Tyshawn Sorey

Tyshawn Sorey is a composer and multi-instrumentalist from New Jersey. In his work as a percussionist and drummer, Sorey places particular emphasis on exploring the sound, texture and timbre of the drums, which he does not want to be understood as a purely rhythmic instrument. For the Biennale Musica, however, he will perform as a pianist. Sorey performs internationally both with his own ensembles and with an impressive number of renowned artists from a wide variety of contexts. In his own music, he draws on ideas from a wide range of musical idioms, crossing the boundaries between genre, composition and improvisation, for which he was awarded the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship in 2017.