Artist: Tyshawn Sorey

Tyshawn Sorey is an American composer, multi-instrumentalist, and  professor of  contemporary music. 

Sorey has received accolades for performances, recordings, and compositions ranging from improvised solo percussion to opera, with work in best-of lists for both classical and jazz music. 

Sorey grew up in Newark, New Jersey, and attended Newark Arts High School. As a teenager, he participated in the New Jersey Performing Arts Center Jazz for Teens program, through which he was awarded a Star-Ledger Scholarship. 

In 2004, Sorey completed a B. Music in jazz studies and performance at William Paterson University, where he began as a classical trombone major before transferring to jazz drumming. 

After a number of years recording and performing as a sideperson for artists including Vijay Iyer and Steve Lehman, Sorey's first album as leader was released on Firehouse 12 Records in 2007. The 2-CD That/ Not features various configurations of Sorey, trombonist Ben Gerstein, pianist Cory Smythe, and bassist Thomas Morgan performing an extensive array of works, from "Seven Pieces for Trombone Quartet" to the forty-three minute "Permutations for Solo Piano." Sorey primarily plays drums, but also makes appearances on piano, including on the album's opening track. 

Sorey released his second album, Koan, in June 2009. Featuring Todd Neufeld (on electric and acoustic guitar) and Thomas Morgan (on bass and acoustic guitar), the 482 Music release was reviewed favorably by All About Jazz and the BBC, included in the 2009 Village Voice Jazz Critics’ Poll, and praised in NPR's "Take Five's Top 10 Jazz Records Of 2009". 

He completed his M.A. at Weslyan University in 2011 before beginning a doctoral program at Columbia University in the fall. His enrollment at Columbia coincided with the release of his highly-lauded Oblique I. 

During the six years of doctoral study that followed, Sorey worked closely with George E. Lewis and Fred Lerdahl; off-campus, he recorded three albums with pianist Cory Smythe and bassist Chris Tordini. In 2017, Sorey also completed his Doctor of Musical Arts in composition. His dissertation comprises scores for his song cycle Perle Noire: Meditations for Josephine and an essay on the aesthetic practices and critical reception of the composition, its subject Josephine Baker, and the composer himself.

Sorey then began his appointment as Assistant Professor of Music at Wesleyan University, where he established the university's Ensemble for New Music and taught courses on composition and improvised music. In the fall of 2017, he was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship for his work in music performance and composition.