ensemble.  At MSU, Mr. Mason is a member of the Faculty Jazz Ensemble, the Faculty Chamber Ensemble, and performs regularly with the Faculty Brass Quintet.  Off-campus, he is a member of the Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra, and appears as a guest artist with many high school percussion ensembles across the country.

Brian received his M.M. at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and is pursuing his D.M.A. at the University of Kentucky, where he received his B.M.  He is a member of the Vic Firth Education Committee, the Percussive Arts Society Health and Wellness Committee, and the Percussive Arts Society Marching Percussion Committee.  He has published articles in Percussive Notes, has been interviewed in Modern Drummer and Band and Orchestra Magazine, and was a contributing editor for Stick It magazine.  Brian co-authored the 2000 Modern Drummer Readers Poll's "No. 1 Drum Set Method Book," The Commandments of R&B Drumming (Warner Brothers), and his original works are published through Row-Loff Productions, Bachovich Music Publications, and Tap Space Publications.  Brian proudly endorses Vic Firth sticks and mallets, makers of his signature line of mallets and drumsticks, as well as Zildjian cymbals, Evans drumheads, and Pearl Drums and Adams Musical Instruments.

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-Robert McClure

Robert McClure began composing in high school and continued throughout his undergraduate studies at Bowling Green State University while pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education. He completed a Masters Degree in Composition from the University of Arizona where he studied with Daniel Asia and Dr. Craig Walsh. He is currently pursuing a DMA at Rice University where he will serve as the Rice Electronic Music LABS Teaching Assistant under Dr. Kurt Stallmann.

Middle school students ranging to professionals have performed Robert’s music. Notably, the Clyde High School Band, Start High School Orchestra, the Bowling Green State University Percussion Ensemble, the University of Arizona Percussion Ensemble, The Del Mar Percussion Ensemble, the Sonora Winds, the Ironworks Percussion Duo, and the Toledo Symphony Orchestra have performed Robert’s music. He has been commissioned by the University of Arizona Steel Bands, the Catalina Foothills High School Steel Bands, the IronWorks Percussion Duo, and the Toledo Symphony Orchestra.

Robert is published by Tapspace Publications, Purple Frog Press, Innovative Percussion, and Bachovich Music Publications. New publications include ...of the Earth for percussion quartet by Bachovich Music Publications and Integrated Elements No. 2 "Not a Haiku" for multiple percussion solo and pre-recorded sound.

www.robertwmcclure.com

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-Rolando Morales-Matos

Rolando Morales-Matos (percussionist) received his BFA in music from Carnegie Mellon University, his MA from Duquesne University, and Certificate of Professional Studies at Temple University. He is a Percussionist and Assistant Conductor with Disney’s production of The Lion King, NYC. He performs and records regularly in New York with various Latin jazz Groups. He is the recipient of the 2006 Drum Magazine World Beat Percussionist of the Year award. Mr. Morales-Matos is a member of Ron Carter Jazz Quartet, Philadelphia Orchestra Percussion Group. He is a professor at both Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, NYC.

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-Tom Nazziola

A graduate of the Eastman School of Music (with high distinction), Tom Nazziola is an accomplished composer, orchestrator and performer. As a composer he has been commissioned by several organizations including the American Composer’s Forum, Lincoln Center Film Society, NJ Youth Symphony, Museum of the Moving Image (NYC) and the Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts. He has composed for several national and international TV programs including Dateline NBC, CBS News, MTV, BET and ESPN. His orchestrations include Edward MacDowell’s “Woodland Sketches” which were performed by the New York Philharmonic as part of a concert featuring Garrison Keillor. He has also orchestrated music for the US Open 2005 and 2007 opening ceremonies. In the area of film music, Nazziola is the musical director and composer for The BQE Project – a New York City-based chamber ensemble that performs new music to silent films and early classics.

As a percussionist / drummer, Nazziola has performed with the following Jazz luminaries: Michael Brecker, Wynton Marsalis, Dave Liebman, Rufus Reid, Bob Brookmeyer, Terrance Blanchard, George Russell and Jeff Beal. He has recorded on over 50 CDs as a percussionist and/or keyboardist and is the driving performer behind Disney’s Baby Einstein DVDs/CDs.

