Percussionists

A list too long to put up all at once.  This page will expand steadily over time.  I’ll begin with a few of the pivotal figures in my life, and go on from there.

Barry Larkin:  Former Professor of Percussion at Iowa State University.  My first private instructor in middle school and my undergrad professor.  Barry and I worked together from 1996-2007.  The impact he had on percussion in Iowa and on me cannot be overstated.

Keith Aleo: My teacher at Interlochen in 2000 and 2002.  My time there with him convinced me I wanted to be a professional musician.

David Hall: His 2002 PASIC appearance in Columbus, Ohio energized me in a way I had never experienced.  His CD has been my absolute favorite since I picked it up immediately following that performance.

Michael Burritt: Anything I say starts sounding like hero worship.  In 2004-2005 I traveled to Chicago to study with him on a monthly basis.  I credit him with giving me the tools and advice I needed to stay in music when I was on the verge of quitting for good.  Hero.

Leigh Howard Stevens: Possibly the most influential percussionist of the late 20th Century. I first met him in 2005 at a residency at Iowa State, then I attended his Summer Marimba Seminar the same year.

John Parks IV: Redefined my view of the concert snare drum and raised my bar on what discipline and excellence look like in 2006-2007.

Anthony DiSanza: My Masters professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison 2007-2009.  I went to his program in search of “new kung-fu” and got WAY more than I ever bargained for.  I’m still developing and working my way through everything I learned from him.

Todd Hammes: A Doctoral candidate at UW-Madison when I was there.  I studied a year of Tabla and played a lot of chamber music with him, including quite a few of his own pieces.  He has a totally different world view of percussion and music that is both beautiful and challenging.  Highly Recommended.

Michael Spiro: A regular guest artist at UW-Madison, Spiro and his students introduced me to Afro-Cuban music and the wider world of the African Diaspora.  My approach to playing is fundamentally different now than before I began my study of music outside the Western Tradition, and Spiro is a huge part of that.

Thomas Burritt: When I returned to Iowa in 2010 it  was my first time away from a university community in 13 years.  I was feeling more than a little disconnected and then I found PATV and Drumchattr.com.