Ted Atkatz Percussion Seminar

11 days left to apply for TAPS! This week’s faculty spotlight is Shaun Tilburg ()

Shaun joined the Phoenix Symphony as Principal Percussion in November of 2013. Mr. Tilburg’s previous position was as the Principal Percussionist of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, where he played from 2007 until 2011. It was in Hong Kong that Shaun met his future wife, Madoka Suzuki. The pair moved back to the United States in the summer of 2011 and were married on a balcony overlooking Chicago’s Michigan Avenue.
Shaun has performed with the Chicago Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Philharmonia Orchestra of London, National Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony, Houston Symphony, Dallas Symphony, Malaysian Philharmonic, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Hong Kong Philharmonic, and San Antonio Symphony. He has received fellowships with the Tanglewood Music Center, National Repertoire Orchestra, Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Opera of the Ozarks and Music Academy of the West.

In 2016, riding the success of his snare drum method book ‘The Regimen’, Shaun founded a music publication company called Pocket Publications. With 20 publications and growing, Pocket Publications has quickly established itself as an innovator in the industry. Shaun’s compositions have premiered all over the world, including the USA, Canada, Netherlands, Spain, Germany and Norway.

Mr. Tilburg has given master classes at the AZ Percussive Arts Society Day of Percussion, the Colburn School, the New York Day of Xylophone and has also given classes in many universities across Asia. He taught at Arizona State University from 2014-2021, and joined the faculty of the Lynn Conservatory of Music in 2016.

14 days left to apply for this year’s TAPS La Music Festival!

Performance opportunities are an essential part of the experience at any summer music festival. This year’s TAPS LA Festival will feature a performance at Chavez Park in Long Beach, CA.

Repertoire this year will include Steve Reich’s Music for 18 Musicians in honor of Reich’s 90 birthday and the 50th anniversary of the composition.

Our featured faculty artist this week is George Nickson ()! There are 17 days left to apply for the TAPS LA Music Festival (link in bio).

A percussionist and conductor of great versatility and virtuosity, George Nickson has been hailed by The New York Times as “a performer handling his role with ease and flair.” He holds the Margie and William H. Seay Chair as Principal Percussionist of The Dallas Symphony Orchestra.

Prior to his position in Dallas, George served as Principal Percussionist of the Sarasota Orchestra from 2012-2019. He maintains an active teaching studio as Adjunct Associate Professor of Percussion at Southern Methodist University. George has received the Master of Music degree at The Juilliard School where he studied with Daniel Druckman and completed his undergraduate studies at the New England Conservatory with Will Hudgins. In addition to his position with the Sarasota Orchestra, George has had the privilege of performing with the orchestras of Boston, Detroit, Washington D.C., Toronto, Honolulu, and San Francisco.

Recent highlights include concerto performances at Tanglewood, solo performances at The Spoleto Festival, and solo recording projects that can be heard on NAXOS, Bridge, and Albany Records. George has appeared as conductor in many notable performances of ensembleNEWSRQ, including numerous world premieres, U.S. Premieres and Florida Premieres, such as Charles Wuorinen’s New York Notes, Le Marteau sans maître of Pierre Boulez, Tansy Davies’ saltbox, and Sofia Gubaidulina’s Lyre of Orpheus.

There are 18 days left to apply for TAPS… apply to join us and perform Music for 18 Musicians!

This year will mark the 90th birthday of world-renowned American composer, Steve Reich, as well as the 50th anniversary of his famous composition, Music for 18 Musicians.

In honor of this major landmark, TAPS is excited to be programming Music for 18 Musicians as on of the featured pieces at the annual TAPS LA Music Festival!

This year’s performance will take place at the Chavez Park amphitheater in downtown Long Beach, CA.

This week’s spotlight is the Quey Percussion Duo (), TAPS’ artists in residence for the 2026 LA Music Festival!

QPD has performed across 4 continents and extensively throughout the US, including over 200 guest performances/lectures at some of the most prestigious institutions in the world. Recent activities include a 2-week tour of Europe, a PASIC showcase concert, and a concerto performance with the Beijing Symphony Orchestra. Through their focus on creating high-level video content, their digital audience has climbed to over 4 million viewers and counting. Their broad digital footprint has led to collaborations with artists and organizations around the world, most recently providing music for Lululemon’s “Glow Up” ad campaign.

Comprised of members Gene Koshinski () and Tim Broscious (), QPD has worked with music festivals, professional orchestras, chamber music series’, art galleries, and conferences (including 5 PASIC appearances). In addition to their recordings for the Innova, Naxos, Centaur, Equilibrium, and Neuma record labels, QPD can be heard in the score of the award-winning short film The Passage, which was premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2018. A review of their most recent album, soniChroma, stated, “one cannot help but stand in awe of the Quey Percussion Duo.” (Percussive Notes)

QPD holds the only full-time residency by a percussion duo in the US at the University of Delaware where they
co-direct the percussion program, deliver various chamber music experiences, lessons, and studio classes. Their side-by-side approach to teaching has led to many performance and recording opportunities for their students.

QPD is endorsed by Pearl/Adams Instruments (), Sabian Cymbals (), Vic Firth Sticks and Mallets (), and Remo Drumheads ().

There are some great prizes up for grabs at our Spring Semester Student Giveaway! Enter for a chance to win at the link in our bio.

TAPS x Honor Percussion ()
Giveaway is open to undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral percussion students currently enrolled in a degree program*

Prize Includes: Honor Percussion Bass Drum Mallets: H1, H2, H3 Light, and Cutie

Have a chance to win a set of bass drum mallets AND help contribute to student scholarships for TAPS LA Music Festival!

*Enrollment status may be verified upon selection

Some happy memories from TAPS ‘24! Applications for this year’s festival are open now through March 31, 2026.

This year’s TAPS LA Music Festival features a fantastic roster of faculty! If you would like to join us in sunny Los Angeles, make sure to apply by March 31, 2026.

Our featured artist this week is Ji Hye Jung ():

Praised as “spectacular” by the Los Angeles Times and “extraordinary”  by the Ventura County Star, the Times describes percussionist Ji Hye  Jung as “a centered player who can give the impression of being very  still yet at all places at once”.

Ms. Jung began concertizing in her native South Korea at the age of nine where she performed more than 100 concerts including solo appearances with every major orchestra in Korea. Soon after coming to the United States in 2004, Ms. Jung garnered consecutive first prizes at  the 2006 Linz International Marimba Competition and the 2007 Yale Gordon Concerto Competition.

Ms. Jung frequently performs with many of today’s most important  conductors and instrumentalists. For six years she has served as  principal percussionist with the west coast-based chamber music ensemble Camerata Pacifica, with whom she has premiered works by Bright Sheng  and Huang Ruo.  She has also recorded Stravinsky’s Les Noces with  JoAnn Falletta at the Virginia Arts Festival, performed as soloist with  David Robertson conducting an all Messiaen program at Carnegie Hall,  and made her concerto debut with the Houston Symphony under the baton of Hans Graf in 2005.

In 2015 Ji Hye Jung was named Associate Professor of Percussion at  Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music. She previously served as  Associate Professor of Percussion at the University of Kansas for six  years. An active educator and clinician, Jung has presented  masterclasses at the Curtis Institute, the Peabody Conservatory, Rice  University, Beijing’s Central Conservatory, and the Karol Szymanowski  Academy of Music in Katowice, Poland. As  an artist endorser, she proudly represents Pearl/Adams instruments , Vic  Firth sticks and mallets , and Zildjian cymbals .