Ryan Bond is a percussionist, educator, and performer living in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ryan teaches at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, in the School of Music as the Coordinator of History of Rock and a professor of percussion. Dr. Bond completed his Bachelor of Music degree at Snow College in Ephraim, Utah, with an emphasis in commercial music; a Master of Music degree at UNLV; a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in percussion from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) under the mentorship of Dr. Dean Gronemeier, Dr. Timothy Jones, Dr. Alex Stopa, and Gary Cook.
Bond has performed and given clinics in Utah, Nevada, and Hawaii, and internationally in Finland, Norway, Sweden, Mexico, England, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Estonia, and Denmark. He has also performed with Las Vegas Percussion Collective, Opera Las Vegas, Vegas City Opera, Las Vegas Sinfonietta, Southern Nevada Chamber Orchestra, the World Percussion Group, and the Grammy-nominated UNLV Wind Orchestra, serving as principal percussionist under the direction of Thomas G. Leslie. Notable artists he has worked alongside include John Patitucci, Eric Marienthal, and Bernie Dressel. Bond is a member of the PAS Health and Wellness Committee and is the Nevada PAS chapter Treasurer.
He has been published multiple times in Percussive Notes, Rhythm! Scene, Not So Modern Drummer, and more.
Bond actively gives clinics, instructs camps, adjudicates, and maintains a private studio, and he works as a percussion specialist with the Las Vegas Youth Orchestras and the Clark County School District. Bond Proudly Endorses Innovative Percussion, Majestic Percussion, Sabian, and Black Swamp Percussion.
Miranda Hughes - USA
Miranda Hughes is an active percussion soloist, chamber musician, and educator specializing in classical and contemporary genres. Based in northern Florida, she has recently appeared with the award-winning Florida State Percussion Ensemble, TallahasseeSymphony Orchestra, SinfoniaGulf Coast, andTallahassee Community Chorus.In the last year,Miranda received first prize in the Virginia Tech Soloist Competition and was a semi-finalist in the Great Plains International Marimba Competition. She was also the winner of three categories in the 2023 Virginia/D.C. Percussive Arts Society Percussion Solo Competition–Keyboard, Timpani, and Multiple Percussion, and performed at the 2023 PASIC IPEC WinnersShowcase and National Tour as a member of the FSU Percussion Ensemble. Additionally, she received third prize at the PASIC Concert Chamber Percussion Ensemble Competition with theVirginia Tech Percussion Ensemble in 2021 and was awarded second prize in The Green VibesProject Solo Vibraphone Competition in 2020. Miranda is currently pursuing her Master of Music degree in percussion performance fromFlorida State University, under the instruction of Dr. John Parks IV, and currently serves as aGraduate Teaching Assistant. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in percussion performance from Virginia Tech with Dr. Annie Stevens.
XY Duo - Shanghai
XY Percussion Duo is a talented sibling duo consisting of Xingyao Xue and Xingyue Xue, born into a family with a deep musical heritage. They started their musical journey at the age of four, learning piano and drum set, followed by marimba and percussion at the age of seven. With their passion for music evident from an early age, the duo's education began at the Music Middle School Affiliated with the Shanghai Conservatory of Music at the age of eleven.
The Xue twins' musical excellence led them to the Juilliard Pre-College before they eventually pursued their education at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee and Berklee College of Music. The duo is currently under the guidance of Professor Nancy Zeltsman, a renowned figure in percussion.
The Xue twins have demonstrated their exceptional percussion skills with numerous accolades, including Gold Awards for both solo and duo performances, including the 2019 international marimba competition (Southern California); the 2022 Italy PAS competition; the 2023 Yamaha young artist competition, and recognition as Outstanding Educators in various percussion competitions worldwide.
Jake Kundu - USA
Jake Kundu is a dynamic percussionist whose dedication to musical excellence has propelled him to remarkable achievements in classical percussion. He is currently finishing his BM in Music Performance at Capital University. This fall, he will be pursuing an MM in Performance and Lit. at the Eastman School of Music. Jake's passion for percussion began at an early age and has since blossomed into a flourishing career. It has been marked by extraordinary performances at Carnegie Hall in 2022 with the Capital University Symphonic Winds and at the Ohio Theater with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra. Additionally, he was the Capital University Concerto Competition Winner in 2022 and was a part of the world premiere of Micheal Gordon’s, “Field of Vision” in 2022 with Sosi and the University of Michigan percussion studio. Jake Kundu is a student of Ryan Kilgore, Cameron Leach, and Michael Burritt. In the future, he hopes to perform with chamber percussion groups, perform with orchestras, and become a collegiate teacher.
Dane Franolic - Croatia
Dane Franolic (2004) is a second-year percussion student at the Academy of Music Zagreb. As a talented candidate, he enrolled at the Academy in 2023, a year prior to high school graduation.
He has participated in numerous international competitions, seminars and held many solo concerts at several music festivals in Italy and Croatia. Dane also performed on the Croatian National Television. He was the recipient of many awards – first awards in Spain, Serbia, Italy, Croatia, etc. Last year he received a Yamaha scholarship. This year he was awarded the University of Zagreb scholarship.
Besides solo performances he played with various ensembles, orchestras and musicians, starting with the famous cellist Stjepan Hauser, Italian singers Il Volo as well as the Young Musicians Orchestra in Berlin.
