Greatest “Hits!”: Percussion in the Spotlight

Active as a composer, conductor and collaborative connector, Peter Askim is the Artistic Director of The Next Festival of Emerging Artists and the conductor of the Raleigh Civic Symphony and Chamber Orchestra, as well as Director of Orchestral Activities at North Carolina State University. He was previously Music Director and Composer-in-Residence of the Idyllwild Arts Academy Orchestra. He has also been a member of the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra and served on the faculty of the University of Hawaii-Manoa, where he directed the Contemporary Music Ensemble and taught theory and composition.

As a conductor, he has led the American Composers Orchestra, Knoxville Symphony and Vermont Symphony, among others, and is known for innovative programming, championing the work of living composers and his advocacy of underrepresented voices in the concert hall. He has conducted premieres by composers such as Brett Dean, Aaron Jay Kernis, Allison Loggins-Hull, Jessica Meyer, Nico Muhly, Rufus Reid, Christopher Theofanidis, Jeff Scott and Aleksandra Vrebalov, and led the American premiere of Florence Price’s Ethiopia’s Shadow in America. His work was featured on HBO and National Public Radio conducting folk-rock legend Richard Thompson’s soundtrack for The Cold Blue. He has collaborated with such artists as Miranda Cuckson, Matt Haimovitz, Vijay Iyer, Jennifer Koh, Nadia Sirota, Sō Percussion and Jeffrey Zeigler, and the bluegrass band Balsam Range. As a composer, he has been called a “Modern Master” by The Strad and has had commissions and performances from such groups as the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, the Honolulu Symphony, the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, Cantus Ansambl Zagreb and the American Viola Society.

With the creation of The Next Festival of Emerging Artists, Askim founded a festival dedicated to the next generation of performers, composers and choreographers. Founded in 2013, the Festival encourages young artists, ages 20-30, to focus on artistic development, entrepreneurial career strategies and the music of living composers. The Next Festival Composer and Composer/Choreographer workshops connect early-career performers, composers and choreographers in innovative and highly collaborative laboratory for the creation of new works. The Festival has been awarded grants by the Amphion, ASCAP and BMI foundations, and the Copland Fund for Music. Immediately recognizing the devastation of the COVID pandemic on young artists, he began providing free workshops, masterclasses and resources to support young artists through challenging times beginning in March of 2020. Through the Festival, he has presented over 50 Guest Artists, including Pulitzer, Grammy, and MacArthur award winners. 

With the Raleigh Civic Orchestras, Askim has pioneered collaborative, multimedia concert events focused on social and environmental justice and has programmed a newly-commissioned world premiere on each concert for the last seven seasons. Themes have included Martin Luther King, Jr.’s North Carolina “I Have A Dream” speech and a work for Virtual Reality and orchestra highlighting the Women’s Suffrage Movement and the Voting Rights Act. During the pandemic, Askim premiered nine new works by composers harnessing latency and technology in innovative approaches to distance collaboration. Under his direction, the orchestras have received multiple grants recognizing diversity in programming, including from New Music USA and the Women’s Philharmonic Association.

Beginning his career in the film, television and recording industry in 1974, Chris Boardman has consistently worked at the top echelon of the entertainment industry. He has received an Academy Award nomination for “The Color Purple”, 6 Emmy Awards, 13 Emmy nominations, ASCAP and BMI film awards and multiple platinum records for his work with such iconic artists as Quincy Jones, David Foster, Steven Speilberg, Julie Andrews, Shirley MacLaine, Barbara Streisand, Marvin Hamlisch and Josh Groban.

Well-known in Hollywood circles as one of a handful of musicians who can write anything, Boardman’s credits span both industry and genre. Whether it be conducting David Foster’s “World Children’s Day” for television, composing the 70’s inspired score for Mel Gibson’s “Payback”, arranging period dance music for “Swing Kids” and “Meet Joe Black”, orchestrating Anthony Newley’s “Chaplin” for Broadway or leasing and producing solo recordings as an artist, Boardman embraces these challenges with characteristic integrity and passion. He is one of the most uniquely versatile and highly respected musicians in the industry.

In May 2018, Boardman finished a six-year stint as the Director of the Media Writing and Production program at the acclaimed Frost School of Music at The University of Miami. Boardman was twice nominated for “Mentor Of The Year” honors by The Graduate School of the University of Miami. Continuing his commitment to sharing his expertise Boardman has launched an online education company to continue impacting the lives of those desirous of pursuing a career in the music industry.

Always looking for new challenges, Boardman is the founder of a successful social media content consulting practice and is at the forefront of the fast-moving online media space. His current projects include bringing his talents and expertise to the concert hall, public speaking and appearing as a guest lecturer at universities across the country and around the world.

