Our main goal as artists includes performing and creating with the thought of community in mind. Works that are collaborative, accessible, groovy, intriguing, academic, and thought-provoking. We aim for a “with the community, for the community” mindset.

Other goals we strive for as artists include the commitment to studying and performing scores influenced by Global Folk traditions such as works by Gabriela Lena Frank and Andy Akiho, which encourage us to consistently explore how percussion is incorporated and transcended throughout different cultures. This includes exploring instruments and studying their roots and extensive histories such as the steel pan and the berimbau. Additionally, studying works by women and people of color also enforces the needs for a well-rounded learner in music. In addition to written works, we believe it is important to explore indeterminate works in graphic scores and text scores, such as the works of Pauline Oliveros and George Lewis. Music should not be limited to only the Western notation, but expanded to graphic notation and text scores.

Melissa’s percussion performance and compositional goals include incorporating theatrical percussion, found sounds, and new unconventional sounds and techniques to existing styles of repertoire such as adding body movements in concert band music since the norm is to perform sitting still.

Tyler’s musical concepts and goals include making weird rhythms and turning them into something easy to follow along to. Sometimes when he tries to get into more experimental music, it’s easy for him to get lost in the chaos or an odd time signature. He loves the idea of turning a nonsensical riff and making it easy to headbang to.

Our composition style includes abrupt and unexpected concepts, such as weird sounds, abrupt stops to sections, abrupt cuts from sections, mismatches in soundscapes between two different voices, and unexpected time feel/signature changes. We also aim to find every way to play one single (percussion) instrument - how many ways and implements can we scrape, strike, and shake the instrument? Additionally, we love writing high energy and headbang-worthy pieces.

Tyler’s musical writing style involves tap dancing around the 4/4 barline without staying strictly tied to it. The 4/4 acts as a loose leash to make sure the listener still has something to grasp and feel without the rhythmic ideas sounding like a mess. There are lots and lots and lots of syncopation for an aggressive bite to a piece. Any additional melodies on top of a rhythm are almost always a lot simpler. Tyler’s playing ties to his emotions and whatever imagery he’s thinking of at the time he writes a rhythm, e.g. imagining a swarm of bees on a lot of sixteenth note runs or an erupting volcano on octave double stops.

Melissa’s interests in music include writing, performing, and instructing modern music works that involve choreography, theatrics, comedy, speaking or text, found sounds, and improvisation, influencing my interest in theatrical and speaking percussion. Her work “The Prize of Nothing” premiered by Platypus Ensemble in Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien demonstrates the joys in writing music with text, theatrics, and the refreshing comedic elements usually not intentionally featured in modern/contemporary music. These works include choreographies aligned with sound effects and additional vocal percussion, such as my favorite “krrr” with a rolled tongue that connects with a Guiro scrape. Melissa now has more than 10 different Guiros!-- the instruments, not only when randomly scraping vents and tiles for the Guiro sound.

Frantsvog Wang