Before joining the Seattle Symphony as Principal Percussionist in the fall of 2009, Michael Werner was a percussionist with the Metropolitan Opera for 13 years, and Principal Percussionist for the Toronto Symphony Orchestra for two years.

Mr. Werner is currently the Principal Percussionist at the Seattle Symphony, and was also acting Principal for the 2014-2015 season at the LA Philharmonic, including the 2015 Asia Tour. In the spring of 2016 he was invited to perform with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra as a Percussion Teacher and Guest Artist. In 2014, Michael was the featured soloist at The Seattle Symphony Orchestra where he performed F. Gruber’s “Rough Music Concerto”. Michael has performed with the London Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Auckland Philharmonic, Hawaii Symphony Orchestra, Metropolitan Opera, The Cleveland Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, Seattle Chamber Music Society, Canadian Brass and Empire Brass Ensembles, and at the Santa Barbara International Percussion Festival.

Mr. Werner has been a faculty member at The Mannes School of Music in New York since 2002. He has served as a Clinician and Instructor at the New World Symphony, the University of Toronto, the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, the Percussive Arts Society, Oberlin Percussion Institute, Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music, The Cleveland Institute of Music, and The New England Conservatory. He also serves as an Artist and Clinician for Pearl Percussion, Zildjian Symbols, and Freer Percussion.

Michael started his secondary studies at the Eastman School of Music, under John Beck. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he studied with Richard Wiener. Michael also studied with Tom Freer at Cleveland State University.

An alum of the Music Academy of the West (1990), Mr. Werner has been a faculty member since 2005.

Joseph Pereira (1974) enjoys a multi-faceted career as a timpanist/percussionist, composer, conductor, and teacher. His work in all areas has been widely hailed for his creativity and virtuosity, and has been profiled in feature articles in both The New York Times (2006) and The Los Angeles Times in 2012 and 2015. In 2015 Pereira was featured on the PBS series, “Craft in America”.

Pereira has been the Principal Timpanist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic since 2008. As a versatile performer, Pereira is in demand as an orchestral timpanist, studio recording percussionist. He regularly appears as a solo percussionist in the orchestra’s “Green Umbrella” new music series and has also conducted his music and other world premieres on the orchestra’s chamber series. In Los Angeles, he also can be found in the recording studios and can be heard on many major motion pictures. Previously Pereira was a member of the New York Philharmonic from 1997 to 2008, as a timpanist and percussionist. His line of signature timpani mallets by JGPercussion are sold worldwide.

Pereira currently runs the percussion studio at USC Thornton School of Music, and is also on the faculty of the Music Academy, and the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo Japan. Pereira was previously on the faculty of The Juilliard School, from 2004-2012.

As a composer, Pereira’s music has been described as “restless yet lucidly textured” (The New York Times), “striking atmospherics of colour” (The Guardian), and “one sonic surprise after another” (The Los Angeles Times). His works have been commissioned and performed worldwide, most notably by the Los Angeles Philharmonic with Gustavo Dudamel, the Singapore Symphony, the New York Philharmonic Chamber Series, the Miro Quartet, the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, percussionist Colin Currie, Duo Harpverk, French Ensemble TM+, and the Los Angeles Percussion Quartet. In 2013 the Los Angeles Percussion Quartet recorded his piece Repousse’ (2009), which was nominated for three 2013 Grammy Awards. The following year LAPQ recorded Pereira’s Mallet Quartet (2013), and it was rated “Best of 2014 Classical Music” on iTunes. Pereira’s works can be heard on Sono Luminus, Yarlung Records, and New Focus Recordings. His works are published in the US by Bachovich Music and Black Dot Press in London.