Percussionist Sam Um is a touring soloist and chamber musician known for his exceptional virtuosity. He is a member of The Percussion Collective, a rising ensemble bringing percussion to the forefront of classical music performance. He has earned degrees from the Eastman School of Music and Yale School of Music, and is currently completing his DMA at the Peabody Institute. 

Casey Cangelosi is one of the most prolific percussionists in the world, maintaining an intense schedule as a solo artist, adjudicator, clinician, and composer, in addition to his role as Director of Percussion Studies at James Madison University. Regarded as one of the leading performer-composers in the percussion community, Casey's compositional output is massive, with an immense catalog of virtuosic and highly diverse music that is quickly becoming standard repertoire worldwide.

Currently based in Nashville, Tennessee, Kramer Sell is a nationally touring drummer and percussionist playing with the BoDeans and Tolan Shaw. He is a third generation professional musician, with his grandfather having led a jazz orchestra and his father touring the world with United States Air Force Bands. Kramer earned a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from Capital University, and also studied at Belmont University.

Currently based in Denton, TX, the Spectrum Ensemble is a percussion duo made up of Jaime Esposito and Stephen Hall. The ensemble strives to increase visibility of talented Queer musicians and composers through its threefold mission: to commission and perform great music of a high caliber; to increase representation of Queer artists in the classical music world; and to raise funds to be donated to meaningful LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations.

Percussionist and storyteller Cory Hills thrives on breaking down musical barriers through creative, interdisciplinary projects. He has received degrees from Northwestern University, Queensland Conservatorium, the University of Kansas, and was awarded a research fellowship to Institute Fabrica. Percussive Storytelling, a program that brings classical music and storytelling to kids in fun and accessible ways, was launched by Hills while a fellow at Institute Fabrica. Currently, Hills is an active performer, composer, and recording artist in Los Angeles, as well as a member of the Grammy-nominated Los Angeles Percussion Quartet. This episode was recorded at PASIC 2019.

Ivan Trevino is a Mexican-American composer and percussionist who has become one of the most recognizable names in the community. He is a member of the cello + percussion quartet Break of Reality, a founder of a new percussion/songwriting collective The Big Trouble, and a regular guest artist at institutions around the world. Ivan and I are collaborating on a new piece for percussion soloist + quartet to be premiered next season.

Catherine Cole is the Artistic Operations Coordinator for The Florida Orchestra, where she handles guest artist relations and behind-the-scenes administrative work, including contracts, travel logistics, and more. She holds degrees from Florida State University and the Eastman School of Music, and has spent several summers at the Eastern Music Festival as a Percussion Fellow.

Colin Currie is the world’s foremost percussion soloist. He travels the globe performing concertos and recitals, collaborating with artists like the JACK Quartet and Hakan Hardenberger, and championing the music of Steve Reich with the Colin Currie Group, which was founded in 2006. Most recently, he debuted the Colin Currie Quartet, a project with Sam Walton, Owen Gunnell, and Aidy Spillett, which is performing new, substantial works for the repertoire. He is responsible for the commissioning of most of the “standard” concerto repertoire that we have, and it’s an honor to sit across the table from one of my most important mentors.

Durwynne Hsieh is a Bay Area-based composer of orchestral, solo, chamber, and choral works. His music has been performed by the Toledo Symphony, Tassajara Symphony, San José Chamber Orchestra, Marin Symphony, and many others. In addition to his musical work, he has a Ph.D. in molecular biology, with degrees from MIT and UC Berkeley. Durwynne and I collaborated on a new percussion concerto which was premiered the same day that this episode was recorded.

On the third solo episode of the podcast, Cameron previews PASIC, announces a new solo show with Colleen Bernstein, discusses the balance between frustration and gratitude, and talks openly about the hardest month of his performing career. He also digs into the highs and lows of recent performances, and highlights his newest favorite whiskies.