Bio
McKenzie Squires is a New York City based Percussionist with a passion for world music, research, composition and most importantly performing with fellow musicians. She is in her second year of her Masters in Music at NYU. At NYU she performs in the Wind Symphony, Orchestra, Percussion Ensemble, Percussion Chamber Music Ensemble, Steel Band, and African Gyil and Percussion Ensemble. She primarily studies under Valerie Naranjo (PAS Hall of Fame 2021), Javier Diaz (freelance percussionist), Josh Quillen (So Percussion), Kendall K Williams (composer, panist) and James Saporito (NYC Ballet).
McKenzie can be seen in Harlem playing djembe and gyil, Brooklyn with So Percussion or near Steel Pans, in Manhattan with Sandbox Percussion or traveling to nearby states to perform at theaters, Bang on a Can, and art galleries!
In her free time she obsessively practices solo glockenspiel pieces, researches the history of the music that she is playing from minimalism to Pan to Gyil, and produces content for Instagram. Occasionally she can be found composing electronic music from sound bites and pre-recorded materials. She is a founding member of folx Percussion as well as a member of the NYU Quartet each year. So Percussion is happy to have her as their newest intern where she is learning how to run a percussion ensemble (and run a non-profits social media).
She can also be found talking about and commissioning new works about representation within the percussion community. She has written articles for the International Alliance for Women in Music Journal about her struggle to prove herself as a woman in a male dominated industry. She has showcased talents of women within percussion on her instagram. She is currently commissioning a piece by Brian Ellis for Double Seconds about an experience where she was told she would be better off as a secretary rather than a percussionist.
McKenzie can be seen in Harlem playing djembe and gyil, Brooklyn with So Percussion or near Steel Pans, in Manhattan with Sandbox Percussion or traveling to nearby states to perform at theaters, Bang on a Can, and art galleries!
In her free time she obsessively practices solo glockenspiel pieces, researches the history of the music that she is playing from minimalism to Pan to Gyil, and produces content for Instagram. Occasionally she can be found composing electronic music from sound bites and pre-recorded materials. She is a founding member of folx Percussion as well as a member of the NYU Quartet each year. So Percussion is happy to have her as their newest intern where she is learning how to run a percussion ensemble (and run a non-profits social media).
She can also be found talking about and commissioning new works about representation within the percussion community. She has written articles for the International Alliance for Women in Music Journal about her struggle to prove herself as a woman in a male dominated industry. She has showcased talents of women within percussion on her instagram. She is currently commissioning a piece by Brian Ellis for Double Seconds about an experience where she was told she would be better off as a secretary rather than a percussionist.
McKenzie has been able to travel and perform around the Eastern United States.
Her most recent performance took her to Massachusetts, upstate New York, and New Jersey to premiere Michael Gordon's newest piece: Field of Visions. Her work with So Percussion and the UMich Percussionists allowed her to join Doug Perkins and 35 colleagues to premiere this work. She performed at Princeton University, Caramoor, PS21 in Chatham, and ended the tour at Bang on a Can. David Lang is quoted as calling her 'a badass - she had a job to do, did it, and when it was over she was done'.
Before this she was a sub for Morgan Parker at the 2Rivers Theater in Red Bank, NJ for a production of Three Sisters by Chekov. Here she played snare with a brass band and the troupe of actors.
While at Western Carolina University she travelled with The Pride of the Mountains to St. Louis Missouri, Charleston South Carolina, and New York City to perform in the Macy's Day Parade. With WCU's Percussion Ensemble traveled to Indianapolis to perform at the Percussive Arts Society's International Convention. Here she performed Andrew Worden's Escape!
Artists she has worked with: Matchstick Percussion, Kendall K Williams, So Percussion, Sandbox Percussion, Kicking Pigeons Quartet, Adam Groh, Jason Treuting, Dr. Andrew Lynge, Colleen Bernstein, Dr. Diana Loomer, Ivan Trevino, Michael Burritt, She-e Wu, Valerie Naranjo, Javier Diaz, Shelby Blezing-McCay, Josh Samuels, Mariana Ramirez, Elena Bonomo, and many more.
Notable Projects:
Curious Surroundings Clif Walker's (premiere), Escape by Worden, meditation for metal pipes by Emma O'Halloran or Head to Toe (for Steel) by Molly Joyce
Everybody Hits project
Representation Projects
McKenzie got her first paid teaching job as a Student Leader at Western Carolina's Summer Symposium Camp for middle schoolers and high schoolers. She helped lead and teach Front Ensemble. Her students decided to named the groups the Krusty Krabs and the Great Googly Mooglies, forming a group bond that will last for a long time. During the Pandemic she went from teaching several private students in person to teaching online. Now that we are returning to things in person she is teaching as an adjunct percussion instructor at NYU. She can also be found on Outschool teaching classes on minimalism, music in film, and other fun topics.
B.M. in Percussion - Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC - Adam Groh, Diana Loomer
M.M. Percussion Performance - NYU'23, NYC
Notable Projects:
Curious Surroundings Clif Walker's (premiere), Escape by Worden, meditation for metal pipes by Emma O'Halloran or Head to Toe (for Steel) by Molly Joyce
Everybody Hits project
Representation Projects
McKenzie got her first paid teaching job as a Student Leader at Western Carolina's Summer Symposium Camp for middle schoolers and high schoolers. She helped lead and teach Front Ensemble. Her students decided to named the groups the Krusty Krabs and the Great Googly Mooglies, forming a group bond that will last for a long time. During the Pandemic she went from teaching several private students in person to teaching online. Now that we are returning to things in person she is teaching as an adjunct percussion instructor at NYU. She can also be found on Outschool teaching classes on minimalism, music in film, and other fun topics.
B.M. in Percussion - Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC - Adam Groh, Diana Loomer
M.M. Percussion Performance - NYU'23, NYC