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-Joe Pastor

Joseph Pastor earned a Bachelor of Music degree in jazz percussion from Southern Illinois University in 2000. Since then his career has been as varied as his interests in music are. One night he may be playing jazz vibraphone, the next night he could be found in a musical theater orchestra, or playing for an ensemble such as the St. Louis Philharmonic, or as a blues drummer, or playing bass guitar for a rock band. He has recorded with Rock 'n' Roll Hall of fame inductee Johnnie Johnson, with Juno Award winner Kenny "Blues Boss" Wayne, as well as with St. Louis blues legends Bennie Smith, Rich McDonough, and the wunderkind bluesman Marquis Knox. Mr. Pastor has also toured with some of the above mentioned as well as with New Orleans harmonica player Rockin' Jake, international pop artist Javier Mendoza and others. In 2002 Joe held the position of drummer with the Legends In Concert show in Branson MO.

Joe stays busy as a music educator as well, seeing on average 25 students weekly as well as being on the staff at DeSmet Jesuit High School, the Webster Community Music School and Washington University in St. Louis

In the past several years Joe's compositions have been performed by the ensembles at Webster University, Washington University in St. Louis, University of Missouri, and Southern Illinois University as well as in a handful of high school programs. Mr. Pastor is looking forward to the upcoming premiers of some of his works by the percussion trio Axiom. He is immersed in concert music, having begun his college years as a classical music major, and as a former member of the prestigious St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra while studying timpani with Rick Holmes and percussion with Tom Stubbs, both of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Joe Pastor's ideal in composition is to write contemporary music containing original thought while managing not to alienate the listener. This doesn't mean to dumb down the music, just to write things that regular people can grasp. Influences are drawn not just from the greats of the past, but also from recent composers such as Krystov Penderecki, Gordon Stout, Joseph Schwantner, Steven Mackey, Alberto Ginastera and Bela Bartok, to name a few.

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-Duncan Patton

Duncan Patton is a Principal Timpanist of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, and Co-Chair of the Percussion Department at the Manhattan School of Music. Prior to joining the Met, he was Principal Timpanist of the Honolulu Symphony. He has also performed with the Graham Ashton Brass Ensemble, the Met Chamber Ensemble, the Empire Brass, the New Renaissance Chamber Players, the Percussionists of the Met, and in a duo with the marimbist Mayumi Sekizawa. He has presented masterclasses in the US, Mexico and Japan, including at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention. A composer of works primarily for percussion, his music has been performed in New York, throughout the U.S., Mexico City and Tokyo. He is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music.

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-Joe Pereira

Joseph Pereira has been the Assistant Principal Timpanist/Section Percussionist of the New York Philharmonic since January 1998. He received his master’s degree in percussion from The Juilliard School and a double bachelor’s degree in performance and composition/theory from Boston University. He currently teaches timpani and percussion at the Juilliard School.

Mr. Pereira conducted the premiere of his Quintet for Winds in 2005 as part of the New York Philharmonic Ensembles series at Merkin Concert Hall. The New York Times said, “it is a restless yet lucidly textured work with an astringent harmonic language.” He has been commissioned by other members of the Philharmonic as well, and he recently finished his first orchestra piece “Mask”, and a quartet for the horn section of the New York Philharmonic. His music has been performed at Darmstadt, Merkin Concert Hall, 92nd Street Y, Alice Tully Hall, The Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music, Harvard, and Princeton University. His Conversation for Solo Flute, was selected by Linda Witherell (original solo flutist with Pierre Boulez’s IRCAM) in an international “Call for Scores” through the American Music Center.

Mr. Pereira has performed with the New York Percussion Quartet, New York New Music Ensemble, Alea III, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Robert Shaw Festival Singers, and New Zealand Symphony Orchestra as principal timpanist. He can also be heard on Telarc, Teldec, and Deutsche Grammophon recordings. He is an alumnus of both the Tanglewood and Pacific (Sapporo, Japan) music festivals.

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-James Preiss

James Preiss is principal percussionist of the Brooklyn Philharmonic, the American Composers Orchestra, the Westchester Philharmonic, and the Riverside Symphony and also performs regularly with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s and the American Symphony Orchestra. A founding member of the Parnassus Contemporary Chamber Ensemble, he has been a member of the Steve Reich Ensemble since 1971. He has recorded on many labels, including the Deutsche Grammophon, ECM, and Nonesuch.

Mr. Preiss holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music and Manhattan School of Music. He is also on the faculty of the Mannes College of Music.

Manhattan School of Music faculty from 1970 –2006.

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-Deane Prouty

New York City freelance Percussionist Deane Prouty holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Performance from the University of Lowell, (University of Massachusetts), and Professional Studies program at The Juilliard School. He has been on the Faculty of the University of Lowell Pre-College Division, The Utah Music Festival, and the prestigious Hoff-Barthelson Music School in Scarsdale, NY. He has taught Master Classes Nationally and Internationally at the Eastman School of Music, the Festival Internacional de Music Cabrils, Spain, and the Utah Music Festival. He holds two Patents of invention from the US government and is listed in Who’s Who of American Inventors.

