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.
rebecca mcdaniel, percussion
Rebecca McDaniel is passionate about sharing music with others and about supporting the creativity of young musicians. Relying on music as a unifying force, Rebecca seeks to share curiosity and joy as a performer, educator, and arts administrator. She is an active chamber percussionist in the Chicagoland area, collaborating most frequently with violin and percussion duo Hot Second (founding Co-Artistic Director), sextet Mycelium New Music, and interdisciplinary ensemble Beyond This Point, and she teaches percussion at Wheaton Warrenville South High School. Rebecca also serves as the Development Manager for the Grammy Award-winning quartet Third Coast Percussion, working closely with the ensemble in support of its performance, education, and collaborative programs.
Alex Monroe, percussion
Chicago percussionist Alex Monroe holds degrees in percussion performance from Northwestern University (M.M.) and Truman State University (B.M.). An advocate for contemporary art across mediums, Alex currently serves as the Grants Manager for the GRAMMY-winning new music sextet Eighth Blackbird and the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival/Blair Thomas & Co. Alex is also a percussionist and on the Board of the Directors for the Chicago Composers Orchestra and previously held an Associate position with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, where he performed dozens of public outreach concerts through the MusiCorps program.