top of page
IMG_5820_edited.jpg

LA Music Festival

Join 20 fellows at the TAPS LA Music Festival for performances, masterclasses, chamber coaching, and a mock audition. Applications open to percussion and piano.

LA Music Festival 

| June 13-29, California State University Long Beach (CSULB)

Step into two thrilling weeks of percussion exploration at the TAPS LA Music Festival. This year, we welcome 20 talented fellows for an intensive program filled with performances, masterclasses, group lessons, chamber music coaching, and a mock audition. This year's festival will be larger than ever and will feature the Quey Percussion Duo as our Artists-in-Residence.After two weeks of immersive experiences and mentorship, fellows depart with developed technique, new inspiration, and gear to advance their musical journey.


Tuition for the full program is $2,250, which includes on-campus housing and meals for two weeks.


At TAPS, we’re committed to providing a vibrant, immersive environment where fellows can grow, experiment, and connect with other musicians from around the world. Our mission drives us to make this experience accessible, inclusive, and transformative for every participant. Limited financial assistance is available and will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

2024_04_29 Music for 18 Musicians at NWS by Alex Markow-1791 copy_edited.jpg

LA Music Festival 

June 13–29, California State University  Long Beach (CSULB)

2024_04_29 Music for 18 Musicians at NWS by Alex Markow-1791 copy_edited.jpg

Join us for an unforgettable experience of music, mentorship, and community!

Step into two thrilling weeks of percussion exploration at the TAPS LA Music Festival. This year, we welcome 20 talented fellows for an intensive program filled with performances, masterclasses, group lessons, chamber music coaching, and a mock audition. This year's festival will be larger than ever and will feature the Quey Percussion Duo as our Artists-in-Residence, giving fellows the extraordinary chance to perform side by side with Quey at our end of festival concert. After two weeks of immersive experiences and mentorship, fellows depart with developed technique, new inspiration, and gear to advance their musical journey.


Tuition for the full program is $2,250, which includes on-campus housing and meals for two weeks.


At TAPS, we’re committed to providing a vibrant, immersive environment where fellows can grow, experiment, and connect with other musicians from around the world. Our mission drives us to make this experience accessible, inclusive, and transformative for every participant. Limited financial assistance is available and will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

Apply for Instrument

Requirements:     

​

1. One page artistic resume

2. Audition video: Requirements here

3. Application fee 

​

Application Deadline and Fees:

January 1st - February 28th: $70

March 1st - March 31st: $90

​

​​All applications are due March 31st, 2026 at 11:59pm PST.

​

Instruments Accepted:

Percussion (20) & Piano (4)

​

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Videos can be in one take or separate takes. If in separate takes, please put all files into one video and submit only one link. Please upload your video to a cloud service such as YouTube, Google Drive, Dropbox, etc. and double check the link is not private.

Apply Now

Apply for Internship

Requirements:     

 

1. Resume 

2. Statement of Intention: Short video explaining why the internship program interests you and what you would like to learn from it

​​ 

​​All applications are due March 31st, 2026 at 11:59pm PST.

Apply Now

Faculty for TAPS LA 2026

Ted Atkatz is a renowned performer, educator, recording artist, and composer. He is the former Principal Percussionist and Assistant Timpanist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Ted now resides in Los Angeles, where he is the Director of Percussion Studies at the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music at California State University at Long Beach. He also is the Director of the Percussion Department at the Colburn School and is the Director of the Colburn Contemporary Ensemble. His non-profit organization, The Ted Atkatz Percussion Seminar (TAPS) has been held around the world, and this past summer hosted the TAPS LA Music Festival with public performances around the Los Angeles area. His college studies began at Boston University and then New England Conservatory, where he studied with members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. After receiving a master’s degree at NEC, Ted went on to Temple University to study with Alan Abel of the Philadelphia Orchestra. As an active studio musician, Ted has performed on over 70 motion picture soundtracks, including “Frozen,” “The Jungle Book” and “Star Wars Episode IX.” Ted has performed with the Atlanta Symphony, Berlin Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Boston Pops, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Los Angeles Opera, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Pacific Symphony, and the Santa Barbara Symphony. Ted is also an active singer and songwriter. His band NYCO has released three albums: Two (2005), Realize (2008), and Future Imperfect (2012). NYCO performed with the Alabama Symphony in 2018.
Ted Atkatz
Former Principal Percussion
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Percussion