He has performed with numerous orchestras including the American Symphony, the American Composers Orchestra, The American Ballet Theater, The Joffrey Ballet, The Orchestra of St. Lukes, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, The Royal Winnipeg Ballet, The Dance Theater of Harlem, The Mid-Atlantic Chamber Orchestra, The Brooklyn Philharmonic, The Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra, The United Nations Symphony Orchestra, The Symphony of Long Island, Galatea and The Radio City Music Hall Orchestra.

On Broadway, he has been a Percussionist for more then twenty shows including, Les Miserables, Light in the Piazza, Beauty and the Beast, Spamalot, Annie, Follies, Hairspray, Annie Get Your Gun, Secret Garden, Man of La Mancha, Song and Dance, Into the Woods, Grind, and Singing in the Rain. He spent seven years touring with the National Productions of Fiddler on the Roof, Music of the Night, West Side Story, Annie, and Beauty and the Beast, and has played in over 120 Cities in the US, Canada, and Europe.

He is a specialist in Early Music performance on Baroque Timpani, and has performed at The Kennedy Center in Washington DC, Boston’s Symphony Hall, New York’s Lincoln Center, and other major concert halls with Grande Bande, The New York Early Music Foundation, The Handel & Haydn Society, New York Kammermusiker, The Clarion Ensemble, The Oslo Baroque Soloists, Concert Royale, Vox Ama Deus, Newport Baroque, The Connecticut Early Music Festival, Amor Artis, and The American Classical Orchestra.

He has been a Percussionist for Melissa Manchester, Nell Carter, Bernadette Peters, Joel Grey, Vic Damone, Tony Bennett, Jane Olivor, Bobby Day, The Coasters, and Robert Goulet, and has recorded for CBS Records, Sony Classical, Musical Heritage, Delos, Dorian, Angel, New World Records, and Premier, and can be heard as Percussionist on the Grammy Award winning recording of “GYPSY” with Bernadette Peters.

He is one of only a handful of musicians worldwide who perform on Deagan Novelty instruments, including the Organ Chimes (Shaker Chimes), Saucer Bells, Steel Marimbaphone, Marimbaphone, Aluminum Harp, Una-Fon, and Tuned Sleighbells.

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-Pablo Rieppi

The Houston Chronicle wrote, “PABLO RIEPPI sparked a lot of buzz at intermission with his ability…he was rock solid no matter what position he had to contort into to play.” A native of Uruguay, Pablo is a highly sought-after musician in New York City, where he performs a wide range of music with some of the world’s leading artists. Pablo can be seen performing with The New York Philharmonic, The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and The American Symphony Orchestra. Pablo performs with many other classical, new music, pop and world music groups including Gotham Symphony Orchestra (principal), Speculum Musicae, The Gotham Chamber Opera, The New York New Music Ensemble, DaCapo Chamber Players, Ensemble 21, and the Perspectives Ensemble (principal). He is a member of the Grammy-nominated Absolute Ensemble, the internationally acclaimed multimedia collective VisionIntoArt (percussionist, music director and composer), The New York Percussion Quartet, Columbia Sinfonietta, Dagmar and Weimarband, and performs around the world in renowned concert halls with numerous ensembles.

Pablo has performed or collaborated with some of the world’s greatest maestros such as Pierre Boulez, Sir Colin Davis, David Robertson, Loren Maazel, Riccardo Muti and Kurt Mazur, as well as with such world, jazz, rock and RandB luminaries as Joe Zawinul, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Paquito D’Rivera, Roger Daltrey, Napoleon Murphy Brock, Mike Keneally and Dhafer Youssef.

As a soloist, Pablo has premiered several percussion works at The Riverside Church of New York‘s “Chapel Chamber Music Series”. Pablo has performed in the Broadway orchestras of Beauty and the Beast, The King and I, The Sound of Music, Swan Lake, Oklahoma, Nine, Dance of the Vampires, Thoroughly Modern Milly, The Frogs, Pacific Overatures, Little Women, Lestat and Fosse. He is currently the percussionist in Legally Blonde The Musical on Broadway. Pablo has recorded numerous film scores (including The Brave One, The Good Shepherd, Cassanova and You’ve Got Mail among others), television ads and new compositions with several ensembles.

As a composer he has written music for the soundtrack of Blackballed: The Bobby Dukes Story, which won numerous prizes at several film festivals. His percussion and electronics piece “Rage and Peace” was performed by the New York University Percussion Ensemble. Three of his arrangements were performed by VisionIntoArt on a recent tour of Italy.