Valerie Coleman is regarded by many as an iconic artist who continues to pave her own unique path as a composer, GRAMMY®-nominated flutist, and entrepreneur. Highlighted as one of the “Top 35 Women Composers” by The Washington Post, she was named Performance Today’s 2020 Classical Woman of the Year, an honor bestowed to an individual who has made a significant contribution to classical music as a performer, composer or educator. Her works have garnered awards such as the MAPFund, ASCAP Honors Award, Chamber Music America’s Classical Commissioning Program, Herb Alpert Ragdale Residency Award, and nominations from The American Academy of Arts and Letters and United States Artists. Umoja, Anthem for Unity was chosen by Chamber Music America as one of the “Top 101 Great American Ensemble Works” and is now a staple of woodwind literature.
 
Coleman commenced her 2021/22 season with the world premiere of her latest work, Fanfare for Uncommon Times, at the Caramoor Festival with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s. In October 2021, Carnegie Hall presents her work Seven O’Clock Shout, commissioned by The Philadelphia Orchestra, in their Opening Night Gala concert featuring The Philadelphia Orchestra and Yannick Nézet-Séguin. This follows on the success of the world premiere of Coleman’s orchestral arrangement of her work Umoja, commissioned by The Philadelphia Orchestra and performed in Philadelphia and at Carnegie Hall in 2019, marking the first time the orchestra performed a classical work by a living female African-American composer. In February 2022, The Philadelphia Orchestra and soprano Angel Blue, led by Nézet-Séguin, will give the world premiere of a new song cycle written by Coleman, commissioned by the orchestra for performances in Philadelphia and at Carnegie Hall.
 
Coleman has been named to the Metropolitan Opera/Lincoln Center Theater New Works dual commissioning program in 2021/22. This season sees performances of her works by orchestras around the United States including the Minnesota Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Sarasota Orchestra, New Haven Symphony Orchestra, Yale Symphony Orchestra, Vermont Symphony and The Louisville Orchestra. Recent commissions include works for the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, The Library of Congress, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, American Composers Orchestra, The National Flute Association, University of Chicago and University of Michigan. Previous performances of her works have been with the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Toronto Symphony and significant chamber ensembles and collegiate bands across the country.
 
Former flutist of the Imani Winds, Coleman is the creator and founder of this acclaimed ensemble whose 24-year legacy is documented and featured in a dedicated exhibit at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. Along with composer-harpist Hannah Lash, and composer-violist Nokuthula Ngwenyama, she co-founded and currently performs as flutist of the performer-composer trio Umama Womama.
 
As a performer, Coleman has appeared at Carnegie Hall and The Kennedy Center and with The Philadelphia Orchestra, Hartford Symphony, New Haven Symphony, Boston University Tanglewood Institute, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Banff, Spoleto USA and Bravo! Vail. As a guest flutist, she has participated in the Mid-Atlantic Flute Fair, New Jersey Flute Fair, South Carolina Flute Society Festival, Colorado Flute Fair, Mid-South Flute Fair and the National Women’s Music Festival. In 2021/22, Valerie will appear at a host of festival and collegiate multi-disciplinary residencies, including Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Chamber Music Northwest, Phoenix Chamber Music Society, University of Michigan and Coastal Carolina University. Coleman will be the featured guest artist at the Long Island Flute Club, Raleigh Area Flute Association, Greater Portland Flute Society, Seattle Flute Society, University of Wisconsin-Madison Flute Day, Bethune-Cookman University Flute Day and the Florida Flute Society Festival.
 
As a chamber musician, Coleman has performed throughout North America and Europe alongside Dover Quartet, Orion String Quartet, Miami String Quartet, Harlem String Quartet, Quarteto Latinoamericano, Yo-Yo Ma, Ani and Ida Kavafian, Anne-Marie McDermott, Wu Han, David Shifrin, Gil Kalish, members of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and jazz legends Paquito D’Rivera, Stefon Harris, Jason Moran and René Marie. A laureate of Concert Artists Guild, she is a former member of Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center CMS Two.
 
Coleman’s work as a recording artist includes an extensive discography. With Imani Winds, she has appeared on Sony Classical, Deutsche Grammophon, Sony Classical, Naxos, Cedille Records and eOne, and as a guest flutist on albums with Wayne Shorter Quartet, Steve Coleman and the Council of Balance, Chick Corea, Brubeck Brothers, Edward Simon, Bruce Adolphe, and Mohammed Fairouz. Her compositions and performances are regularly broadcast on NPR, WNYC, WQXR, Minnesota Public Radio, Sirius XM, Radio France, Australian Broadcast Company and Radio New Zealand.
 
