Korry Friend (b. 1993) is an active percussionist, educator, and composer, throughout the United States. As an advocate for new music, Friend has recently commissioned pieces from composers Adam Hopper, Anna Meadors, Evan Chapman, Francisco Perez, Ivan Trevino, and Timothy Burgess. His percussion career began during his years in high school performing with numerous community bands and university sponsored wind ensembles in and around Dayton, Ohio. Korry’s collegiate career has afforded him multiple distinguished performing opportunities, such as the PASIC 2015 Showcase Concert with The University of North Carolina–Greensboro Percussion Ensemble, the UNCG Wind Ensemble Tour to Europe, The Kentucky Music Educators Association Conference with the MSU Symphony Band, the MSU Percussion Ensemble Tour to China, the KMEA Intercollegiate Orchestra, and the Sacred Winds Ministries. Friend is also the 2014 winner of Morehead State University’s prestigious Gallaher competition. In his time as a percussion educator he has taught and adjudicated numerous high school bands/competitions in West Virginia, Kentucky, Nebraska, and Ohio.

During Korry’s time in North Carolina, he was a section percussionist of the nationally renowned North Carolina Brass Band. Korry can be heard on the Sacred Winds Ministries first ever studio album “In Christ Alone.” Korry has also recently performed John Luther Adam’s Inuksuit with the Nief-Norf Project and Steve Schick at the Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, TN.

Friend is currently a Doctorate of Musical Arts candidate at The University of Nebraska – Lincoln under Dr. Dave Hall. Korry received his Masters of Music Performance (2017) from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro under Dr. Eric Willie, and his Bachelors of Music Education (2015) from Morehead State University under Dr. Brian S. Mason. Friend also attended Tianjin Normal University in Tianjin, China in 2013, where he studied Mandarin Chinese and the history/culture of China.