Pablo is professor of music at Columbia University and Hofstra University, where he teaches privately and is director of the percussion ensemble. He is a teaching artist for The Lyric Chamber Music Society of New York and The American Composers Orchestra. He has a Masters Degree and Professional Studies Certificate from The Juilliard School, and a Bachelors degree from George Mason University.

His new book Snare Drum Technique: Essential Basics for Daily Practice is now available through Bachovich Music Publications. Pablo proudly endorses Sabian Cymbals.

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-Mayumi Sekizawa

A native of Japan, Mayumi Sekizawa is a marimbist who has performed as a soloist across the United States, France, Germany, Austria, China, Belgium and Japan. She has won many national and international solo competitions, including the first prize at the 1994 Classical Music Competition (Japan), Manhattan School of Music Concerto Competition in 1998(USA), the first prize Grace Woodson Memorial Award of the Houston Symphony National Young Artist Competition in 2000 (USA), the third prize of the International Marimba Competition in 2001(Belgium) and IBLA Grand Prize Marimba Special Mention Award in 2003 (Italy).

In 1994, Ms. Sekizawa was invited to perform for the Imperial Family in Japan. She made her concerto debut with the Houston Symphony Orchestra in 2000, which earned critical acclaim. In 2004, she performed at Carnegie Weill Recital Hall in New York. She has appeared in concerts of many music festivals, including Centre Acanthes 2000/Ircam (France) and International Festival for New Music in Darmstadt 2002(Germany). She was invited to International Marimba Festival in Belgium 2004 where she gave her solo recital. Ms. Sekizawa released her first CD “My Favorite Thing” from Aurora Classical in 2005.

Ms. Sekizawa received both her bachelor and master’s degrees in marimba from the Musashino College of Music, Japan. She also holds a master’s degree and professional studies certificate in percussion from the Manhattan School of Music.

Mayumi Sekizawa Official Website: www.mayumisekizawa.com

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-Ju Ri Seo

Composer Ju Ri Seo explores music through a vast spectrum of expressions and styles as an organic entity that continually evolves and mutates. She regards both development and contrast as continuous movements traveling between extremities at variant speeds. In addition to her search for continuity and logic, she hopes to create music that can not only be understood, but also be felt emotionally and physically—music that becomes completely meaningful as a collection of abstract sounds, without any explicit interpretations from other artistic or intellectual means.

She has participated in several new music festivals and conferences, including the Bang on a Can Summer Festival, SCI Student National Conference, SEAMUS National Conference, Ball State University New Music Festival, North American Saxophone Alliance National Conference, and Midwest Composer’s Symposium. As a composer and pianist, she was the winner of the Eleventh Annual 21st Century Piano Commission in 2009, and was commissioned by the University of Illinois Experimental Music Studios to create a new work for its 50th Anniversary CD collection in 2008. She has also had opportunities to present and discuss her works with prominent composers such as John Corigliano, David Lang, Julia Wolfe, Michael Gordon, Steven Stucky, and Chen Yi. She has studied composition with Reynold Tharp, Keeril Makan, Zack Browning, Stephen Taylor, and Erik Lund; electronic music with Scott Wyatt; algorithmic composition with Heinrich Taube; and piano performance with William Heiles.

Seo grew up in Seoul, Korea. She received her professional musical training at Yonsei University in Korea, where she received a B.M. (with honors) in composition. Motivated by her experience as an exchange student at the UC-San Diego, she moved to the United States for graduate studies. Having received her M.M., she is currently pursuing a D.M.A. degree in composition at the University of Illinois, with a principal cognate in piano performance, and an M.S. in applied mathematics.

For more information about composer Ju Ri Seo, visit: www.juriseomusic.com

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-Jared Soldiviero

Jared Soldiviero (b. 1980) is an active freelance percussionist in New York City. While a majority of his work is centered around contemporary chamber music, he has performed in many different settings, including orchestral, microtonal, early music and Broadway. As an inaugural member of The Academy at Carnegie Hall, Jared appears frequently with Ensemble ACJW and taught in New York City public schools. In addition, he has appeared with Newband, Continuum, New York Philomusica and Speculum Musicae. As an orchestral musician, Jared has performed with the orchestras of Springfield, Vermont, Stamford and Albany.

Jared spent four summers at the Lucerne Festival, where he was a founding member of the Lucerne Festival Percussion Group: twelve percussionists from around the world who have expanded the repertoire for large percussion ensemble by performing nearly a dozen world premieres, as well as taking part in performances of Varese, Stockhausen, Rihm and others. Their work at Lucerne complete, they are now known as Ensemble XII.

As a conductor, Jared has led the Juilliard Percussion Ensemble, Flexible Music, Ensemble ACJW and ACME. He received Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from The Juilliard School.

