PROGRAM
John Psathas (b. 1966)
John Psathas
Fabian Ziegler, soloist
John Psathas
John Psathas
arr. Omar Carmenates (2015)
Will Vasquez, marimba
Percussion Ensemble Personnel
J.J. Baker, Kylan Bigby, Caleb Blakeslee, Ethan Brink, Jordan Brown, Chance Douglas
Jake Fenoff, Ian Guarraia, Waylon Hansel, Miranda Hughes, Drew Jungslager
Jackson Kowalczyk, Caitlin Magennis, Cole Martin, Will McCoy, Owen Montgomery
Gabby Overholt, Austin Pelella, Aiden Pippin, Mackenzie Selimi, Kenneth Sharkey, Sami Smith
Tim Thomas, Ethan Turner, Will Vasquez, Jessica Weinberg, and Darci Wright
To Ensure An Enjoyable Concert Experience For All…
Please refrain from talking, entering, or exiting during performances. Food and drink are prohibited in all concert halls. Recording or broadcasting of the concert by any means, including the use of digital cameras, cell phones, or other devices is expressly forbidden. Please deactivate all portable electronic devices including watches, cell phones, pagers, hand-held gaming devices or other electronic equipment that may distract the audience or performers.
Recording Notice: This performance may be recorded. Please note that members of the audience may at times be included in this process. By attending this performance you consent to have your image or likeness appear in any live or recorded video or other transmission or reproduction made in conjunction to the performance.
Florida State University provides accommodations for persons with disabilities. Please notify the College of Music at (850) 644-3424 at least five working days prior to a musical event to request accommodation for disability or alternative program format.
Ioannis (John) Psathas was born in Wellington New Zealand on July 3, 1966. From genre-crossing projects with jazz legends Michael Brecker and Joshua Redman, to an e-book scoring collaboration with Salman Rushdie, from a recording session with the Grand Mufti in Paris’s Grand Mosque, to a Billboard classical-chart-topping album with System of a Down front man Serj Tankian, Psathas’s musical journey weaves through myriad of genres, and has moved concert audiences in more than 50 countries on all 7 continents (even Antarctica). His music emerges from a dazzling 21st century backdrop, where dynamic collaboration with creative masters from all corners of the physical and artistic globe result in outcomes that are visionary, moving, and inspired.
Early collaborations included working with luminaries like Sir Mark Elder, Kristjan Jarvi, the Takacs Quartet, Lara St. John, the Netherlands Blazers Ensemble, Evelyn Glennie, Edo de Wart, Joanna MacGregor, Pedro Carneiro, the Halle Orchestra, The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, the Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, and many more. Then followed a period of intense creative exploration in the worlds of electronica and jazz, and a series of mega-projects (such as scoring much of the opening ceremony of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games). All of which has led to an explosion of first-hand collaborations with artists from dozens of musical traditions spanning Asia, Europe, North and South America, Africa, and Australasia.
John is now developing projects that integrate the many strands of this creative journey. Much of his recent work has social and historical commentary at its core. Recently, the epic and experimental No Man’s Land project challenged the accepted handling of WWI commemoration. No Man’s Land involved filming and integrating 150 musicians from more than 25 different countries, including Oum El Ghait (Morocco), Meeta Pandit (India), Bijan Chemirani (Iran/France), Marta Sebestyen (Hungary), Vagelis Karipis (Greece), Refugees of Rap (Syria), Derya Turkan and Saddredin Ozcimi (Turkey) and many more.
Fabian Ziegler has swiftly emerged as a visionary force in the world of percussion, boldly expanding the repertoire with new commissions and collaborations with musicians and composers all around the world. Dedicated to the forefront of contemporary percussion music, Fabian champions works by luminary composers such as Avner Dorman, Arash Safaian, John Psathas, Serj Tankian, Daniel Schnyder, and many more. His mission is to elevate percussion performance to new heights through original projects with leading composers worldwide.
Ziegler’s career has been marked by prestigious collaborations with esteemed ensembles including the Musikkollegium Winterthur, the Zurich Chamber Orchestra, Christchurch SymphonyOrchestra, Orchestra Wellington, City Light Symphony Orchestra, Zurich Sing-Akademie, Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana, Argovia Philharmonic, and the New Century Chamber Orchestra, among others. His performances span global stages from the Konzerthaus Berlin and Berliner Philharmonie to the Lincoln Center in New York and Sejong Chamber Hall in Seoul. Noteworthy engagements include appearances with Martin Grubinger’s Percussive Planet Ensemble and acclaimed premieres like Arkadiusz Katny’s “Circles” for solo percussion and choir, Arash Safaian’s “Ex-Machina” for solo percussion and orchestra and John Psathas’ “The All-Seeing Sky,” a double percussion concerto dedicated to Fabian Ziegler and Luca Staffelbach.
In the 2024/2025 season, Ziegler anticipates debuts with the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra and Staatsorchester Braunschweig performing different concertos by Dorman, alongside recital performances across South Korea, the United States, Lithuania, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland with repertoire that ranges from
classical masters like Ravel to contemporary icons such as John Psathas and Iannis Xenakis.
In December 2017, Fabian Ziegler won the Migros Culture Percentage Study Prize for the second time since 2015 for his extraordinary solo performance during the instrumental music competition. In 2018 and 2020 he won the Kiefer-Hablitzel / Göhner Music Prize and was a semi-finalist at the International TROMP Percussion Competition in those same two years.
A native of Switzerland, Ziegler is a graduate of the Zurich University of the Arts and has studied under the tutelage of Professors Klaus Schwärzler, Raphael Christen, and Benjamin Forster, as well as percussion virtuoso Martin Grubinger.
Ziegler endorses Adams musical instruments, Meinl cymbals, Giannini Swiss Drums, and mallets by Infinity Percussion, where he has developed his own signature line of vibraphone mallets.