Bio 

“Quey sets a standard of ensemble precision, execution, cohesion, synergy, chemistry, musicianship, and artistry at the highest level” -Paul Buyer, Working Toward Excellence (2nd edition) For over 20 years, Quey Percussion Duo (pronounced “Kway”) has dazzled audiences worldwide with their unmistakable style that blends traditions of contemporary, cross-cultural, classical, and popular music to create colorful sound worlds that often place focus on interlocking counterpoint and musical multi-tasking. Their presentations have a reputation for elevating the basic acts of striking, shaking, and scraping into a blast of energy, a splash of curiosity, with a pinch of whimsy. Their curiosity and dedication to lifelong scholarship has led to decades of immersive study in global music making, a characteristic that permeates their distinct voice. QPD has performed across 4 continents and extensively throughout the US, including over 200 guest performances/lectures at some of the most prestigious institutions in the world. Recent activities include a 2-week tour of Europe, a PASIC showcase concert, and a concerto performance with the Beijing Symphony Orchestra. Through their focus on creating high-level video content, their digital audience has climbed to over 4 million viewers and counting. Their broad digital footprint has led to collaborations with artists and organizations around the world, most recently providing music for Lululemon’s “Glow Up” ad campaign. Comprised of members Gene Koshinski and Tim Broscious, QPD has worked with music festivals, professional orchestras, chamber music series’, art galleries, and conferences (including 5 PASIC appearances). In addition to their recordings for the Innova, Naxos, Centaur, Equilibrium, and Neuma record labels, QPD can be heard in the score of the award-winning short film The Passage, which was premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2018. A review of their most recent album, soniChroma, stated, “one cannot help but stand in awe of the Quey Percussion Duo.” (Percussive Notes) Through a series of four composition contests and many individual commission projects, QPD has helped generate over 350 new works written for the duo (or by the duo), some of which have become instant “earworms” for audiences and staples in the repertoire for percussionists worldwide. They have collaborated with renowned composers including Pulitzer Prize recipient John Luther Adams, Emmanuel Séjourné, Alejandro Viñao, Molly Joyce, Alyssa Weinberg, Stuart Saunders Smith, Adam Silverman, Phyllis Chen, David Macbride, David M. Gordon, Ben Wahlund, and Casey Cangelosi to name a few. Most recently, QPD was the recipient of a 2025 Chamber Music America Commissioning Grant for their work with composer Mary Ellen Childs. QPD holds the only full-time residency by a percussion duo in the US at the University of Delaware where they co-direct the percussion program, deliver various chamber music experiences, lessons, and studio classes. Their side-by-side approach to teaching has led to many performance and recording opportunities for their students. QPD is endorsed by Pearl/Adams Instruments, Sabian Cymbals, Vic Firth Sticks and Mallets, and Remo Drumheads.
Quey Percussion Duo
Chamber
Artists
Percussion