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-Samuel Solomon

Percussionist Samuel Z. Solomon has been responsible for dozens of world premieres of solo and small ensemble works and has been involved in numerous additional projects to perpetuate the music of young composers. He is author of How to Write for PERCUSSION, a comprehensive guide for composers on percussion composition that has received critical acclaim from composers, performers, and conductors worldwide. He currently teaches percussion at The Boston Conservatory, Boston University, and the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, and is the President of the Massachusetts Chapter of the Percussive Arts Society.

Mr. Solomon is co-founder of the Yesaroun’ Duo, which has been featured in recitals in Italy, Cuba, and all over the northeast United States; between 1999 and 2004 the Duo commissioned and premiered twenty-six new works for saxophone and percussion. Solomon is also a founding member of the Line C3 percussion group, percussionist in residence at Harvard University, and principal timpanist of the Amici New York Chamber Orchestra in residence each summer at the OKM fe stival in Bartlesville, OK. He is currently actively involved in the acquisition of works for a multi-percussion setup of set instrumentation; thus far nine solo and two small ensemble works have been written for the Setup.

Mr. Solomon made his Carnegie Hall debut in February of 2000 as guest soloist with the New York Youth Symphony. In December 1999 he was featured in Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, performing the American premiere of Iannis Xenakis’ O-Mega for percussion solo and chamber orchestra with the New Juilliard Ensemble. Appropriately titled, O-Mega would prove to be the final work Xenakis composed before his death. Solomon can also be heard performing the music of Björk on the soundtrack to Matthew Barney's Drawing Restraint 9.

Mr. Solomon spent six summers as a student at Tanglewood, three as a Fellow of the Tanglewood Music Center, and six years at Juilliard, receiving two degrees under the tutelage of Daniel Druckman, Roland Kohloff, and Gordon Gottlieb. He currently lives in Hull, Massachusetts with his wife, Kristy.

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-Danny Soulier

Danny Soulier received his bachelor's degree in percussion performance from the University of Utah in 2003 and a master's degree in percussion performance from Cleveland State University in 2006.

His professional experience includes performances with the Utah Symphony, New World Symphony (FL), Sun Valley (ID) Summer Symphony, Wheeling (WV) Symphony, Ashland (OH) Symphony, Ohio Valley Symphony, Midland/Odessa (TX) Symphony, Ballet West, and the Utah Chamber Artists. He has studied privately with George Brown, Doug Wolf, Tom Freer, Matthew Bassett, Tim Adams, and Mike Crusoe respectively of the Utah, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Seattle Symphonies. He has performed under the baton of Keith Lockhart, Pavel Kogan, Thierry Fischer, Craig Jessop, Mack Wilberg, Richard Kaufman, Marvin Hamlisch, and Erich Kunzel.

Since 2000, he has performed regularly with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir as a member of the Orchestra at Temple Square as principal timpanist and also a member of the percussion section. This service has provided opportunities to perform with world renowned artists such as Evelyn Glennie, Bryn Terfel, Sissel, The King Singers, Fredricka von Stade, Audra MacDonald, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Denyce Graves, Richard Stolzman, and Glady's Knight.

He is an active freelance musician, clinician, and private instructor. He has been a drumline instructor at Bingham High School, Copperhills High School, Lone Peak High School, and Westlake (OH) High School. In 2002 he was the associate drumline instructor at the University of Utah and in 2007 the director the BYU drumline. In the spring of 2007 Mr. Soulier began as the founding director of "HYPE"- the Honors Youth Percussion Ensemble for high school students at the University of Utah. HYPE performs annually at the Utah Day of Percussion and “An Evening of Percussion” at the University of Utah.

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-Larry Spivack

Larry Spivack is a percussionist, composer and arranger living in New York City. Born in Brooklyn in 1954, he received a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Brooklyn College, where his principal teacher was Morris “Arnie” Lang. During this time he took lessons from vibraphonist David Friedman. Mr. Spivack continued his studies at the Juilliard School, earning a Master of Music Degree. There his principal teachers were Saul Goodman and Elden “Buster” Bailey.

In college Mr. Spivack began composing concert pieces featuring the vibraphone and other percussion instruments. His “Four Pieces,” “Soliloquy” and “Siciliano” were published by the Lang Percussion Company, as were several percussion ensembles. His most-performed work, the “Quartet For Paper Bags” was recently played in Denmark, Poland and Japan.

Mr. Spivack’s scores for theatre include music for the Broadway production of Kafka’s “Metamorphosis” which featured Mikhail Baryshnikov in his theatrical debut, and the critically acclaimed New York Shakespeare Festival production of “Coriolanus” starring Christopher Walken.

