New Jersey native Jeff Calissi (b. 1976) has a broad range of experience as a pedagogue, performing artist and composer. The world of percussion has taken him to Europe, Canada, and throughout the United States performing in a variety of wind, percussion, and chamber ensembles, symphony orchestras, opera companies, and musical theater productions.

Jeff ’s compositions, arrangements, and recordings are available from C. Alan Publications and Garden State Publications, and his research and writings on percussion can be found in Percussive Notes and Rhythm! Scene magazine. He is an educational artist with Vic Firth sticks and mallets and Marimba One instruments.

Jeff holds memberships in the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, the College Music Society, the National Association of College Wind and Percussion Instructors, and the Percussive Arts Society. He has performed and presented at the conferences of CMS, PAS, the Eastern Trombone Workshop, the International Tuba and Euphonium Conference, the National Conference on Percussion Pedagogy, and at the Center for Mallet Percussion Research.

Jeff received a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from Radford University and both a Master of Music and a Doctor of Musical Arts in Performance from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro where he was inducted into Pi Kappa Lambda national music honor society. He is an associate professor of music at Eastern Connecticut State University where he directs the Eastern Percussion Studio, teaches courses in music theory and ear-training and sight-singing, and performs in the faculty percussion duo Confluence.

In his life outside the classroom and off-stage, Jeff enjoys spending time with his wife, pianist Rebecca Calissi, watching the New York Rangers start each season on a winning streak, and being a middle-of-the-pack triathlete. He continues his quest for the perfect Italian dinner.

Website: www.JeffCalissi.com