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 on Tuesday, April 23rd at 7pm for the inaugural concert of the New York Percussion Series featuring Percussion People. The group will be joined by drumset virtuoso Jason Gianni. Concert will highlight an all percussion evening of jazz, rock and funk 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.
Jason Gianni has been a session drummer for countless television and radio commercials, he is most known for being the drummer for the theme song for the popular cartoon, ‘Spongebob Squarepants’ He is the co-author of the popular drum book entitled ‘The Drummers Bible‘ and is the featured drummer on the 2008 Hudson Music DVD called ‘Set Up, Tune and Play Your Drums.’ Jason is an instructor at the prestigious Drummers Collective in NYC and an adjunct instructor at the New School in NYC and the University of the Arts in Philadelphia.
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
Jack Mansager
Britton Matthews
Emily Sgouros
Sean Statser