Other compositions include “Puss In Boots,” choreographed by Robert LaFosse and commissioned by the School of American Ballet, filmscores, and a three-second fanfare for brass, percussion and synthesizer aired on the ABC television network from 1980 -1982 to announce that programs were being broadcast with closed captioning.

Mr. Spivack has worked as an arranger and orchestrator for Placido Domingo and Patti LaBelle. As a freelance percussionist, he has performed with the Metropolitan Opera, the American Symphony, and has played in 39 Broadway shows. He can be heard on the original cast albums of “Pirates of Penzance,” “The Tap Dance Kid,” “My Favorite Year,” “Triumph of Love” and “Marie Christine.” He is also the co-editor of “The Dictionary of Percussion Terms in the Symphonic Literature,” a reference book published by Carl Fischer.

Mr. Spivack recently wrote and performed a one-man-show entitled “The Tune of the Unknown Soloist,” a collection of songs and true stories about what goes on behind the scenes in the music business, featuring anecdotes about working with Bob Fosse, conducting the Atlanta Symphony and the New York City Gay Men’s Chorus, touring Romania with a percussion ensemble and arranging music for strings in Honolulu.

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-Sean Statser

Performer, composer, and educator Sean Statser (b. 1983) is currently pursuing his M.M. in Instrumental Performance at New York University, studying under the instruction of Jonathan Haas and Simon Boyar. He holds a B.A. in Music Performance from Fort Lewis College, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude and served as Student Marshal for commencement. While at Fort Lewis College Mr. Statser was a student of percussionist Dr. John Pennington. He has taken additional lessons and master classes with artists such as Gary Burton, Stefon Harris, members of So Percussion, Naoko Takada, and Ney Rosauro.

Mr. Statser is an active performer and has played and toured with several ensembles throughout the US. He recently appeared as a marimba soloist with the New York University Symphony Orchestra and was invited to perform at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention in 2008 and 2009. In March of 2010, Mr. Statser will appear at Merkin Concert Hall with pianists Eliza Garth, Brian Ganz, and percussionist Jonathan Haas to present works for two pianos and percussion. He actively collaborates with many New York City artists and ensembles and is a proponent for new music. He is currently working with composer Conrad Winslow on a new work for marimba with percussion trio, which will receive its premiere at Le Poisson Rouge this spring.

Mr. Statser has recorded with several well-known artists including percussionist Simon Boyar, Harold Farberman, John Pennington and jazz pianist Kenny Werner. His latest recording features John Thrower’s Aurora Borealis. In addition, Mr. Statser is an established composer and was recently commissioned by the Animus Music Festival to write a piece for two percussionists and jazz ensemble, as well as being invited to write a marimba duo that was premiered at the 2009 NYU Broadway Percussion Seminar. His compositions are available for purchase through Bachovich Music Publications. Over the past several years he has received awards and honors in both academics and music. Most notably, he was the recipient of the Yamaha/PAS/Terry Gibbs Vibraphone Scholarship. Mr. Statser currently serves as Coordinator for the NYU Broadway Percussion Seminar/Summit and upon graduation, will join the adjunct faculty at New York University.

Visit Sean's MySpace Music Page

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-Joe Tompkins

Percussionist Joseph Tompkins began his musical studies at the age of ten with David Satterfield and Phil Faini at West Virginia University. With the strong guidance of these mentors, he enrolled at the Eastman School of Music, where he studied with John Beck. He completed his graduate work at the Manhattan School of Music, under the tutelage of Chris Lamb.

Tompkins currently freelances in the New York City area and heads the percussion department at Rutgers University. He has performed with the New York Philharmonic, with whom he has toured Europe and Asia, the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, St. Luke’s Orchestra, the New Jersey Symphony, the Rebel Baroque Orchestra in broadcasts from Trinity Church on Wall Street, the New York Collegium, and the Bach Vespers series at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church.

In the realm of new music, Tompkins recently completed his seventh year with Timetable, a percussion trio he co-founded that has commissioned, performed and recorded many new works by both young and established composers.

He can be heard on film soundtracks for The Manchurian Candidate, Casanova, Failure to Launch, The Last Holiday and The Brave One and has performed in over a dozen Broadway productions.
He is married to violinist Kelly Hall-Tompkins.

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- Daniel Temkin

Daniel Temkin has been writing music since age thirteen. One of his earliest compositions, “The Realm of Solitude,” was premiered in Alice Tully Hall as part of the Cecilian Music Society’s Young Artist Competition, and his “Five Bagatelles” and “two e.e. cummings poems” were selected as finalists in the ASCAP Young Composers Competition.

