3D Percussion’s mission is to connect with audiences by curating creative musical experiences that we believe in.

Story

YoungKyoung Lee, Sammy DeAngelis, and Emma Gierszal met at the Eastman School of Music but became 3D Percussion over many coffee discussions and late night Zoom meetings. We have a common vision of learning from our audiences, collaborators, and each other and enriching lives with our resulting music.

YoungKyoung Lee, Sammy DeAngelis, and Emma Gierszal met at the Eastman School of Music but became 3D Percussion over a common vision of learning from our audiences, collaborators, and each other and enriching lives with our resulting music. The mission of 3D Percussion is to connect with our ever-growing community by commissioning new works, curating creative concerts, and contributing resources to the percussion community.

3D Percussion aims to develop creative artistic experiences with a wide range of composers. In the summer of 2023, the ensemble led a consortium for Austin Keck’s Evanescence and recorded the first video playing alongside the composer. 3D is also performing alongside students at Ball State University and Furman University on a commission by Matt Curlee for trio and sextet. In the summer of 2024, 3D will perform with pax duo in Chicago and present an immersive concert experience.

Ultimately, 3D Percussion aims to explore every aspect of percussion performance and share it with audiences and students. With repertoire ranging from Korean drumming to theater percussion to the cutting edge of contemporary percussion chamber music, there are just as likely to be balloons on stage as marimbas. We challenge audiences to leave without hearing both something familiar and something new!

Meet the trio

  • YoungKyoung Lee is a percussionist who specializes in solo and chamber music performance. She has performed in various countries such as Japan, Korea, United States of America, Canada, and Spain as a soloist and chamber musician.

    With the love of chamber music, YoungKyoung has been performing as a member of Korean Traditional Percussion Ensemble, Peabody Percussion Group, Yale Percussion Group, and Eastman Percussion Ensemble. YoungKyoung completed the Bachelor of Music studying with Tom Freer, assistant principal timpanist and percussionist of Cleveland Orchestra, and the world-renowned contemporary musician Robert van Sice at the Peabody Conservatory. While at Peabody, YoungKyoung was the recipient of the Zildjian Scholarship. She continued her studies with Robert van Sice at the Yale School of Music and pursued Masters of Music and Masters of Musical Arts in Percussion Performance as a recipient of the Stephen and Denise Adams, and the Henry and Lucy Moses Scholarships. YoungKyoung is pursuing Doctor of Musical Arts at Eastman School of music with internationally renowned soloist, pedagogue, and composer Michael Burritt.

    YoungKyoung currently teaches at Ball State University, and is an endorser of Vic Firth, Inc., Avedis Zildjian company, Black Swamp Percussion, and Pearl/Adams drums and percussion.

  • Sammy DeAngelis (he, him) is a classical percussionist currently based in Rochester, NY.

    As a performer, Sammy has played in the US and China with the Eastman Percussion Ensemble and premiered works by composers such as Michael Burritt, Matt Curlee, Grammy award-winning Billy Childs, and more. Sammy is a founding member of the percussion trio 3D Percussion contributing to a number of new music collaborations and consortiums. Sammy has also performed with the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra, Gulf Coast Sinfonia, and numerous collegiate ensembles.

    Currently, Sammy teaches at Eastman Community Music School as a classical percussion instructor for high school aged students and is the primary lesson instructor for non-major percussion lessons at the University of Rochester. Sammy also coaches the Eastman Chamber Percussion Ensemble.

    Sammy holds a bachelor’s degree in percussion performance from Florida State University (2021), a master’s degree in percussion performance and literature from Eastman School of Music (2023) and is currently a candidate for the doctorate of musical arts degree at Eastman School of Music. His primary teachers include Michael Burritt, Dr. John Parks, Mark Hodges, Rich Thompson and Chip Ross.

    Outside of music, Sammy likes to read, play tennis, and watch all sorts of sports.

  • Emma Gierszal (she/her) is the Assistant Professor of Percussion at the Crane School of Music, SUNY Potsdam. She has finished coursework for her DMA in Percussion Performance and Literature at the Eastman School of Music and holds an MM degree and an Arts Leadership Certificate also from Eastman. Her BM degree in Music Education is from Furman University. 

    Emma is a versatile musician dedicated to sharing new musical experiences with others. She taught the percussion studio, ran the IPEC 2022-winning percussion ensemble, and instructed World Music at Furman University in spring 2024. While in Rochester NY, she enjoyed teaching percussion at the Hochstein School of Music and served as an adjunct percussion lecturer at Nazareth University. She was frequently on stage with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra while continuing to perform with the Eastman Percussion Ensemble and her trio, 3D Percussion. Some of her notable performances have been Viet Cuong's quartet concerto, Re(new)al, in front of the Albany Symphony Orchestra and premiering Austin Keck’s Evanescence with the Eastman Percussion Ensemble at the IPEA International Percussion Competition in Shanghai. Taking an interest in Rochester’s local music scene, she serves as the President of the Board for the chamber ensemble, fivebyfive, and has published an Eastman Case Study about the ROCmusic Collaborative.

    Emma has participated in competitive orchestral and contemporary music festivals, including the Lucerne Festival Academy in 2023, Grafenegg Academy in 2021 and 2022, the National Repertory Orchestra in 2021 (where she had the privilege of performing in front of the orchestra), and the Chautauqua Summer Music Festival in 2019. In 2018, she was honored to receive the Mary Ann Starring Memorial Award and perform at Sigma Alpha Iota's national convention.

    Emma is a proud Malletech Artist.