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EXIT 9 percussion group is one of the most exciting percussion ensembles on the scene today. They play music of all styles for all types of audiences. From ragtime xylophone and steel pan calypso to West African drumming or any one of their exciting newly commissioned works, EXIT 9 delivers. Formed in the spring of 2002 as the graduate percussion quintet of Rutgers University, the group has always approached music making with the utmost dedication and enthusiasm. With an eye toward creating a fresh and unconventional audience experience, the group has performed in front of thousands of people over the last three years, both in the US and abroad, and continue to base themselves in the New Jersey/metro-NYC area. |
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| Exit 9 members: | |
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Kenneth Riehman
(percussion) is a native of New Jersey, earning his Bachelor of Music
degree in percussion performance from Rutgers University and Master of
Music degree in orchestral performance from Temple University. He has
performed with many ensembles including the Orchestra Society of
Philadelphia, the Lancaster Symphony, the Haddonfield Symphony, the
Charleston Symphony, and the Chatauqua and Verbier Festival Orchestras.
As an orchestral percussionist, Riehman has performed in many parts of
the world including Germany, France, Switzerland, and Russia, under the
baton of such notables as James Levine and Helmuth Rilling. |
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Peter James Saleh
(percussionist/arranger)
Peter is active as a performer and
educator in the NJ/NY area. He has performed with notable artists such
as Matthew Barney, Bob Becker, and Tigger Benford as well as under the
baton of Eugene Corporon. He has worked extensively in improvised music
as a modern dance accompanist at Rutgers and in Manhattan and has scored
new choreography by Christian Von Howard and Raegan Wood-Sanders. As a
composer, Saleh's music has been performed by the Helix! ensemble, at
Lincoln Center, and throughout the country and he won second place in
the 2007 PAS Composition Contest. He is published through Row-Loff
Productions, Keyboard Percussion Publications, Innovative Percussion,
and Drop6 Media, and authored a 100+ page pedagogic text, "A
Percussionist’s Handbook." Saleh founded and directed the Central
Jersey Youth Percussion Ensemble, and has also guest-lectured at the
Juilliard pre-college and Rutgers University and fellowed at the
University of North Texas. Peter holds degrees in percussion and
composition from Rutgers University and the University of North Texas.
Website:
www.PeterSaleh.com |
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Mike Ramsey
(drums/percussion/steel pans) Mike is an active performer and educator
who works in both Western and non-Western musical idioms. In addition to
his work with Exit 9,he is a member of AZAGUNO, an exciting multi-ethnic
performance group dedicated to the performance of traditional and
contemporary expressions of the culture of Africa and the Diaspora. With
his teacher, AZAGUNO director Dr. Paschal Yao Younge, Mike has traveled
all over the globe to study and to perform, including four study tours
of Ghana, West Africa, and a study tour of Cuba. He recently returned
from a two-year engagement as Visiting Professor of Percussion and World
Music at Chung Ang University, South Korea. Mike has performed
with The Philadelphia Orchestra, The Seoul Philharmonic, and The Seoul
Philharmonic Pops. He has performed all over the world, including the
2002 World Cup Opening Ceremonies held in Korea and the 2004 Montreal
Jazz Festival. He is now active as a freelance musician in the NYC/NJ
area. |
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Britton Matthews
(guest percussionist) is a recent graduate of the Master of Music
program at Rutgers University. Currently residing in Astoria, NY, she
is active in the New York percussion scene both as a performer and an
arts manager. She is a founding member of the Broadway Reading
Orchestra, and is currently the principal percussionist with the Astoria
Music Society's Symphony Orchestra and Lost Dog New Music Ensemble. Her
current projects include managing and collaborating with the Metropolis
Ensemble: a highly acclaimed chamber ensemble of the NYC area. Website: www.brittonmatthews.com |
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