Percussion

Jared Steer

Jared Steer (percussion) is an active performer/educator based in central NH. He received a BA in Music Performance from Plymouth State College. There he studied drum set and percussion with Tim Gilmore, Eric C. Hughes and Craig Fahey. After receiving his degree he continued studies with Rakalam Bob Moses, Bob Gullotti, Jeff Ballard, Dave Dicenso, Steve Michaud, Thierry Arpino, Jerry Leake and Greg Hutchinson. In 2017 he went back to PSU to take classes toward obtaining a music education degree. Jared either currently or has held faculty positions at the Manchester Community Music School, Holderness School, New Hampton School, Fryeburg Academy, Tilton School, Interlakes School District, and Sant Bani School. He facilitates drum workshops from school and community events. He performs and records regionally as well as nationally with a

Mike Walsh

Mike Walsh (percussion) has been drumming for over 35 years and teaching for 20 years. He has a B.A. in Music Performance from UNH, where he studied drum set with Les Harris Jr. and percussion with Nancy Smith. Mike continued drum set studies with Bob Gullotti, Dave Dicenso, Dan Weiss, and Steve Michaud. He has performed and recorded with original classic soul groups Mother Superior and The Sliding Royales, modern jazz groups Equal Time and Weird Turn Pro, and blues singer-songwriter-pianist Veronica Lewis. He has performed at venues and festivals throughout the northeast and as far away as Mexico City and Jackson Hole, Wyo. Mike also teaches at Shaker Road School and Portsmouth Music and Arts Center.

Lindsey Schust

Lindsey Schust (percussion and composition) graduated cum laude with a B.A. in Music from Brandeis University and an M.A. in Music Composition from Tufts University. Since then she has studied with African and Afro-Caribbean master drummers from Mali, Nigeria, Guinea, Senegal, Ghana, Trinidad, Haiti, and Cuba, as well as composition with award-winning composers David Rakowski, Yehudi Wyner, and John McDonald. In 2006 Lindsey won the Global Rhythm songwriting competition for her Afro-Cuban song “Café Con Leche” and in 2009 was nominated for a Just Plain Folks Independent Music Award for Best Caribbean Song for her piece “Mama Lele.”

Grace Schust

Grace Schust (Songweavers drumming ensemble, percussion) earned her B.F.A. summa cum laude from Colby Sawyer College and has since studied with Babatunde Olatunji, Abdoul Doumbia, Momady Kaita, Mohamed Kalifa Kamera, Papus Diabate, and Issa Coulibaly. She is the director and founder of Arts Bridge the World, which leads percussion workshops for team-building in the workplace and building self-esteem for at-risk children. Grace has performed with Voices of the Heart, Concord Chorale, Dartmouth World Music Percussion Ensemble, Portsmouth Percussive Arts Festival, Brandeis University, Harvard University, and Boston University. She has held faculty positions at Proctor Academy, Colby-Sawyer College, Brandeis University, and Plymouth State University, and has had roles with the Spaulding Youth Center, NH Association for the Blind, VSA Arts, Lutheran Social Service, and corporate workshops.