Bio 

Praised as “spectacular” by the Los Angeles Times and “extraordinary” by the Ventura County Star, the Times describes percussionist Ji Hye Jung as “a centered player who can give the impression of being very still yet at all places at once”. Ms. Jung began concertizing in her native South Korea at the age of nine where she performed more than 100 concerts including solo appearances with every major orchestra in Korea. Soon after coming to the United States in 2004, Ms. Jung garnered consecutive first prizes at the 2006 Linz International Marimba Competition and the 2007 Yale Gordon Concerto Competition. With percussion repertoire still in its formative stages, Ms. Jung feels strongly about collaborating with composers to further the creation of a new voice for the art form. She has commissioned and premiered works by several important composers including, Kevin Puts, Alejandro Viñao, Paul Lansky, John Serry, Lukas Ligeti, and Jason Treuting. In 2013 she made the premier recording of Michael Torke’s marimba concerto Mojave and in 2014 recorded Phillip Glass’ Concerto Fantasy for Two Timpanists and Orchestra for the Naxos label. Ms. Jung frequently performs with many of today’s most important conductors and instrumentalists. For six years she has served as principal percussionist with the west coast-based chamber music ensemble Camerata Pacifica, with whom she has premiered works by Bright Sheng and Huang Ruo. She has also recorded Stravinsky’s Les Noces with JoAnn Falletta at the Virginia Arts Festival, performed as soloist with David Robertson conducting an all Messiaen program at Carnegie Hall, and made her concerto debut with the Houston Symphony under the baton of Hans Graf in 2005. Other performance credits include appearances at Portugal’s Tomarimbando Festival, the West Cork Chamber Music Festival in Ireland, The Intimacy of Creativity in Hong Kong, the Grand Teton Music Festival, Germany’s Schleswig-Holstein Festival, and the Grachtenfestival in Holland. In 2015 Ji Hye Jung was named Associate Professor of Percussion at Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music. She previously served as Associate Professor of Percussion at the University of Kansas for six years. An active educator and clinician, Jung has presented masterclasses at the Curtis Institute, the Peabody Conservatory, Rice University, Beijing’s Central Conservatory, and the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice, Poland. Ji Hye Jung completed a Master of Music degree from the Yale School of Music and a Bachelor of Music degree at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University, both under the tutelage of Robert van Sice. As an artist endorser, she proudly represents Pearl/Adams instruments, Vic Firth sticks and mallets, and Zildjian cymbals.
Ji Hye Jung
Soloist
Artist
Percussion

Bio 

A percussionist and conductor of great versatility and virtuosity, George Nickson has been hailed by The New York Times as “a performer handling his role with ease and flair.” Prior to Dallas, Nickson served as Principal Percussionist of the Sarasota Orchestra from 2012-2019. He received the Master of Music degree at The Juilliard School where he studied with Daniel Druckman and completed his undergraduate studies at the New England Conservatory with Will Hudgins. In addition to his position with the Sarasota Orchestra, Nickson has had the privilege of performing with the orchestras of Boston, Detroit, Washington D.C., Toronto, Honolulu and San Francisco. Recent highlights include world premiere concerto performances at ensembleNEWSRQ in Sarasota, Florida and at Tanglewood, solo performances at The Spoleto Festival, and solo recording projects that can be heard on NAXOS, Bridge and Albany Records. Nickson frequently appears as conductor in notable performances with ensembleNEWSRQ, including world premieres, Charles Wuorinen’s New York Notes and Le Marteau sans Maitre of Pierre Boulez.
George Nickson
Principal Percussion
Dallas Symphony Orchestra
Percussion

Bio 

Shaun joined the Phoenix Symphony as Principal Percussion in November of 2013. Mr. Tilburg’s previous position was as the Principal Percussionist of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, where he played from 2007 until 2011. It was in Hong Kong that Shaun met his future wife, Madoka Suzuki. The pair moved back to the United States in the summer of 2011 and were married on a balcony overlooking Chicago’s Michigan Avenue. Shaun has performed with the Chicago Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Philharmonia Orchestra of London, National Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony, Houston Symphony, Dallas Symphony, Malaysian Philharmonic, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Hong Kong Philharmonic, and San Antonio Symphony. He has received fellowships with the Tanglewood Music Center, National Repertoire Orchestra, Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Opera of the Ozarks and Music Academy of the West. In 2016, riding the success of his snare drum method book ‘The Regimen’, Shaun founded a music publication company called Pocket Publications. With 20 publications and growing, Pocket Publications has quickly established itself as an innovator in the industry. Shaun’s compositions have premiered all over the world, including the USA, Canada, Netherlands, Spain, Germany and Norway. Mr. Tilburg has given master classes at the AZ Percussive Arts Society Day of Percussion, the Colburn School, the New York Day of Xylophone and has also given classes in many universities across Asia. He taught at Arizona State University from 2014-2021, and joined the faculty of the Lynn Conservatory of Music in 2016.
Shaun Tilburg
Principal Percussion
The Phoenix Symphony
Percussion

