Britton Matthews recently originated the drum book for the off-Broadway musical Millennials are Killing Musicals (book and music by Nico Juber) presented by Out of the Box Theatrics. She has also worked as a sub musician at SIX, the Yiddish revival of Fiddler on the Roof, The Nutty Professor, Group! The Musical, and The Hello Girls. She held the chair for the US premiere production of Phillip Pulman's The Firework Maker’s Daughter (New Victory Theater, NY). Additionally, Britton has premiered more than ten original musicals with Sgouros & Bell at the historic Players Theatre in Greenwich Village, NYC.
Join us Monday, August 26th at 7pm for the New York Percussion Series featuring Percussion People. The group will be joined by Grammy-Nominated Latin percussionist Damon Grant. The concert will highlight an all-percussion evening of Latin jazz, funk and contemporary music on a collection of percussion instruments including marimba, vibes, xylophone, congas and much more
Michael Sgouros has served as music director and composer for the Off Broadway shows Percussion People, The Selfish Giant, Treasure Island, Stone Soup, A Christmas Carol, Cinderella, Phantom of the Opera (Sgouros and Bell), The Little Mermaid, Alice In Wonderland, Tico Tales, Sleepy Hollow and Beauty and the Beast. A native New Yorker, Michael has enjoyed performing as drummer/percussionist in a variety of musical settings which have included the American Symphony, Philharmonia Virtuosi, Ethos Percussion Group, Ringling Bros and Barnum and Bailey Circus and the Broadway productions of The Secret Garden, Falsettos, The Goodbye Girl, Sunset Boulevard, Miss Saigon and Phantom of the Opera.
Damon Grant independently recorded and released an album called ‘Prevailing Melodies’ produced by David Ryan Harris. The album features Harris, along with other artists like: Morgan James, Marc Broussard, Zane Carney, Stephen Kellogg, Doug Wamble, Chrissi Poland, P.J. Pacifico, Christine Tambakis and many more.
Jack Mansager has been a freelance percussionist and educator in the New York City area for the past 25 years. A native of Norwalk Connecticut, Jack enjoys playing a variety of percussion books on broadway in Disney’s The Lion King, and, back in 2001, was a featured performer in the Tony award winning show Blast!. He was a founding member of the original Percussion People and is excited to be back performing at The Players Theatre. Jack currently lives in Hackensack with his wife and daughter, and teaches music, educational technology, and robotics at The Town School in Manhattan.
Performer, composer, and educator Sean Statser has been called “Lithe, muscular, and mesmerizing" by the New York Times. As an advocate for new music, Mr. Statser actively collaborates with several New York City artists and ensembles including: the Grammy-nominated Metropolis Ensemble, Argento New Music, Ensemble LPR, and Iktus Percussion. He has premiered over 200 works to date by composers Jason Treuting, Timothy Andres, Caleb Burhans, Kati Agocs, Vivian Fung, Angelica Negron, John Luther Adams and Elliot Carter (NY Premiere), among others.
Emily Sgouros is a New York based producer, composer, and percussionist. Under the pseudonym SQORE, they write with the intent to synthesize contemporary melodic ideas with experimental electronic sounds. With a foundation in classical percussion and jazz vibraphone (BA, The New School), they’ve written, performed, and recorded in a wide variety of projects which have brought them to venues and festivals within NYC and across the country, including SXSW, Winter JazzFest and Riot Fest.
Michael Sgouros - artistic director
Andrew Beall
Eric Fletcher - guest vocalist
Jack Mansager
Britton Matthews
Chris Natale
Emily Sgouros
Sean Statser
Taiyo Suenaga