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.
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.
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.
Valerie Naranjo has been the percussionist in the NBC SNL Band for 30 years. She caused a chiefly edict allowing women to play gyil (African marimba) in public for the first time, and was awarded a "first prize" in the Ghanaian Kobine Festival in 1996. She was Drum! Magazine's "World Music Percussionist of the Year" 2005 & 2008, and "Mallet Player of the Year" 2012, and was inducted into The Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame in 2021. Valerie has performed on 6 continents, including recent residencies at The PAS International Percussion Festivals in Beijing and Buenos Aires, and has taught at NYU since 2011. She published, with Kakraba Lobi, the CDs and written series' "West African Music for the Marimba Soloist", “Joro” for gyil and orchestra, and “Pure Land" for gyil and Wind Ensemble” and has released 10 CDs.
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.
Join us Tuesday, April 28th at 7pm for the New York Percussion Series featuring Percussion People. The group will be joined by Saturday Night Live percussionist Valerie Naranjo. This all-percussion evening will feature a collection of percussion instruments from around the globe highlighted by the the West African xylophone (gyil).
Michael Sgouros - artistic director
Chris Natale
Natalie North
Tim Schneider
Emily Sgouros
Grace Sprecher
Sean Statser
New York Percussion Series