auto bio (pdf) | general bio (pdf) | bio by corin m. zaragoza (pdf)
from my fingers to your eyes: a brief [auto] bio by jason currin
my name is jason currin. i am a percussionist. i play, compose and teach- in no particular order. i don't have favorites, simply many things i like very much. music is no different- i really like latin music, but i'm listening to hip-hop right now. i love to swing, but sometime you just wanna rock. orchestral music can be so rich, and full of colors and emotion, and eastern music can be so complex you might as well be reading some contemporary chamber piece. actually, that's my point i guess, my musical manifesto if you will: all this music is so great, and while it can be so different, it's really not- it's still all music. so without even thinking i tend to combine these things, whether it's in my own writing, or in the interpretation of another's.
i think painting and playing music is not that different: sounds are colors, and colors have sounds. i've been told my playing is visual. i think this is important, not to necessarily do something overtly, but anytime you can connect to more senses it just helps to create a fuller picture/presentation/performance. maybe then i should cover myself in chocolate. hmm...
i am also a teacher. it still seems kind of strange to say that, almost as strange as hearing "mister currin". this wasn't really a choice for me, the same way i just happen to play and compose- it sort of chose me, and i wouldn't choose anything else. i enjoy learning, so i guess it's natural that i also enjoy teaching, especially the stuff that i never learned in school, the stuff that many people don't think is important/valid/necessary/real. so, i don't start or stop with classical or even jazz. i bring out the electronica, cheesy, overplayed pop, indian, african, brazilian, middle-eastern, [insert country/region here]. this year i started my classes with hip-hop- apparently i'm the "cool teacher".
general bio
Jason Currin began his teaching career nearly a decade ago, establishing formal percussion programs at many central Georgia high schools and middle schools. Mr. Currin is the Director of Percussion at Fayette Middle School.
A graduate of the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Mr. Currin was a member of ensembles at The Juilliard School, New England Conservatory and Boston Conservatory. He was awarded the first grant from the Bryan Oliver Memorial Fund for Outstanding Artistic Achievement and was a winner of The North American Talent Search. At the collegiate level, Mr. Currin created An Evening of Percussion at Mercer University. He was also a co-presenter of Drums and Rhythms of the Dominican Republic with Miguel Castro at the 2000 Percussive Arts Society International Convention in Dallas, Texas.
As a performer, Mr. Currin has appeared around the world: in France and the Netherlands with Live Ambiance, throughout Central Europe with Halfway to Hoboken, and for two European tours as Principle percussionist with MIT Symphony Orchestra. He is featured on many recordings, including ARC Records’ Percussion of the World and the recent Paris Conservatory recording of third-stream duo Halfway to Hoboken. Stateside, Mr. Currin performed as guest percussionist with Boston Musica Viva, a top interpreter of contemporary chamber music, and as Principle percussionist with Soria Chamber Players, where Johnathan Saggau’s percussion concerto Solipsism was commissioned for his performance and world premiere.
As a composer, Mr. Currin is the recipient of numerous awards and competitions, including first place in the Rivers Music School Composition Contest and runner-up in the international contest held by 20th Century composer Stuart Saunders-Smith. His original works have been performed by world-renowned percussion ensemble, Ethos, LaGuardia School for the Performing Arts, and by several ensembles in Georgia, including Macon Symphony Strings and Saoco World Percussion Ensemble. His work was performed as part of the 23rd Annual Seminar on Contemporary Music for the Young. Mr. Currin also has extensive experience with theater and dance companies, including the Boston Conservatory of Dance, and served as staff accompanist for modern dance classes at the Tisch School of Perfomance Arts of New York University.
Under Mr. Currin’s lead, Fayette Middle and Perry Middle School percussion ensembles have performed at the annual Georgia Music Educator’s Association (GMEA) Conference. The Fayette Middle School Percussion Ensemble was honored in their inaugural year as the only middle school to perform at the Grayson High School Percussion Festival and The Georgia Day of Percussion. Mr. Currin’s private students routinely earn college scholarship and are consistently represented at the top levels of All-State and District Honor Bands as well as local and international competitions. As an extension to current curriculum, he is the creator of several workshops and camps, is an active adjudicator for percussion events, band festivals and competitions, and is currently finalizing a series of educational reference manuals for percussion directors and students
bio by freelance writer corin m. zaragoza
Here's what freelance writer Corin M. Zaragoza has to say about Jason's life, career, and music--
With his diverse, eclectic, and inventive style, Jason Currin is a percussionist forging his way to a new sound - one that is both old and new at the same time. Drawing from his wide range of musical experiences to create a multidimensional sound uniquely his own, Currin fuses traditional music with non-traditional means, combining elements of European classical, American jazz and 21st Century electronica.
Currin studied performance and composition at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, before moving to Massachusetts - a change that dramatically influenced and expanded his musicality. After receiving scholarships from the North American Talent Search and the Bryan Oliver Memorial Fund for Outstanding Artistic Achievement, Currin earned a Bachelor's degree in Percussion Performance from Berklee College of Music in Boston
In 2000 Currin was the winner of the Rivers Music School Composition Contest, and runner-up in the international contest held by composer Stuart Saunders-Smith. Consistently well received, Currin's works have been performed in New York by the world-renowned percussion ensemble, Ethos and the equally prestigious LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts. In Boston his work was performed as part of the 23rd Annual Seminar on Contemporary Music for the Young. Several ensembles in Georgia have also performed his compositions, including Macon Symphony Strings, Saoco World Percussion and numerous college and high school percussion ensembles.
"An avid performer, one of Currin's many strengths lies in his ability to de-mystify challenging and often complicated contemporary chamber and orchestral pieces. He has served as principle percussionist with the MIT Symphony Orchestra, Brookline Symphony, Gardner Chamber Orchestra, and has appeared as a guest percussionist with Boston Musica Viva. Even when playing more conventional works, Currin manages to bring a fresh vibrancy to traditional pieces.
"Perhaps Currin's passion for music truly emerges when his creativity is given free rein, such as with more eclectic, artistic projects and commissions, the likes of avant-garde cinema, contemporary puppet theatre and modern dance. With several guest-recording and composing credits, he is also featured on releases by two New York ensembles, Halfway to Hoboken, a third-stream/free jazz trio, and the new-world, Balkan, electro-acoustic group, Live Ambiance.
"Extensive touring throughout Europe, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic have greatly influenced Currin. While living in New York City he was employed as staff accompanist for modern dance classes at Tisch School of Performance Arts of New York University. Living in the city allowed ample opportunity to perform from a variety of genres and styles, including big band jazz, Latin, rock, funk, Greek, klezmer, and some that are simply beyond words.
"Currin currently resides in the middle Georgia area, where he has taught percussion since 1995. He serves as Director of Percussion at Northside High School, Perry High School, Perry Middle School, and is Co-Director of Percussion at Houston County High School. In Winter 2002, Currin will premiere a newly commissioned percussion concerto with Boston's Soria Chamber Players.
"Though difficult to sum in words, Jason Currin's versatile, innovative and intense sound is a direct reflection of his diverse interests and abilities, combined with years of study and experience. With an already impressive resume behind him, Currin continues to break ground, exploring new sonic possibilities while blurring music's stylistic lines."
-Corin M. Zaragoza-