In 2008 his chamber work “Floating Amidst…” was premiered under the baton of the New York Youth Symphony’s Ryan McAdams, and his marimba solo “Expansive Horizons” was arranged for the acclaimed Music City Mystique percussion group. In 2009, his work “Wistfully Reminiscing” was premiered by pianist Qing Jiang at a sold-out concert in Los Angeles’s Bing Theatre. Currently, Daniel is completing a song cycle for sopranos Susanna Su and Helen Gabrielsen, as well as a new piece for the American Brass Quintet. In 2010, the Rutgers Symphony Orchestra will premier his “Regenerations” in NYC’s Symphony Space.

Daniel is a recipient of the Theodore Presser Undergraduate Scholar Award and he is an alumnus of the Eastern, Brevard, and Aspen Music Festivals. He holds a BM in Percussion from Rutgers University where he studied with Chris Deviney and She-e Wu. He has studied composition with Charles Fussell, Kevin Puts, Robert Aldridge, and Sydney Hodkinson, and he is currently a graduate composition fellow at the New England Conservatory where he studies with Michael Gandolfi.

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-Aaron Trant

Aaron Trant, deemed by 21ST CENTURY MUSIC as a "fire-breathing" percussionist, is both an active performer and composer. Cited for his "melodic, if un-pitched,voice"(Splendidezine), he has also received great acclaim for his original score and solo percussion performance to the Chris Marker film "La Jete." His eclectic knowledge of classical, jazz, rock, contemporary and improvised music has made him an asset to many ensembles throughout the United States. Mr. Trant is the co-founder, performer and composer for the After Quartet, an ensemble devoted to promoting new music in the tradition of the Silent Film Era. He is an original member of Firebird Ensemble, Primary Duo (piano and percussion), and Endy Emby (trumpet and percussion). He also performs regularly with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project and the Fromm Foundation Players at Harvard University and Camelean Arts Ensemble. As a composer Aaron has written works for Lisa Saffer, Mark Gould, Firebird Ensemble, After Quartet, Endy Emby and Primary Duo. Mr. Trant has been seen in a variety of concert venues including Carnegie Hall, Jordan Hall and Mexico's Palacio de Bellas Artes. Mr. Trant can be heard on the Mode, BMOP Sound, Boiled Jar, Cauchemar, Nepenthe and Stone Quarry labels. Aaron is the recipient of many grants including St. Botolph Club Foundation Grant- in- Aid and from the New England Foundation for the Arts. Aaron's percussion trio "Spiral" and solo xylo piece "x is ALWAYS for xylohphone" is published through Bachovich Music Publications. Upcoming projects include original compositions for Firebird Ensemble and Primary Duo.

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-Glen Velez

Glen Velez is considered one of the most influential percussionists our time, as well as being responsible for a world-wide resurgence in the popularity of the frame drum. While Glen draws upon the great drumming traditions of the Middle East, South India and the Mediterranean world (ancient and modern), he plays in a style all his own. Utilizing a vast culmination of complex hand and finger techniques, he creates a symphony of sound and texture from just a single hand held drum. Glen is also an expert in Central Asian Overtone Singing (singing two tones at once). During concerts, he often gives his audiences a spontaneous crash course in this style.

Glen has gained international recognition as a solo artist and is also known for his 15 year recording and performing collaborations with composer Steve Reich as well as the Paul Winter Consort. Other collaborations include: Tan Dun, Israel Philharmonia, Brooklyn Philharmonia, Opera Orchestra of New York, Suzanne Vega, Pat Metheny, Zakir Hussain, New York City Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet Orchestra, Orchestra of St. Luke's, Orpheus Chamber Ensemble. His own compositions have been featured on National Public Radio's All Things Considered and John Schaefer's New Sounds and have been commissioned by the Rockefeller Foundation, Jerome Foundation, and Reader's Digest. He has written music for theater and dance and recorded hundreds of albums on ECM, CBS, RCA, GRP, Warner Brothers, Deutsche Gramophone, Geffen, Nonesuch, Capital, and Sony.

In addition, he has several instructional videos, 5 instructional books and over a dozen recordings of his own music on CMP, Music of the World, Sounds True, Interworld, Ellipsis Arts and DafTof Records. Glen is a master teacher who conducts workshops worldwide and he currently teaches frame drums at the Mannes School of Music, as well as series of master classes at The Julliard School, Tanglewood and Manhattan School of Music.

