Collide Festival | music.ucf.edu/collide
Founded in 2011, the Collide Festival is an annual event hosted at the University of Central Florida which features new music for percussion and the collaborative process between percussionist and composer.

Past guests composers and artists include: Paul Lansky, Jonathan Kolm, Matthew Barnson, Meehan/Perkins Duo, Third Coast Percussion, Samuel Solomon, and Bob McCormick  Stay in touch through the official website for further details.

Vignette No. 1 for Solo Percussion
Vignette No. 1 is a unique “collage” percussion recital which features newly commissioned works for keyboard percussion instruments by Jonathan Kolm, Travis Jeffords, and Halim El-Dabh as well as some adaptations of music by J.S. Bach and John Cage and standards by Gordon Stout and Thom Hasenpflug.  The recital also highlighted some recent video and percussion collaborations that I have been involved in with Diana Reichenbach, Christopher Brannan, David Randag, and Ruwan Perera.

Also, I wrote a blog post on Vic Firth’s The Exchange regarding alternative recitals (it also appears on DrumChattr).  Give it a read.

Cage Percussion Players | www.cagepercussionplayers.com
Currently in residency at the University of Central Florida, the modern reincarnation of the Cage Percussion Players serves three core purposes.  The first is to establish a performing body of repertoire that is similar to that of the original ensemble.  This task includes seeking out original parts and authenticating instruments, implements, and performance practice.  The second objective is academic based and focuses on historical perspectives of early American percussion ensemble repertoire.  Lastly, the ensemble is used as an educational resource for a variety of teaching opportunities.

Standard Deviation | www.standardeviaton-themovie.com
I am fortunate to have worked with documentary filmmakers Chris Brannan and David Randag on their project Standard Deviation, a documentary film about Billy Cottrell, the brilliant young physicist turned ecoterrorist.  I composed and recorded about 35 minutes of original music for the film.  The project has done well and even won an EMMY for best documentary at the 2009 College Television Awards.  Below is a 90 second trailer about the film.

Percussion Commissioning Project
As an advocate for new music, I am currently collaborating with contemporary composers and colleagues to create new works for percussion.  Some of these projects include the following:

Gearbox Transmission
Long story short, composer Travis Jeffords wrote me a solo for marimba, three woodblocks, and a resonant metal.  The piece is titled Gearbox Transmission and the blocks and metal represent “gears” for the marimba (shifting between various rhythmic values).  I recorded the audio in May of 2008 and videographer, Ruwan Perera, put together all of the visuals.  Enjoy!