Nashville based percussionist/educator/clinician/promoter Tom Hurst has supported artists across the spectrum of popular music for 25 years whether behind the drum kit, or playing ethnic percussion.

The Backstreet Boys, Gary Allan, Wang Chung, Chuck Wicks, Tiffany, Joe Nichols, Sister Hazel, Tracy Lawrence, Peter Noon of Herman’s Hermits, and James Otto are but a sampling of the diverse range of national/international artists that have utilized Tom’s performance services for touring and/or recording.

Additionally Tom has served as a Disney staff musician performing in numerous ensembles throughout his two decades plus career with the company. He’s also served various theatre organizations doing Broadway style pit work for regional theaters, and cruise lines such as American Hawaii (now defunct) out of Honolulu, HI.

On the educational front Tom is a University of Florida graduate with a Bachelors of Arts in Music specializing in Ethnomusicology as well as a Masters in Music Education with an emphasis in Jazz Studies. Tom has taught at every level of music education (grade school program ensemble direction, private lessons, drum and bugle corps and indoor drumlines, college master classes and clinics) and is an adjudicator with over ten years experience serving the Florida Band Masters association assessing solo and ensemble and marching percussion as well as jazz bands at both the district and state levels.

Tom is the co-founder/owner, and financial manager of Infinity Percussion, Infinity Open and Infinity A. Three independent youth arts competitive percussion performance ensembles with over 130 members combined annually. In addition he serves as the Vice President of Infinity’s parent organization, Pageantry Arts Concepts, a 501-c3 non-profit which encompasses several additional independent percussion ensembles from across the state of Florida.

Throughout his career Tom has additionally undertaken multiple non-performance music business related endeavors:

• Producing popular/rock music shows under the auspice of the Loud Jamz and Nashville Drummers Jam events while also representing jazz and world instrumental artists booking shows under his Tom Hurst Presents Loud Jamz promotions/booking entity.

• Contracting Backing Bands for Nashville Based Artists via his Tom Hurst’s Superior Sideperson entity.

• Partnering with Backline Pro of Charlotte, NC, and Total Backline Services of Biloxi to provide instrument rental services in the southeastern U.S. for numerous international touring entities.

• Serving as a Music Manufacturer’s product specialist supporting the Ron Tunk’s Sales South Eastern Sale Representative team servicing a diverse array of instrument, audio, DJ, and lighting interests in the large chain music retailers of the southeast.

In short, Tom Hurst is a life long musician, and music advocate with extensive experience that still ascribes to the belief that one must be a perpetual student always willing to try new ventures and never stop learning/improving.

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Tom’s Sponsors:​

• Pearl

• Zildjian

• Innovative Percussion, Inc.

• Remo

​Utilizing an eclectic musical approach, Dr. Matthew Geiger continues to promote both new and canonic percussive works through teaching, performance, and research.  His experience includes both the study and performance of orchestral percussion, solo and chamber repertoire, timpani, drum set, and world music. Currently, Matthew is the Assistant Professor of Percussion at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City. Prior to ETSU, Matthew taught at Morehead State University in Kentucky, serving as Visiting Assistant Professor of Jazz and Percussion. His recent performances have focused on solo vibraphone, both in the jazz idiom as well as contemporary twentieth-century repertoire.  Along with International solo performances in Sweden and China, he was named the winner of the 2013 International Solo Vibraphone Competition by the Percussive Arts Society. 

Matthew embraces a comprehensive approach to percussion through collaborations, including performance tours with the BlueSHIFT Percussion Quartet and regular performances with the Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra and Cave Run Symphony Orchestra.  A former performing member of the Santa Clara Vanguard Drum and Bugle Corps, he also has served as an instructor for DCI World Class finalists, The Cadets and The Academy.  Summer Festival study has included the June in Buffalo Performance Institute, the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival, and the Nief-Norf Summer Festival.  Matthew has premiered pieces by many distinguished composers, including: Christopher Adler, Juri Seo, Anders Åstrand, Glenn Kotche, Brian Nozny, Roger Zare, and Ben Wahlund.  He has recorded for the Naxos and Mark Records label, including performing as percussionist and timpanist on the Grammy nominated recording of Darius Milhaud's "L'Orestie, d’Eschyle". 
 

An active member in the Percussive Arts Society, Matthew regularly writes articles and reviews for Percussive Notes, including his most recent article “The Rudimental Conguero: A Collision of Traditions”.  He presented a lecture on recording techniques in San Antonio for the 2015 Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC).  Matthew also serves on the World Percussion Committee dedicated to bringing more diverse musical experiences to students and professionals.  In 2011 and 2014, Matthew was asked to perform and conduct with the University of Kentucky Percussion Ensemble at the PASIC showcase concert.   

In the Spring of 2017, Matthew completed his Doctorate of Musical Arts at the University of Kentucky. He received his Master's degree in percussion performance at the University of Michigan and earned dual Bachelor's degrees in Music Performance and Mathematics at the University of Kentucky.  His principal teachers have included James B. Campbell, Joseph Gramley, Jonathan Ovalle, Michael Gould, Paul Berns, and Chad Kohler.  Matthew Geiger is a Yamaha Performing Artist and educational artist for Innovative Percussion and Black Swamp Percussion.

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Matt's Sponsors:

• Yamaha

• Innovative Percussion, Inc.

• Black Swamp Percussion

Brian Nozny (b. 1977) leads a diversified career as a percussionist, composer, and educator spanning a wide array of musical styles, including classical, jazz, world, and popular genres.  As a percussionist, he has performed in an orchestral capacity with many orchestras throughout the country, and currently serves as Principal Timpanist with Sinfonia Gulf Coast (Destin, FL) and Section Percussionist with the Pensacola Symphony Orchestra (Pensacola, FL). His excursions into chamber music include recent activity as a member of JP3 (The John Psathas Percussion Project) and the BRN Duo with his wife, flutist Rachel Nozny.  Noteworthy performances include multiple Percussive Arts Society International Conventions, the National Flute Association Annual Convention, and numerous colleges and universities throughout the U.S. as a guest artist.

As a composer, his original works and arrangements are regularly performed throughout the world. Notable ensembles that have premiered Nozny’s compositions include the Caixa Trio, the Florida State University Percussion Ensemble, and NEXUS.  Brian’s compositions have been published by Bachovich Music Publications, Henmar Press, Innovative Percussion, and Row-Loff Publcations, and have been recorded on the Garnet House, Rattle Records, and Resonator Records labels.

Brian’s extensive teaching experience involves positions both in the United States and abroad, including the Music for All Summer Symposium in Normal, Illinois, the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission in Kingston, Jamaica, and the Boston Crusaders Drum and Bugle Corps.  Since 2014 Brian has been on the performance faculty at the Birch Creek Music Performance Center in Egg Harbor, WI.  Brian is also a highly sought-after clinician, presenting at universities, PAS Days of Percussion, and NAfME state conventions throughout the country.

Nozny holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Virginia Tech, Masters degrees in Composition and Performance from the University of Miami (FL) and the University of North Texas respectively, and his Doctoral degree in Percussion Performance from the University of Kentucky. His primary percussion teachers include James Campbell, John Willmarth, Mark Ford, Christopher Deane, Paul Rennick, Ed Smith, Ed Soph, and Ney Rosauro; his compositional training has benefited from study with Jon Nelson, Don Wilson, and Jon Polifrone.

Brian is proud to be endorsed by Evans Drumheads, Innovative Percussion, Pearl Corporation/Adams Musical Instruments, and SABIAN Cymbals.  More information on Brian can be found on his website at www.briannozny.com.

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