Springfield Chamber Players Percussion Quartet
Nathan Lassell enjoys an active career as an orchestral percussionist and drum set artist. He is the Principal Percussion of the Springfield (MA) Symphony Orchestra, Chief Musician of the United States Coast Guard Band, and a member of the Rhode Island Philharmonic. In addition, Mr. Lassell performs with the National Symphony Orchestra, Hartford Symphony, New London Big Band, Eastern Connecticut Symphony, and has performed with orchestras of Nashville, Knoxville, Huntsville, San Antonio, and Richmond. He is adjunct professor of percussion at Central Connecticut State University, earned his B.M. from George Mason University, and his M.M. from Rice University.
Percussionist Robert McEwan attended the Eastman School of Music, the State University of New York at Stony Brook, and the Juilliard School. He has held the position of principal percussionist of the Rhode Island Philharmonic since 1995, percussionist with the Springfield Symphony Orchestra since 1999, principal percussionist with the United States Coast Guard Band since 2001, and principal percussionist with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra since 2003. He is currently Assistant Professor in Residence of Percussion at the University of Connecticut and Artist-Teacher in Percussion at the University of Rhode Island. Rob has enjoyed a diverse musical career – he has performed extensively with the New York Philharmonic; played a nine month run of an off-Broadway musical; performed on Hollywood movie soundtracks, on pop and classical recordings, and with many popular touring acts.
Nicola Cannizzaro is a percussionist living in his native Vermont. He is a member of the Vermont Symphony; Burlington Chamber Orchestra; TURNmusic (a modern chamber group of which he is an original founding member); APEX Ensemble, a 13-piece jazz/funk collective; and he performs with many various groups in the area, including the Springfield Symphony Orchestra. Before moving to Vermont in 2012, Nic lived in New York City where he was a freelance percussionist performing with many Broadway shows such as The Lion King (which he toured with for four years as first percussion), In The Heights, West Side Story, and Phantom of the Opera. As an educator Nicola carries a full studio of private students as well as teaching in the schools around Vermont.
Doug Perry is an internationally-renowned percussionist, composer, and educator. His technical skill and passion for performing new works transcends disciplines, making him a sought-after performer in the worlds of new music and video game scoring. Featured soloist performances include the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, Norwalk Symphony Orchestra, and the New Haven Symphony Orchestra alongside his video game music funk-fusion band DiscoCactus. Doug frequently records music for video games and film; he was featured as a soloist in the scores to Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris and Sid Meyer’s Civilization VI, and can be heard in such titles as Mortal Kombat 11, Celeste, and Star Wars Outlaws. Currently on music faculty at Western Connecticut State University, Doug teaches percussion and audio production, as well as classes on music streaming and video game music.