Thursday, May 14, 2015

STEPHEN KARUKAS: 3rd Prize


ENKOR Woodwinds, Brass and Percussion Competition 2015
STEPHEN KARUKAS | USA | Age 17 | Percussion

Third Prize | Category A 
Score: 82.99 
Rules: lowest possible scores: 60 points | highest possible scores: 100 points

Teacher:  John Alfieri

Artistic biography
Stephen Karukas is a graduate of the Interlochen Arts Academy and a current undergraduate student at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he is pursuing dual degrees in percussion performance and music composition. As a performer, his experience ranges from playing drumset with modern and free jazz groups to more "classical” work on solo marimba and orchestral percussion. On marimba, his repertoire includes piano works by Rachmaninoff and Scriabin as well as original pieces, including his virtuosic "Etude in C" for the right hand alone. He is inspired by the forms and colors of nature, which he aims to represent in his compositions; he is currently focused on composing music utilizing spectral and timbral concepts within a tonal context.