DOMINIC DONATO has traveled worldwide as a percussion soloist and chamber musician. He is a member of the Talujon Percussion Quartet and Newband (a contemporary ensemble that specializes in microtonal music) and performs regularly with many New York new music groups and orchestras including Ensemble 21, Washington Square Chamber Music Society, The League of Composers/ISCM, American Composers Orchestra, EOS Orchestra and The Riverside Symphony.
He has performed as a soloist in New York (Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Symphony Space, The Kitchen, Experimental Intermedia Foundation, The Bang On A Can Festival, Washington Square Church), Rome, Amsterdam, and in Paris where he gave the French premiere of Iannis Xenakis’ Percussion Concerto, Omega. He was invited to the Donaueschingen Music Festival where he premiered James Tenney’sSong ‘n’ Dance for Harry Partch with the SWR Symphony Orchestra. Recent solo performances include Aïs for Amplified Baritone, Percussion Soloist and Large Orchestra by Iannis Xenakis at the Gulbenkian Festival in Lisbon, Portugal.
Dr. Donato has recorded Dean Drummond's Different Drums for solo percussion on Mode Records, and can also be heard on CRI, Aurora, Newport Classics, O.O. Discs, Tzadik, Music & Arts, Innova, Wergo, Point Music, Vandenburg and New World Records. He received his DMA degree from the Manhattan School of Music and MM degree from SUNY Stony Brook and is currently on the faculty of the Conservatory of Music, Purchase College, State University of New York.
Cited by the New York Times as a "virtuosic percussionist", TOM KOLOR specializes in 20th and 21st century music, and holds a Master's Degree from the Juilliard School.
Mr. Kolor has appeared throughout the world as a member of the Talujon Percussion Quartet, Ensemble Sospeso, New Jersey Percussion Ensemble, Newband and Ensemble 21. He is a frequent guest of Speculum Musicae, the Group for Contemporary Music, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Da Capo Chamber Players, Continuum, New Millennium Ensemble, New York New Music Ensemble and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.
As a soloist, Mr. Kolor has premiered works by Milton Babbitt, Tania Leon, Wayne Peterson, John Zorn, and dozens of others. Solo performances have been presented at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York's MOMA and Guggenheim, Holland's State Museum at Amsterdam, Princeton University, and the University of California at Berkeley.
Mr. Kolor has recorded for Koch, Mode, New World, Albany, Capstone, North/South, Wergo, Innova, Naxos, CRI, and RCA Classics labels. He currently teaches at William Paterson University and Columbia University.
MICHAEL LIPSEY holds a BM from Queens College and a MM from Manhattan School of Music. He has performed with such prestigious ensembles as the Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society II, Riverside Symphony, Ensemble Sospeso, Philharmonia Virtuosi, Newband and is a founding member of the Talujon Percussion Quartet. He has recorded for labels such as Sony Classical with the BBC Symphony, CRI Records, Albany Records, Mode Records and Nonesuch Records. He has performed at festivals around the world including Berlin, Mexico City, Taipei, Tokyo, Moscow, Bang on a Can, Chautauqua, Library of Congress and the Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors Festival.
He directs the Percussion and Contemporary Ensembles at Queens College and is an Adjunct Lecturer at Connecticut College. Michael is very interested in creating new works for hand drums. He is currently working on a project to commission and premiere works in this medium.
Visit Michael's website at www.lipseypercussion.com.
Matt Ward is dedicated to performing and commissioning new music and has been cited by the New York Times as “a fine soloist”. With a particular interest in chamber music, he is a principal player with the Argento Chamber Players, Talujon, and is also the co-founder of the percussion trio Timetable. Mr. Ward also performs regularly with groups such as the Manhattan Sinfonietta, the American Modern Ensemble, Associated Solo Artists, Albany Symphony and the Riverside Symphony. Mr. Ward was the recipient of the Ridley-Tree Fellowship at the Music Academy of the West in 1998, and in 1999 he participated in the Tanglewood Music Center under the direction of Seiji Ozawa and George Benjamin and returned the following year for the American Premiere of Pierre Boulez's Sur Incises at the 60th Anniversary TMC Alumni Concert. Recent projects include the American Premiere of Philippe Hurel's percussion concerto at Merkin Hall, and the premieres of two new works for percussion by Elizabeth Hoffman.
Matt Ward began studying conducting as the student director of the Stony Brook Contemporary Chamber Players and in residence at the Bang On a Can Summer Music Festival. Since then, he has premiered new works by Phillipe Manoury, Lawrence Moss, Ross Bauer, Meyer Kupferman, Barbara White, Sebastian Armoza and many other young composers. He is also a regular guest conductor with the International Contemporary Ensemble and Ensemble Inc.
Mr. Ward holds a BM degree from the Manhattan School of Music and a MM degree from SUNY Stony Brook, where he is currently a Candidate for his DMA. He is on faculty at Queens College and at the Bloomingdale School of Music where he directs the percussion ensemble and conducts student and faculty ensembles. Through organizations such as the 92nd Street Y, Westchester Philharmonic, and Marquis Studios Mr. Ward has worked with elementary school children throughout New York City and the surrounding area. He can be heard on the recording labels Argo, Newport Classics, Soundspell, and Albany Records.