Bio 

Apply for Instrument

Requirements:     

​

1. One page artistic resume

2. Audition video: Requirements here

3. Application fee 

​

Application Deadline and Fees:

January 1st - February 28th: $70

March 1st - March 31st: $90

​

​​All applications are due March 31st, 2026 at 11:59pm PST.

​

Instruments Accepted:

Percussion (20) & Piano (4)

​

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Videos can be in one take or separate takes. If in separate takes, please put all files into one video and submit only one link. Please upload your video to a cloud service such as YouTube, Google Drive, Dropbox, etc. and double check the link is not private.

Apply for Internship

Requirements:     

 

1. Resume 

2. Statement of Intention: Short video explaining why the internship program interests you and what you would like to learn from it

​​ 

​​All applications are due March 31st, 2026 at 11:59pm PST.

Percussion

Marimba

      - 4 mallet solo of choice (3+ minutes)

​

Snare Drum

      - Delecluse, Douze Etudes, No 1, 6, 9 or 10 (choose one)

      - Prokofiev, Peter and the Wolf, Reh 49-51

      - Prokofiev, Lt Kije, Reh 1-2

​

Xylophone

      - Gershwin, Porgy and Bess

​

Glockenspiel

      - Mozart, The Magic Flute

Piano

1. Movement from any standard major concerto of choice
    i.e. Schumann, Dvorak, Haydn

​

2. Optional: Chamber music recording - Highly encouraged

Repertoire

Financial Aid Information

Personal Statement for Financial Assistance


To be considered for financial assistance, applicants must include a personal statement which includes why financial aid is critical to their attendance. We encourage applications for financial assistance only from students who would be unable to attend without it. The personal statement should include the following:


    - Describe your circumstances and explain how financial assistance would enable you to
      participate in the festival.
    - Share how attending will impact your musical growth.
    - Indicate the amount you are able to contribute toward tuition.
    - Applicants may include any additional information they feel is relevant, such as other
      scholarships or support they have applied for, or comments about school or community
      resources.

​

Please upload the personal statement with your application as a PDF document. Please ensure your name is on the statement. 


Acknowledgement


I understand that financial assistance is limited and awarded on a case-by-case basis by the
TAPS Board. While every application will be carefully considered, no assistance is guaranteed,
and full tuition coverage will not be provided. 

Repertoire

Percussion

Marimba

      - 4 mallet solo of choice (3+ minutes)

​

Snare Drum

      - Delecluse, Douze Etudes, No 1, 6, 9 or 10 (choose one)

      - Prokofiev, Peter and the Wolf, Reh 49-51

      - Prokofiev, Lt Kije, Reh 1-2

​

Xylophone

      - Gershwin, Porgy and Bess

​

Glockenspiel

      - Mozart, The Magic Flute

Piano

1. Movement from any standard major concerto of choice
    i.e. Schumann, Dvorak, Haydn

​

2. Optional: Chamber music recording - Highly encouraged

Faculty for
TAPS LA 2025

Ted Atkatz
Former Principal Percussion
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Percussion

Bio 

Quey Percussion Duo
Chamber
Artists
Percussion

Bio 

Ji Hye Jung
Soloist
Artist
Percussion

Bio 

George Nickson
Principal Percussion
Dallas Symphony Orchestra
Percussion

Bio 

Shaun Tilburg
Principal Percussion
The Phoenix Symphony
Percussion

Bio 

bottom of page