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.
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.
Known for his sensitive and pianistic music making, Chandler Beaugrand is an active marimbist and freelancing percussionist based in New York City, NY. He has performed numerous solo, chamber, and orchestral works throughout the USA, Europe and Asia with a wide array of ensembles such as: Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, The Boston Ballet School, Trentino Festival Orchestra (Italy), Brookline Symphony, Ideas Not Theories Theatrical Percussion Show, World Percussion Group and many more.
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.
Michael Sgouros - artistic director
Chandler Beaugrand
Chien Chien Lu
Jack Mansager
Britton Matthews
Chris Natale
Tim Schneider
Emily Sgouros
Sean Statser
Past Concerts
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, Frankenstein 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. Michael is proud to endorser of Innovative Percussion, Grover Pro Percussion and Yamaha Music.
Chien Chien Lu is a jazz vibraphonist, contemporary percussionist, and composer whose Taiwanese heritage, classical training, and passion for groove define her fresh, distinctive approach to contemporary jazz. Her journey in music began at age six with classical piano, followed by classical percussion at ten. She trained intensively for two decades, performing with the world-renowned Ju Percussion Group for five years and touring extensively across Asia before turning her focus to jazz in 2015. Recently named one of DownBeat Magazine's “25 for the Future” and one of the “10 Emerging Jazz Artists of 2023” by the Recording Academy, Lu has quickly risen as a dynamic force in today’s jazz scene. Her latest collaborative album with bassist Richie Goods, CONNECTED, won “Best Instrumental Album” at the 34th Golden Melody Awards. Lu’s fierce authenticity and jazz mastery shine in her debut solo album The Path (2020), which spent 20 weeks in the JazzWeek Top 20, won “Best Jazz Song” at the Golden Indie Music Awards, and earned three Golden Melody and four Golden Indie nominations. She was also voted a “vibraphone rising star” in DownBeat Magazine’s 69th Annual Critics Poll. Her band has performed at prestigious festivals like the Clifford Brown Jazz Festival and DC Jazz Festival, and toured across Europe, Asia, and the U.S.
Originally from New Jersey, Tim Schneider has been playing drums and percussion since the age of 10. Most recently in 2024, he has been touring with Mannheim Steamroller and the Indie band Flycatcher. He has also performed on Off-Broadway at venues such as the Players Theatre playing percussion, and plays frequently in cabarets in NYC, most notably 54 Below. In addition, he has held fellowships at the National Orchestral Institute from 2020-2021 and the Sewanee Summer Music Festival in 2018. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Music Performance from New York University and has studied with Jason Haaheim, Jonathan Haas, and Eriko Daimo. Outside of music, Tim enjoys hiking and playing tennis.
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.
Christopher Natale is a freelance percussionist based in NYC. He has subbed for The Great Gatsby on Broadway and The Rockettes Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall. Internationally, Christopher was the percussionist for the The Sound of Music Global Tour. He has served as the percussionist for a number of Off-Broadway shows, including Frankenstein, Here There Be Dragons - A New Musical Quest, A Christmas Carol, Beauty and The Beast (Sgouros and Bell), Sleepy Hollow and others. On television, Christopher played marimba for NFL Countdown’s tribute to Phil Collins on ESPN with the NYU Percussion Ensemble. Christopher has also served as the orchestrator and percussionist for the Off-Broadway musical comedy After Happily Ever After, and has rehearsed/performed with other major ensembles such as The New York Pops, New Haven Chorale, and Chelsea Symphony. He also appears on the Off-Broadway cast album for After Happily Ever After. Christopher is an endorsement artist for Innovative Percussion.
You’ve heard this before, but the whimsically named Jonathan Scales Fourchestra is really tough to describe. Veering from in-your-face, jaw dropping chops and passion, to those quiet moments when the background noise disappears and you hold your breath to take in a soundscape of solitude, the power trio of electric bass (E'Lon JD), drums (Maison Guidry), and steel pans (Jonathan Scales) combines elements of jazz, classical, and progressive rock, peppered with Latin rhythms and soulful outbursts of funk. From club and festival stages across North America and Europe, and tours of Africa, Southeast and Central Asia as a Cultural Ambassador for the US Department of State, to their NPR Tiny Desk Concert featuring Béla Fleck, the Fourchestra’s live shows make even the most jaded listeners forget where they are… even if just for a precious moment.
New York Percussion Series
Monday, April 28th at 7pm
Percussion People with guest Jonathan Scales and his group Fourchestra