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-Doug Wallace

Douglas Wallace lives in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area and performs regularly as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral percussionist. As a soloist and chamber musician, he has worked with many ensembles including Theater Chamber Players, Eclipse Chamber Orchestra, The Battery Four Percussion Group, Washington Symphonic Brass and Percussion, and The Oblivion Ensemble. With these groups and others, he has performed as a guest artist and clinician at The Kennedy Center, The Cosmos Club, The Phillips Collection, The Freer Gallery, The National Gallery of Art, Constitution Hall, and The National Theater in Washington, D.C., The Academy of Music and The Morris Arboretum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, The Juilliard School in New York City, The Pyramid Arts Center in Rochester, New York, The Fame Music Festival in Princeton, New Jersey, The Usdan Center for the Creative and Performing Arts in Huntington, New York, the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California, the University of Maryland Summer Percussion Workshop in College Park, Maryland, and The Tanglewood Music Festival in Lenox, Massachusetts. Mr. Wallace's orchestral background includes performances with The National Symphony Orchestra, The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, The Washington National Opera, The Harrisburg Symphony, The Delaware Symphony, The Richmond Symphony, The Rochester Philharmonic, and the Alexandria Symphony. With these orchestras and others he has worked with world renowned conductors Lorin Maazel, Seiji Ozawa, James Levine, Leonard Slatkin, Kurt Mazur, Pierre Boulez, Placido Domingo, Jeffrey Tate, and Valery Gergiev.

In addition to his performing career, Mr. Wallace has a very extensive teaching background. He currently runs the percussion programs at Madison High School, Thoreau Middle School, and Kilmer Middle School in Vienna, Virginia, McLean High School and Longfellow Middle School in McLean, Virginia, and the American Youth Philharmonic Orchestra in Fairfax County, Virginia. His work with these organizations includes teaching methods classes, writing and arranging marching band and percussion ensemble music, coaching orchestral and band literature and conducting percussion ensemble. Mr. Wallace’s private students have been accepted to many music conservatories and colleges including The Juilliard School, The Curtis Institute of Music, The Cleveland Institute of Music, The New England Conservatory, The Peabody Conservatory, The Eastman School of Music, The Oberlin Conservatory, The University of Miami, and DePaul University. His teaching techniques are highlighted in his new method book, Percussion With Class, released in August of 2005 by the FJH Music Publishing Company, and his compositions and arrangements have been performed at The Juilliard School, The Eastman School of Music, New York University, George Mason University, The Music Academy of the West, The Aspen Music Festival, Temple University, and at The Bands of America National Percussion Festival.

Mr. Wallace has a Bachelor's Degree and Performer's Certificate from The Eastman School of Music where he studied with John Beck, and a Master's Degree from The Juilliard School where he studied with Greg Zuber.

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-Matthew Welch

The music of Matthew Welch (b.1976) stems from a remarkably multi-faceted foundation. Matthew holds two university degrees in Experimental Music Composition, a BFA from Simon Fraser University (1999), and an MA form Wesleyan University (2001), studying with noted composers such as Barry Truax, Rodney Sharman, Alvin Lucier and Anthony Braxton. His compositions range from traditional-like bagpipe tunes to electronic pieces, improvisation strategies and fully notated works for solo instruments, chamber ensembles and orchestra. He has also taken part in a number of compositional collaborations with Indonesian Gamelan composer-performers in Bali and Java, performed in free improvisation contexts with numerable New York City improvisers, and played with art rockers in the Brooklyn underground.

As a virtuoso of the Highland Bagpipe, he studied traditional music with Gold Medalist masters such as Colin MacLellan, Jack Lee, Angus MacLellan and Andrew Wright. Matthew also was a member of the four - time World Champion Simon Fraser University Pipe Band, winning with them in 1999 and 2001. As an ambassador for the instrument, Matthew has premiered a number of new compositions written for bagpipes by contemporary composers. This involvement with a more diverse musical context has led him into an expansion of his instrumental array to include alternative bagpipe configurations, accordion and various saxophones. Indonesian Gamelan percussion music, both Javanese and more recently, Balinese, have been another focus of Matthew’s, which he has pursued throughout his academic career, with the New York Indonesian Consulate gamelans, and in Bali. Matthew appears on Anthony Braxton’s 10 [Solo Bagpipe] Compositions, 2000, and two compact discs of his own music, Ceol Nua (Leo 336, 2002) highlighting orchestral and chamber works and Hag at the Churn (Newsonic 33, 2003), a collection of electronic concoctions. The eclectic breadth of his interests in Celtic music, gamelan, minimalism, improvisation and rock also converge in compositional amalgams for his New York based ensemble, Blarvuster. A recording of his most recent compositions, Dream Tigers, was released on John Zorn’s Tzadik Records’ Composer Series in March of 2005.

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