What first attracted you to percussion instruments? Which ones do you play?
I started on drum set, but the first instrument I fell in love with was the marimba. I love the sound of the instrument, and even though I came to it late (I switched from saxophone to percussion when I was a junior in high school), I spent a lot of time listening to recordings before I became serious about classical percussion.
What are your thoughts about
Chronies
, the piece you’re playing with Orion?
Chronies
is an interesting piece that uses mostly marimba with some small percussion instruments. I am looking forward to it! I often play with clarinet; my trio, F-PLUS, is violin, clarinet and percussion
.
What do you like about performing with chamber ensembles like Orion?
Most of my performing is in chamber music settings. Along with F-PLUS and other freelance work, I’m a member of the Zafa Collective, a group of mixed instrumentation in Chicago that focuses on works by underrepresented composers, specifically women and composers of color. I love the feeling of teamwork and communication that chamber music provides. You feel that you’re really making something together and can put your own personal stamp on it.