I have been fortunate to perform with some of New York’s best ensembles over the past seventeen years. In 1990, I founded the Talujon Percussion Quartet. For 13 years, Talujon has performed classics and newly commissioned works. It has been one of the best experiences of my life. David Cossin, Dominic Donato and Tom Kolor are close friends and excellent musicians. Talujon continues to be great fun. We have commissioned such wonderful composers as Ralph Shapey, Julia Wolfe, Wayne Peterson and Phil Kline. As a member of Talujon, I have presented master classes at the Julliard School of Music, Queens College, Manhattan School of Music, Oregon State University at Eugene, San Francisco State University, Ohio State University, Pittsburgh University, Utah State University at Provo, University of the Pacific and many other colleges, high schools and other educational institutions across the United States. I always enjoy meeting students and talking about unusual subjects both in and out of music.
As a freelance musician in New York, I have performed with the Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society, Tan Dun, New York New Music Ensemble, New Music Consort, Newband/Harry Partch Instrumentalism, BBC Symphony, Ensemble Suspeso, Steve Reich Ensemble, Susan Botti Ensemble, Riverside Symphony, SEM Ensemble and Modernworks.I have performed on over 25 recordings. I can be heard on SONY Records with the BBC Symphony, Mode Records, Delos International, Naxos Records, Albany Records, Tzadik Records, CRI Records and Werzo Records. I have performed in Bogota, Columbia, Taiwan as part of the Red Lantern Festival, Osaka Percussion Festival, Macau International Music Festival with Tan Dun, David Brubeck Jazz Festival, Chautauqua Institute, Lille Festival, International Festival de Percussiones in Mexico City, Fromm Music Foundation at Harvard, Berlin American Music Festival, Lincoln Center’s Out of Doors Festival, La Jolla Chamber Music Festival, Muzik3 and a number of times at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention. My television debut is set as a performer, seen in the background of a few documentaries on the music of Harry Partch and “Downtown” Composers. I also wrote music for the TV series “Knots Landing”, which was a long time ago.
In 2004, I became a full-time professor at the Aaron Copland School of Music at CUNY Queens College. I am the Director of the Percussion Program and the Director the New Music Ensemble. I am proud to be teaching at my alma mater. I also teach as an adjunct at Montclair State University in New Jersey, where I direct the Percussion Ensemble. I love working with all the students. They are refreshing and teach me a lot. I have held adjunct positions at Wagner College, Connecticut College, SUNY Westbury, LaGuardia Community College and Bridgeport University. I am proud to say that students still call me up to say hello. I love that. It is my favorite part of teaching.
As a soloist, I am trying to combine two things I love: Hand drums and Contemporary music. I started recording my first solo CD. I contacted many composer friends and other composers that I admire. Many agreed to write works for my hand drum collection. Composers chose single instruments while others wrote for a combination of hand drums, some wrote pieces with electronics, some with text. Some wrote pieces with the traditional music in mind, some did their own thing. I am very grateful for all their wonderful efforts. The composers include Eric Moe, Arthur Kreiger, Mathew Rosenblum, Jason Eckard, David Rakowski, Dominic Donato, David Cossin, Randy Gloss, Gene Pritsker. It is an ongoing effort and I hope to produce a series of CD’s with a few volumes of published works.
Percussionist Michael Lipsey has performed at festivals in Berlin, Mexico City, Taipei, Macao, Tokyo, La Jolla, New York, Moscow, Bogota and Lille, France. Michael is the founding member of Talujon Percussion and has also performed with the Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society, Tan Dun, Steve Reich Ensemble, New York New Music Ensemble and Riverside Symphony. He has recorded for Sony Records, Red Poppy Records, Nonesuch, Albany, Capstone and Mode. As a soloist, Michael Lipsey has performed on the Sonic Boom Festival in New York, Festival of the Arts in California and at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention in Nashville. He has given master classes at Juilliard School of Music, California School of the Arts, Purchase College of Music, University of Maryland at Baltimore and many universities around the country. Michael has also worked with many musicians from around the world. He has studied other musical languages and worked with a diverse blend of musicians like Subash Chandran, Ganesh Kumar, Glen Velez, Carlos Gomez, Antonio Hart, Roland Vasquez and most recently he formed a duo with percussionist River Guerguerian. He has received funding from the PSCUNY-36 Award for a solo CD which was released in October, 2006. The music on the CD contains recently commissioned works for solo hand drums and includes composers Jason Eckardt, River Guerguerian, Mathew Rosenblum, Arthur Kreiger, Eric Moe, Dominic Donato, David Cossin and David Rakowski. All the pieces from the cd are also published by Calabrese Brothers Publishing, LLC. You can purchase these pieces at this website:
http://store.calabresebrothersmusic.com/08-00209.html
Michael is a full-time professor at the Aaron Copland School of Music at CUNY Queens College. He is the Director of the Percussion Program and the New Music Ensemble.
