NEW YORK PERCUSSION SERIES Returns With New Concert At Players Theatre 

The New York Percussion series featuring the Percussion People is back for its second in the series performance on August 26 at The Players Theatre in Greenwich Village, NYC.

The concert will feature Latin jazz, funk, and contemporary music on a variety of percussion instruments including the marimba, vibes, xylophone, congas, and more. Patrons are invited to settle comfortably into the 200 plus-seat theatre and partake of an evening of music played by some of the best musicians in NYC.

Featured special guest Damon Grant, Grammy-nominated Latin jazz artist, will join Michael Sgouros, Andrew Beall, Britton Michaels, Jack Mansager, Sean Statser, Christopher Natale, and Taiyo Suenaga onstage, along with special guest Eric Fletcher who will sing "Tell it to the Paw" from the new musical Furever Home the Musical.

Damon Grant independently recorded and released an album called 'Prevailing Melodies' produced by David Ryan Harris. The album features Harris, along with other artists like: Morgan James, Marc Broussard, Zane Carney, Stephen Kellogg, Doug Wamble, Chrissi Poland, P.J. Pacifico, Christine Tambakis and many more. Damon has recorded on the Grammy-Nominated albums by Blues artist Joe Louis Walker and Randy Rainbow. He also worked with Madonna on her 2012 Super Bowl halftime show, her MDNA tour, and DVD premiere in NYC. As a professional side-person, Damon has performed around the world, and worked across many genres with world-class musicians including: Mary J. Blige, Charlie Hunter, Morgan James, David Ryan Harris, Eric Hutchinson, Javier Colon, Erich Bergen, Norbert Leo Butz, Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez, Stefon Harris, Quinn Sullivan, and countless others. He has played in the house band for American Idol, The Voice, and benefits supporting the ACLU, Gods Love We Deliver, Broadway Loves..... and several others. Damon as well as his group, The Damon Grant Project, have been featured in Modern Drummer and Latin Beat Magazines and performed in London at the gala event for the 2012 U.S. Olympic team. He was a member of the 10-time DCI World Champion, Cadets Drum Corps, and with them, performed at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta. Damon was also a member of the group The Bomb Squad which was featured in People Magazine and won an American Music Award. He was an original cast member of the show Blast! which won both an Emmy and a Tony award. Damon teaches percussion regularly to private students ranging from beginner to intermediate and beyond. He has performed clinics at PASIC (Percussive Arts Society International Convention), different "Day of Percussion" events for the Percussive Arts Society throughout the USA and Canada, as well as The Peruvian Cajon Festival. He has contributed articles to Modern Drummer Magazine, and has done other masterclasses for percussion groups, drum corps, high schools, and universities. Similarly to the masterclasses, he has spoken at and given seminars at multiple music conferences. He is available for clinics or consultations for your group in person and virtually. Damon is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst with a degree in African-American Jazz Studies and Performance. He has studied with greats like Yusef Lateef and Giovanni Hidalgo on all types of percussion instruments. Damon also co-hosts a weekly percussion podcast called Discussions in Percussion and is a member of the Percussive Arts Society's World Percussion Committee.

Music director and composer for the Percussion People, Michael Sgouros has performed both on Broadway and off. Broadway shows include the productions of The Secret Garden, Falsettos, The Goodbye Girl, Sunset Boulevard, Miss Saigon and Phantom of the Opera. He has composed and played Off-Broadway at The Players Theatre for The Selfish Giant, Treasure Island, Stone Soup, A Christmas Carol, Cinderella, Phantom of the Opera (Sgouros and Bell), The Little Mermaid, Alice in Wonderland, Tico Tales, Sleepy Hollow and Beauty and the Beast.

Percussionist and educator Jack Mansager has worked in the New York City area for the past 25 years. He plays on Broadway in Disney's The Lion King, and, back in 2001, was a featured performer in the Tony award winning show Blast!. He was a founding member of the original Percussion People.

Percussion People member Britton Matthews has premiered more than ten original musicals Off-Broadway at The Players Theatre and is currently playing with SIX on Broadway. She recently originated the drum book for the Off-Broadway musical Millennials are Killing Musicals (book and music by Nico Juber) presented by Out of the Box Theatrics.

International composer/performer Andrew Beall has been hailed by NY Classical Review as "Spectacularly Virtuosic". He is the drummer for the Broadway dance company American Dance Machine and eclectic rock quartet Cordis and can be seen in the feature film Breathe In and the Amazon series Mozart in the Jungle. Grammy-winning Broadway Records released albums of his musicals: Song of Solomon, and Platinum Girls. His Broadway credits include LES MISERABLES, West Side Story, The Notebook, The Lion King, In the Heights, Beetlejuice, Aladdin, Six, Spiderman, A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, and Days of Wine and Roses. He serves as Orchestra Manager for Parlando and is a graduate of Manhattan School of Music and New York University.

Christopher Natale is an NYC-based freelance percussionist who has played for The Great Gatsby on Broadway and The Rockettes Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall and has served as the percussionist for several Off-Broadway shows including Frankenstein, Here There Be Dragons - A New Musical Quest, A Christmas Carol, Beauty and The Beast, and Sleepy Hollow. Internationally, Christopher was the percussionist for The Sound of Music Global Tour. On television, Christopher played marimba for NFL Countdown's tribute to Phil Collins on ESPN with the NYU Percussion Ensemble.

Percussionist Taiyo Suenaga began playing drums and dancing at the age of 3 and has won numerous awards in Japan. He plays a variety of genres including rock and jazz and moved to New York from Japan in March of this year.

Performer, composer, and educator Sean Statser has been called "Lithe, muscular, and mesmerizing" by the New York Times. He actively collaborates with several New York City artists and ensembles including the Grammy-nominated Metropolis Ensemble, Argento New Music, Ensemble LPR, and Iktus Percussion. He has premiered over 200 works to date by composers such as Jason Treuting, Timothy Andres, Caleb Burhans, Kati Agocs, Vivian Fung, Angelica Negron, John Luther Adams and Elliot Carter.

Actor/Singer Eric Fletcher has performed at The Players Theatre for over a decade and a half in various roles including Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol the Musical, Frankenstein (both Victor Frankenstein and the Monster), Phantom of the Opera (Sgouros and Bell; Phantom), Cinderella (Madame), Alice in Wonderland (Queen of Hearts, Caterpillar), Beauty and the Beast (Papa), The Little Mermaid (Fish Witch and Queen Mum), Sleepy Hollow (Henry and Van Ripper), The Selfish Giant (Giant), and Treasure Island (Ben Gunn). He has a BFA in performance from Virgina Commonwealth University and is often seen in the New York City area performing as his drag queen persona Sparkle Monster.

The New York Percussion Series performance will be August 26 at 7pm Off-Broadway at The Players Theatre located at 115 MacDougal St. The theatre is accessible via West 4th St. Station, lines A,C,E,B,D,F,M - walk one block east on West 3rd, and one block south on MacDougal.

Tickets are available at ThePlayersTheatre.com.