Author: John Corkill

Nonoka mizukami, percussion

Nonoka Mizukami is a percussionist and educator based in Baltimore MD who is committed to performing contemporary music with living composers in various settings such as solo marimba, chamber, and orchestra in both Japan and the U.S., and who is also committed to growing music education for the next generation.  By collaborating with living composers, visual artists, and film directors, she dedicates herself to experiencing new sounds, recording original compositions, and filming soundscape music. 

As an active educator, Ms Mizukami teaches at Peabody Preparatory, where she directs the percussion department.  She devotes her energy to music education in private lessons, chamber projects, and orchestral training, instructing young musicians in collaboration with students from other departments for collaborative multidisciplinary projects.

In addition to serving as director of percussion studies at the Peabody Preparatory, Nonoka is post-residency in the DMA program at the Peabody Institute, as well as being a member of Pique Collective and a timpanist in the Washington Chamber Orchestra.  She holds a BM, GPD, and MM from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, where she studied with Robert van Sice.

arx duo, percussion

arx duo is dedicated to the expansion of the percussion chamber music repertoire through the creation and presentation of new works, the educating and inspiring of young artists, and   exciting performances inviting audiences to engage with new works and artists from all over the world. They have had premiere performances throughout the globe, conducted workshops on three continents, and worked with a variety of composers and artists to bring new creations to life for communities everywhere.

Just before the COVID-19 pandemic, the duo had given their Royal Albert Hall Debut in London with British Composer of the Year (2018) Dominic Murcott’s “Harmonic Canon”. They were also scheduled to have their Carnegie Hall Debut in April of 2020. Through the Pandemic, the group has continued to commission and workshop new pieces with composers, and engage with students and audiences across the globe. Honing their recording skills, they have released numerous videos and full online concerts, and are preparing to release their first album in the spring of 2022, through a residency with Jack Straw Artists in Seattle.

With a repertoire ranging from established masters to today’s newest compositional voices, arx duo has worked closely with composers such as Jonathan Bailey Holland, Ted Hearne, Steven Mackey, Juri Seo, and many more. They have worked with a performed with renowned chamber ensembles such as the Dover String Quartet, Aeolus String Quartet, Bergamot String Quartet, Amy Yang, Henry Kramer, The Percussion Collective – Robert van Sice, among many others.

As educators, arx duo has held guest positions at Peabody Conservatory, Michigan State University, and are currently faculty at Curtis Institute of Music Young Artist Summer Program. They’ve also given masterclasses to young musicians on three continents, including many locations in the states. Mari and Garrett have also given residencies (both in person and virtual) for the composition departments of Princeton, Boston Conservatory, and more in the coming seasons.

The name “arx duo” comes from the artists’ desire to forge new connections and artistic pathways or “arcs” within the genre, expanding the opportunities for their music to reach new audiences.

Mari and Garrett both proudly endorse Adams Instruments, Pearl Drums, Zildjian Cymbals, Evans Drumheads, and Vic Firth Sticks and Mallets

Peter ferry, percussion

Called “the ingenious percussionist Peter Ferry,” (Chicago Sun-Times) and “an artist of vision… presenting percussion in a stunning thoughtful way,” (Democrat and Chronicle) Peter Ferry is a young American percussion soloist re-imagining classical performances through innovative approaches to contemporary repertoire. Following his concerto debut at age 18, Ferry has championed the works of living composers, including Michael Daugherty who has praised Ferry as “one of the most promising and committed soloists of his generation.” A TEDx speaker, Ferry has collaborated with choreographer Nick Pupillo at Chicago’s Harris Theater and abroad to the European Museum of Modern Glass where he was nominated for the Coburg Prize. An alumnus of the Eastman School of Music, Ferry graduated with the first ever John Beck Percussion Scholarship, an Arts Leadership Program certificate, and the prestigious Performer’s Certificate recognizing “outstanding performing ability.”

Sean connors, Percussion

Sean Connors is an Grammy-winning ensemble member and Technical Director of Third Coast Percussion, the Chicago-based and internationally renowned percussion quartet.  He has performed with the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, eighth blackbird, the International Contemporary Ensemble, Signal, and Metropolis Ensemble, and he was the percussionist for 2 summers with the Aspen Music Festival Contemporary Ensemble.  Sean is one part of the percussion duo Amphion, a project with co-founder and friend Peter Zlotnick. He also enjoys performing as a member of the newly formed Chicago Balinese Gamelan.

As an educator, Sean served for 2 years as Assistant Professor of Percussion at the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point, held positions on the faculty at Onondaga Community College and Roberts Wesleyan College, and taught elementary school and middle school music in the Chicago suburbs.

Sean holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music, a Master of Music degree from Northwestern University and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music.

Justin peters, Percussion

Justin Peters is a Chicago-based musician and composer dedicated to using percussion as a vehicle for art, entertainment, and education. Through performance, experimentation, and collaboration, he blends and traverses multiple genres. In 2015, he graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a Bachelor of Music in percussion performance. There he received the Edgard Varèse Percussion Award. Following graduation, Justin returned to Chicago where he currently performs as a soloist and with various ensembles.

Elliot Cole, Composition & Vocals

Elliot Cole (*1984) is a composer and “charismatic contemporary bard” (NY Times).  He has performed his music with Grammy Winners Roomful of Teeth, Grammy Nominees A Far Cry and Metropolis Ensemble, as well as the Chicago Composers Orchestra, New Vintage Baroque, the Lucerne Festival Academy, and as a member of the book-club-band Oracle Hysterical.  His percussion music has been performed by over 250 percussion ensembles all over the world.  In 2017 he was invited by Talks at Google to share his unique approach to music through computer programming.  He is on faculty at the The New School and Juilliard Evening Division, and is Program Director of Musicambia at Sing Sing, where he runs a music school for incarcerated men.

Danny Clay, composition

Danny Clay is a composer and teaching artist from Ohio, currently based in San Francisco. His work is deeply rooted in play, curiosity, and the sheer joy of making things, in collaboration with everyone from professional ensembles to classrooms of elementary schoolers. His projects often include musical games, open forms, found objects, archival media, graphic notation, homemade instruments, digital errata, cross-disciplinary research, and the everything-in-between. Recent collaborators include Kronos Quartet, Eighth Blackbird, Youth Speaks, Third Coast Percussion, 826 Valencia, Post:Ballet, Sarah Cahill, Phyllis Chen, the Living Earth Show, and Friction Quartet. As a teaching artist, he has worked with the San Francisco Opera, Little Opera, the International Contemporary Ensemble, and the John Adams Young Composers Program at the Crowden School.

kyle flens, percussion

Kyle Flens, (b.1991, Baltimore, MD), is a multi-faceted percussionist. Based in Chicago IL, he is a member of the chamber music collective Ensemble Dal Niente. As a performer Kyle gravitates to experimental music written by composers of our time. This gravitation has led to concerts across the Western Hemisphere. Concert highlights include the Foro Internacional de Música Nueva Manuel Enriquez (Mexico City, Mexico), the MetLiveArts concert series at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), the LA Philharmonic’s Noon to Midnight Festival at Walt Disney Concert Hall (Los Angeles), the 5th International Festival of Percussion Ensembles (San José, Costa Rica), Institutio Inhotim (Minas Gerais, Brazil), and the Phillips Collection’s concert series (Washington DC). As an advocate for teaching about experimental music he has been in educational residencies at University of California Davis, The Walden School, Brandeis University, Brown University, Stanford University, and the University of Maryland. Kyle performs on Pearl Drums and Adams Percussion Instruments, and is honored to be an endorsed artist.