Soloist, Eric Moe, "Teeth of the Sea", STRANGE EXCLAIMING MUSIC, Naxos Records
Soloist, Tan Dun, 2000 Today, SONY Classical
Soloist, Arthur Kreiger, "Joining Hands", SEAMUS CD 17, The Society for Electro- Acoustic Music in the United States, Music from SEAMUS Recording Series
Talujon Percussion Quartet, …the speed of the passing time…, Capstone Records
Talujon Percussion Quartet, HUM, TPQ Records
Talujon Percussion Quartet, Tan Dun, Elegy: Snow in June, CRI Records
Talujon Percussion Quartet, Annie Gosfield, Flying Sparks and Heavy Machinery, Tzadik Records
Talujon Percussion Quartet, Steve Ricks "Dividing Time", Mild Violence, Bridge Records
Talujon Percussion Quartet, Allen Brings "Sonata a Quattro", A Concert of Music by Allen Brings, Capstone Records
Talujon Percussion Quartet, Edward Smaldone, "Three Episodes for Percussion"
Talujon Percussion Quartet, Barbara White, "Third Rule of Thumb", When the Smoke Clears, CRI Records
Julia Wolfe, The Music of Julia Wolfe, Newband, Point Music
Chou-Wen Chung, Echoes From the Gorge, New Music Consort, Albany Records
Harry Partch, "Daphne of the Dunes", Newband Plays Microtonal Works, Volume 2, Mode Records
Dean Drummond, Dance of the Seven Veils Newband, Music and Art Records
Lasse Thoresen, "Thus", Newband, Aurora Records
Newband: Partch and Drummond, Innova Records
Harry Partch: The Wayward, Newband, Wergo Records a division of Schott Music and Media
Zhou Long, "Tales from the Cave", Tales from the Cave, Music from China, Delos International
Susan Botti, "Telaio: Desdemona", listen, it's snowing, CRI Records
Paul Crabtree, "Dive", "An American Persephone", The Metamorphoses of Paul Crabtree, Arsis Records
Steven Hartke, Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, Riverside Symphony, New World Records
Chen Yi, "Sparkles", Sparkles, New Music Consort, CRI Records
George Antheil, Ballet Mechanique, Philadelphia Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra, Naxos Records
Mathew Rosenblum, Nu Kuan Tzu, Prism Players, CRI Records
Karen Tanaka, "Water and Stone", Invisible Curve, New World Records
Karen Tanaka, "Frozen Horizon", Invisible Curve, New World Records
Leo Kraft, "Transformations", Music of Leo Kraft, Centaur Records
Leo Kraft, "Out and About", "America's Millennium Tribute to Adolphe Sax Volume XI", Arizona University Records
Leo Kraft, "Washington Square", Places, Arizona University Records, 2004 Leo Kraft, "Line Drawings", Chamber Works, Albany Records
Faye-Ellen Silverman's "Protected Sleep" with David Jolley, French Horn, Manhattan Stories, Albany Records
Ensemble Sospeso, Ed Wood Suite: The Music of Howard Shore, Mode Records
John Vorus, Transmuting Currents, Independently produced, 2006
"Spectra", Elizabeth Bell: Snows of Yesteryear, North/South Chamber Orchestra, N/S Recordings
Talujon is a percussion group founded by Mike and a few close friends. They travel the world performing both new and old contemporary music
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