2012: Falkortet

Ed Garcia: marimba, percussion
Tim Black: drums, percussion
Josh Mellinger: percussion
Paul Heiman: percussion
Lydia Martin: vibes, glock, piano, percussion

Falkortet is a San Francisco based percussion ensemble founded in 2009. The group’s main objective has stayed the same: an ensemble that can compose pieces for itself, and can perform in a variety of different situations and for very different audiences. This unique array of differing styles include varying traditional percussion, hand drums, electronics, Indonesian, Brazilian, Jazz, Minimal, and mainstream Pop/Rock.

Ed Garcia is a percussionist based out of the San Francisco Bay Area. He currently works as a performer and educator. Ed received his B.M. in 2007 from UC Santa Cruz, and his M.F.A. in Multi-Focus Percussion from CalArts in 2009. Presently, Ed performs in several Sundanese and Balinese gamelan ensembles throughout the Bay Area. Ed plays drum set for the indie rock band The Golden Path, and he performs and composes for the percussion group Falkortet. Ed also teaches at UC Davis, where he leads the West Javanese Gamelan Ensemble. He teaches several percussion students throughout the Bay Area.

Timothy Black has a BA in Drumset and Percussion with a Minor in Electronic Music from University of California at Santa Cruz where he studied with William Winant and George Marsh. He is currently a student at Mills College pursuing a graduate degree in composition. His interests include percussion music from a wide array of influences: 20th century western art music, Indonesian gamelan of Bali and Java, and the construction of new instruments and their practical performance applications. As an Oakland resident and a fan of urban decay, Timothy has spent the last two years hitting tons of rusty pipes and train tracks as well as strumming metal cables attached to large oak trees. He plans to use and expand on his knowledge of acoustic principles and love of using found objects as instruments.

Josh Mellinger is a graduate of the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) where he received a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Percussion Performance in 2010. Josh attended the Interlochen Arts Academy in high school, performing with the Orchestra and the percussion ensemble. At CalArts he was involved in many ensembles including the New Century Players ensemble, Calarts New Millennium Brass ensemble, Chamber Orchestra, Percussion Ensemble, and World Percussion Ensemble. In 2008, Josh played with the CalArts Percussion Ensemble that was invited to perform a tribute concert of the works of John Bergamo at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention. Josh is currently a student of the Ali Akbar College of Music under the instruction of Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri. He is involved in multiple musical groups in the Bay Area, playing in a variety of musical styles.

Lydia Martín received an BFA in Multi-focus percussion from California Institute of the Arts and a MA in Music Composition from Mills College. She has spent the last two years studying instrument construction from Daniel Schmidt and Daniel Yasmin. Since moving to Oakland in 2010 she has played with Gamelan Sekar Jaya, Gadung Kastori, Gamelan X, The Contemporary Players, Pauline Oliveros, Christian Woolf, William Winant, Daniel Schmidt, Thomas Buckner, The Berkeley Chorus, and Falkortet. Other artist she has worked with include; John Bergamo, David Johnson, Randy Gloss, Pak Nyoman Wenten, Alfred Ladzekpo, Ulrich Krieger, Vinny Golia, Joe La Barbara, Payton MacDonald, Pete Jarvin, and Michiko.

Artist (photo by Photographer)