Company News

Composer Spotlight: Doug Wallace

DOUG WALLACE is a performer, composer, and educator with diverse experience in all areas of percussion performance and pedagogy. A graduate of the Eastman School of Music and The Juilliard School, Mr. Wallace has performed with a variety of acclaimed ensembles including the National Symphony Orchestra, the Washington National Opera, The Metropolitan Opera, the Rochester [...]

Composer Spotlight: John David Cope

JOHN DAVID COPE is a composer, arranger, percussionist, educator, and entrepreneur from North Richland Hills, Texas. He is currently working as a Graduate Teaching Assistant in the music composition department at the Texas Christian University. In addition to working as a Graduate Teaching Assistant, Mr. Cope is also working on his Doctorate in Music Composition. [...]

Composer Spotlight: Tyler Nechamkin

TYLER NECHAMKIN is a percussion educator, composer, arranger, producer, and performer in the Dallas area where he has served as the Percussion Director at McKinney High School since 2019. Before McKinney, he was the Assistant Percussion Director at Wylie East High School. As a performer, Tyler has toured Italy with the Synergy Percussion Group, been a [...]

Composer Spotlight: Cedrick Leavell

CEDRICK LEAVELL is entering his 17th year as the Director of Bands at Warren East Middle School and the Assistant Director at Warren East High School. He is also the Beginning Band Director at Bristow and Richardsville Elementary Schools.Under his direction, the Warren East Middle School Bands have received Distinguished and Proficient Ratings at the [...]

Featured Video: Zodiacal Cloud by Jason DeCristofaro

ZODIACAL CLOUD was the result of my wanting to write a mallet percussion piece for an exceptionally talented drum set student in the percussion studio at Warren Wilson College. The student was new to mallet percussion, but had fast hands and good rhythmic independence from drum set playing. I set out with the goal of [...]

Composer Spotlight: Jake Ellzey

JAKE ELLZEY is a composer and percussionist from Gulfport, Mississippi. As an undergraduate at Louisiana State University, Ellzey performs with LSU's Symphony Orchestra, Constantinides New Music Ensemble, LSU’s Wind Ensemble, and Hamiruge, the LSU Percussion Group. Ellzey's compositional work focuses on chamber settings and their application to tell stories. These stories strive to illustrate music [...]

Featured Video: BLAZE by Nathan Daughtrey

BLAZE is a balanced percussion septet pitting the keyboards versus the battery instruments. It draws inspiration from the following Ralph Waldo Emerson quote, as in “trail-blaze” or a blaze on a trail:“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”The piece was commissioned by the [...]

Composer Spotlight: Steven J. Pyter

STEVEN J. PYTER is a music educator, composer, and arranger from Joliet, Illinois. Throughout his career, he has taught a variety of instrumental, vocal, and general music classes at the high school level. Steven received his Bachelor of Music degree from Northern Illinois University (DeKalb) and his Master of Music Education Degree with teacher certification [...]

Featured Video: ADELANT by Ivan Mendoza

ADELANT is composed for percussion sextet consisting of two marimbas, two vibraphones, percussion and piano. It is a small-scale work that aims to sonically emulate the sound of a full percussion orchestra using only a few players and limited instrumentation. The term is derived from the Spanish word “adelante,” meaning “forward,” which underlies the compositional [...]

Composer Spotlight: Ivan Mendoza

IVAN MENDOZA currently resides in Fort Worth, TX, where he is pursuing a bachelor's in music education, with instrumental emphasis, at Texas Christian University. Growing up in the Rio Grande Valley, Ivan attended Pioneer High School in the city of Mission where he began his musical journey under the direction of Mr. Mauricio Castellano. As [...]