His mentors at the Academy of Music in Zagreb are professor and the dean of the Academy Igor Lešnik and asst. Luis Camacho Montealegre.
Andi Lopez - USA
Andi Lopez is a performer, arranger, and educator currently pursuing a degree in music performance. Before their time at Texas A&M Corpus Christi, Andi was the Front Ensemble section leader at Violet Crown Independent (2017) and later went on to join the staff at Genesis Drum and Bugle Corps (2018) and most recently had composed and recorded music for the Narada radio company. Andi has also performed with groups such as The Corpus Christi area youth orchestra, The Corpus Christi Cathedral Choir, The Texas State University percussion ensemble, The Texas State University Singers, a madrigal choir, and is currently a founding member of LoAn Percussion Duo. Competing in the world of percussion since the age of 13 , Andis first achievement was winning third place at the inaugural Islander International Marimba Competition and Second place during the second year of the IIMC as well as winning first place in the marching percussion category of the Corpus Christi Percussion Festival. Outside of music school andi gives private lessons to students of all ages, assists the percussion program at Calallen High School and competes in the sport of olympic weightlifting. Andi currently studies under Caleb Pickering and Jim Rennier. Andi currently seeks opportunities to learn, enhance and expand their appreciation for all genres of music and hopes to bring that passion to as many people as they can.
Noah Avelar - USA
Noah Avelar is a percussionist, educator, composer, and arranger from Corpus Christi, Texas. He received his Bachelor's Degree in Music Education in May of 2023 from the University of North Texas and is currently pursuing his Master’s Degree in Music Performance at Texas A&M University - Commerce.
During his time at UNT, Noah studied classical percussion with Mark Ford, Dr. Dave Hall, Christopher Deane, and Paul Rennick. He also studied jazz and world music with professors Ed Smith, Stockton Helbing, Stephen Barnes, Jose Aponte, Gideon Alorwoyie, and Poovalur Sriji. Additionally, he studied with Paul Rennick in percussion composition and arranging.
In his time at Texas A&M University-Commerce, Noah has been spending his time teaching, performing, and studying with Dr. Brian Zator, Lauren Teel, Jeff Ausdemore, Sandi Rennick, and Dr. Tanner Leonardo. He was a featured performer in the 2023 Percussive Arts Society IPEC Showcase performance; premiering works by Austin Keck, David Maslanka, Dwayne Rice, and Sandi Rennick. He also dedicates his time to creating large-scale projects that diffuse the lines between classical percussion and visual performance art. The most recent being a recital titled Object[ive] Permanence - which blended multi-media visual art with standard percussion repertoire. In these projects, he also premieres works by newer and more diverse composers.
Throughout his collegiate studies, Noah is dedicated to the pursuit of unique musical experiences that directly benefit his teaching. In addition to teaching at the collegiate level through his graduate assistantship at TAMUC, he is a freelance private lesson instructor for students in and around the DFW Metroplex. He also maintains educational partnerships with schools around the metroplex as a masterclass clinician, adjudicator, and marching arts consultant.
Marshall Lane - USA
Marshall Lane is a percussionist from San Antonio, TX. He currently resides in Jacksonville, Florida, where he is a MM student at the University of North Florida, under Dr. Andrea Venet. He will finish his degree in Music Performance in the spring of 2025. Before that, Marshall graduated from Texas Christian University (TCU), with a degree in music education. Marshall has been a part of the world-renowned TCU Percussion Orchestra and has performed at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention with TCU in 2019, and in 2022 as a part of their IPEC Performances. Marshall has been fortunate enough to study percussion under Dr. Brian West, Joey Carter, Kevin Gary, Jeff Hodge, Sherry Rubbins, and many other fabulous professors and educators.
Marshall aged out of DCI in 2022 with the Bluecoats, where he earned the silver medal, and won the Fred Sanford award for High Percussion. He was also a member of Pacific Crest in 2021. Both seasons he spent playing bottom bass drum. Marshall has been fortunate enough to work closely with Roger Carter, Joe Hobbs, John Lluvera, Tom Rarrick, Glen Crosby, Nicole Casino, and Murray Gussek. Marshall recently finished teaching the Academy DBC in 2023 as a full battery specialist, and will continue this role in 2024. He has worked with many High Schools across the Country including Keller HS, Flower Mound HS, Oakleaf HS, and Burleson HS to name a few.
Jack Littlewood - UK
Jack Littlewood is an 18 year old percussionist and drummer, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, where he studies music at Newcastle University. He is the current principal percussionist of the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain, and does lots of work with semiprofessional orchestras all over the north of England, as well as regular jazz gigs in local venues on drum kit.
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Burke Rivet - USA
My name is Burke Rivet, I am a second-year music performance major from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. I found a passion for music at a very young age, with a passion for drum corps before finding love in contemporary and popular percussion repertoire, chamber music, and world percussion. However, I do my best to keep an open mind to any kind of new music that I come across, and typically find something to love in all music!
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Leyla Stewart - USA
Leyla Stewart is currently a music education major at the University of Texas at Arlington. There she studies under Andrew Eldridge, Christopher Nadeau, and Joe W. Moore III. Before college Leyla attended Crandall High School, where she discovered her passion for percussion. Since then she has been a part of the ensembles at UTA, as well as a member of Vigilantes Indoor Percussion.