As a child, Todd Ukena would intently listen to his mother, Dorothy, play show tunes on the piano; thus crediting her for his love of music. It was in grade four, that he would follow in her foot-steps and began studying the piano, while wishing that he could play the snare drum. And…
DetailsMichael LaMattina studied percussion performance at Oberlin Conservatory of Music and Cleveland State University where he earned the degrees of Bachelor of Music and Master of Music respectively. In addition, he attended the Music Academy of the West; he was a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center; was a member of The Spirit of Atlanta…
DetailsA full Professor of Music at William Paterson University teaching contemporary music, percussion, composition, improvisation, and Hindustani music; and Co-Artistic director of SHASTRA, Dr. Payton MacDonald has created a unique body of work as a performer and composer. Having been described as an “energetic soloist” by the New York Times and as an “inventive, stylistically…
DetailsDaniel Kirkpatrick graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Music in Percussion Performance from the University of North Texas College of Music. At UNT, he was principal timpanist of the UNT Symphony and Chamber Orchestra while studying with Christopher Deane, Mike Drake, Mark Ford, and Paul Rennick. Following UNT, he attended the University of Wisconsin…
DetailsBorn into a family of professional dancers and musicians, James Musto began playing the drums for social events around the Jersey Shore at age 15. He studied jazz drums with Barry Altschul, Freddie Waits and Fred Buda of the Boston Pops; and was encouraged by them to study other percussion instruments. Hence, culminating when he…
DetailsProfessor of Music, Director of Percussion and Director of Music at Clemson University, Dr. Paul Buyer is a sought-after keynote speaker and clinician who was featured in “Success Magazine’s Achiever Series.”
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