Sabian - Because Sound Matters

Chester Thompson

With a deep background in jazz, funk and rhythm 'n' blues, Chester Thompson has traveled a diverse path to his current position as one of the world's leading and most successful drummers. Best known for his long-time tenure with multi-platinum chart-toppers Genesis and Phil Collins, Chester's career has veered from steaming jazz with Jack McDuff, to odd-times and bold directions with Frank Zappa, to new world fusion with Weather Report, and tours and/or recordings with the Bee Gees, Freddie Hubbard, Take 6, George Duke, the Pointer Sisters, Rod Argent, and the Fire Merchants, among many, many others.

A highly dynamic and musical drummer, his solo release, A Beautiful Noise, also revealed a mature and creative composer.

A resident of Nashville, where he teaches at Belmont University and is active as a session drummer with major recording and touring names, Chester also remains an integral part of Genesis.

Gary Cook

With a long and varied career that has taken him around the world as both performer and teacher, Gary Cook exemplifies excellence in the art of percussion. Holding degrees from the University of Michigan, he is Professor of Music Emeritus and was founder and Director of Percussion Studies for the School of Music at the University of Arizona (Tucson) between 1975 and 2006. He is also Principal Percussionist with Colorado's Crested Butte Music Festival and has performed at many events across the USA and Europe, including the Percussive Arts International Convention (PASIC). He was the first recipient of the Putnam Excellence in Teaching Award, and has been awarded the James Anthony Sustained Excellence in Teaching Award, and the UA School of Music Maestro Award.

A contributing author to Percussive Notes magazine and The Encyclopedia of Percussion Instruments, Cook is currently President of the Percussive Arts Society.

Ian Wright

After studying mathematics at Scotland's Aberdeen University, Ian Wright embarked on a career in music, joining the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra as a percussionist in 1965. By 1966 he was appointed Principal Timpanist, a position he held until 2007 when he retired from the orchestra. Since 1973 Wright has coached the percussion section of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, of which he was once a member. In 1980 he was appointed Senior Tutor of Percussion at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester, and made a Fellow of the College in 1989. Preparation of the first Associated Board percussion syllabus saw him included in writing timpani and snare drum pieces for the examinations.

Today, while still very much in demand as a player and teacher, Ian Wright optimizes his influence as one of Britain's leading percussion authorities through his role as Director of Percussion Studies at the Royal Northern College of Music.