Committed to arts education, entrepreneurship and chamber music advocacy, Coleman created the Imani Winds Chamber Music Festival in 2011, a summer mentorship program in New York City welcoming young leaders from over 100 international institutions. She has held flute and chamber music masterclasses at institutions in 49 states and over five continents, including The Juilliard School, Curtis Institute, Manhattan School of Music, Mannes College of Music, New England Conservatory, Oberlin College, Eastman School of Music, Yale University, Carnegie Mellon, Interlochen Arts Academy, Beijing Conservatory, Brazil’s Campo do Jordão Festival and Australia’s Musica Viva. As a part of Imani Winds, she has been artist-in-residence at Mannes College of Music, Banff Chamber Music Intensive and Visiting Faculty at the University of Chicago.
 
Coleman recently joined the Mannes School of Music Flute and Composition faculty in Fall 2021 as the Clara Mannes Fellow for Music Leadership. Prior to that she served on the faculty at The Frost School of Music at the University of Miami as Assistant Professor of Performance, Chamber Music and Entrepreneurship. In 2021/22, she leads a year-long residency at The Juilliard School in their Music Advancement Program through American Composers Forum.
 
She adjudicates for the National Flute Association’s High School Artist Competition, Concert Artist Guild, APAP’s Young Performing Concert Artists Program, ASCAP’s Morton Gould Award, MapFund Award and the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and has served on the Board of Advisors for Composers Now, Sphinx LEAD, APAP’s Classical Connections Committee and the National Flute Association’s New Music Advisory Committee and Board Nomination Committee.
 
Coleman’s compositions are published by Theodore Presser and her own company, VColeman Music. She studied composition with Martin Amlin and Randy Wolfe and flute with Julius Baker, Judith Mendenhall, Doriot Dwyer, Leone Buyse and Alan Weiss. She and her family are based in New York City.

Ksenija Komljenović, a Serbian percussionist, educator, and composer, earned acclaim as a prizewinner of the International Percussion Competition Luxembourg. She is the first Serbian woman with a Doctor of Musical Arts in Percussion Degree. Ksenija serves as a faculty member at the renowned University of North Carolina School of the Arts, following four years of teaching at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.

Ksenija’s dedication to contemporary and chamber music, alongside intercultural collaborations, is evident in her ensembles Vesna Duo and PNEUMA, bringing together exceptional performers from five countries. Her bold arrangements of classical, contemporary, jazz, and folk music enrich the repertoire and bring a unique flair to their performances. Ksenija’s marimba and piano arrangement of Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, featured on Vesna Duo’s debut album, was described as “impressively reconfigured” and “smashingly effective” by The Wall Street Journal.

Ksenija initiated cultural-exchange projects between the U.S. and Serbia, including the first drumline camp and contemporary percussion workshop in her home country. Her international presence includes hundreds of performances and over 50 masterclasses in Hong Kong, England, Spain, Portugal, Russia, Poland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the United States, and Serbia. As a composer, she draws inspiration from her Slavic and Balkan roots, as seen in her works Slavdom for Wind Band and Epilog [Epilogue].

Ksenija holds degrees from the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami, Illinois State University, and the Faculty of Music in Belgrade, Serbia. She is a Marimba One Artist.

Mexican Composer | b. December 1950

Arturo Márquez was born deep in the Sonoran desert in the colonial town of Alamos, Mexico on December 20, 1950. His mother, Aurora Navarro, says “her womb cried” when describing his birth. He was named after his father, Arturo Márquez, who was of Mexican descent from Arizona. Arturo’s father was a man of many talents. He played the violin, was a mariachi, and worked as a carpenter when the family needed to make ends meet. He introduced his first born son to music. Arturo’s father often played with a quartet, so his first music lessons consisted of listening to the traditional music, waltzes, and polkas they performed.

The Márquez family moved to Los Angeles, California in 1962 where Arturo began to study violin and several other instruments at his junior high school. He also began to compose. Márquez said, “My adolescence was spent listening to Javier Solis, sounds of mariachi, the Beatles, Doors, Carlos Santana and Chopin.” At 17 he returned to Sonora, and the following year he was named director of Municipal Band Director in Navojoa.

Márquez he entered the Mexican Music Conservatory in 1970 where he studied with Joaquin Gutierrez Heras and Federico Ibarra. Later he received a scholarship from the French government to study composition with Jacques Casterede in Paris. After studying in France he received a prestigious Fulbright Scholarship in the US, where he used it to obtain a MFA degree from the California Institute of the Arts.

Until the early 1990s Márquez’ music was largely unknown outside his native country. That changed when he was introduced to the world of Latin ballroom dancing. The movement and rhythms led him to compose a series of pulsating Danzones. The Danzones are a fusion of dance music from Cuba and the Veracruz region of Mexico. The most popular of the Danzones is the Danzón No. 2. It thrills audiences with its entrancing, seductive rhythms. The Danzón No. 2 was commissioned by the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), and because of its popularity, it is often called the second national anthem of Mexico.

Arturo Márquez works at the National University of Mexico, Superior School of Music and the National Center of Research, Documentation and Information of Mexican Music. He and his family live in Mexico City.