folx Percussion is a percussion group created by its founders Kendall Rhymer and McKenzie Squires. Their mission is to create a safe and positive environment for an all female and non-binary percussionist group where its members are free to create music and explore the unconventional.
Kendall Rhymer (she/they) and McKenzie Squires (they/she) met during their undergraduate studies where they worked with Adam Groh and Diana Loomer at Western Carolina University. Their love for performing in percussion ensembles and chamber groups started during the pandemic when they attended So Percussion’s Summer Institute via zoom. Here they found an environment that allowed them to express themselves how they wanted to without judgment. This environment fostered conversations about what it is like to be a womxn in the percussion field. After SoSI, the idea that they should take their passion and love for playing with one another and create a space for people like them to do the same originated.
We took our time during the pandemic and our first year of graduate school in different parts of the US to create and brainstorm what folx Percussion would look like. Now we are ready to introduce folx to the world. Our goal is to create an environment through percussion performance that is conscious of percussionists impact on the physical, emotional, and social world around us.
The name folx Percussion was the result of a brainstorming session at the beginning of the Covid-19 Pandemic in 2020 before the term folx became a popular label used for inclusivity of all kinds of people. Folks is a phrase used daily for both Kendall and McKenzie because of their roots in the Appalachian mountains of North Carolina. The ‘x’ at the end was meant as a call-back to their many conversations about founding a percussion duo over moonshine- a staple drink in NC commonly represented through images of an ‘x’. It is a happy accident that we chose to spell folks with an x instead of a ‘ks’ and that this term has come to embody what we want our ensemble to embody.
Squires is a percussionist based out of New York City. Rhymer is based in Kirksville, Missouri.
Kendall Rhymer (she/they) and McKenzie Squires (they/she) met during their undergraduate studies where they worked with Adam Groh and Diana Loomer at Western Carolina University. Their love for performing in percussion ensembles and chamber groups started during the pandemic when they attended So Percussion’s Summer Institute via zoom. Here they found an environment that allowed them to express themselves how they wanted to without judgment. This environment fostered conversations about what it is like to be a womxn in the percussion field. After SoSI, the idea that they should take their passion and love for playing with one another and create a space for people like them to do the same originated.
We took our time during the pandemic and our first year of graduate school in different parts of the US to create and brainstorm what folx Percussion would look like. Now we are ready to introduce folx to the world. Our goal is to create an environment through percussion performance that is conscious of percussionists impact on the physical, emotional, and social world around us.
The name folx Percussion was the result of a brainstorming session at the beginning of the Covid-19 Pandemic in 2020 before the term folx became a popular label used for inclusivity of all kinds of people. Folks is a phrase used daily for both Kendall and McKenzie because of their roots in the Appalachian mountains of North Carolina. The ‘x’ at the end was meant as a call-back to their many conversations about founding a percussion duo over moonshine- a staple drink in NC commonly represented through images of an ‘x’. It is a happy accident that we chose to spell folks with an x instead of a ‘ks’ and that this term has come to embody what we want our ensemble to embody.
Squires is a percussionist based out of New York City. Rhymer is based in Kirksville, Missouri.
folx Percussion Duo
our Debut - terracotta
A week of rehearsals and recording sessions that ended in a night in the round performed at Kendall's Alma Mater: Truman State University.
terracotta, noun refers to a vessel, figure, or structural form made from the earth.
Inspired by Sequoia, a staple in our repertoire, we chose these pieces based off of their earthly, unpolished, and accessible qualities. While not all the pieces utilize terracotta as an instrument, we find something in their structure, concept, or methods to be honest and welcoming much like the simple potted plants utilized in our favorite pieces.
the Program
the Show
terracotta, noun refers to a vessel, figure, or structural form made from the earth.
Inspired by Sequoia, a staple in our repertoire, we chose these pieces based off of their earthly, unpolished, and accessible qualities. While not all the pieces utilize terracotta as an instrument, we find something in their structure, concept, or methods to be honest and welcoming much like the simple potted plants utilized in our favorite pieces.
the Program
the Show
sequoia - Yaz Lancasterfolx percussion duo performs Sequoia by Yaz Lancaster.
A throwback that was recently published through Western Carolina University's Percussion Studio. Read about the piece and Yaz here.
Program Notes:
This piece is about the recognition of biodiversity loss, through the specific and personal example of redwood trees. It is also about taking time to notice and appreciate nature around you, as this loss is happening. For the performance of this piece, two of the performers (or two groups of performers) are required to first choose a spot in a natural location that they enjoy, and to record 3 minutes of sound in a single, continuous recording. These sounds will then be triggered at two points during the piece, the first being at bar 35 by one performer, the second being at bar 48 by the other. |
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our First Performance Together
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Our first performance as a duo for an audience occurred at Squires' final undergraduate recital!
folx performed Sequoia by Yaz Lancaster and was joined by 3 other (wonderful) percussionists for Emma O'Halloran's meditation for metal pipes. Program Notes Video |
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the Creation of a Duo
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Ceci N'est Pas Un Jouet by Gene Koshinski is a piece that I have had sitting in my stack of random pieces of music for a couple of years now, but I've never played it. The only other person that I knew of that had a hand-crank music box was Kendall Rhymer, so we sat down the other day and played through it. I am obsessed with the sounds that we created and this wonderful piece! Make sure to go check out Quey Percussion's original version and the dance that goes with the piece!!
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vous Avez Du Feu?Quarantine hit everyone differently and when my junior recital was cancelled I decided that I still wanted to be creative. The ladies of the percussion studio and I were supposed to perform Vous avez du Feu? by Emmanuel Séjourné. Since the piece is very accessible we moved online. I immediately forgot about it in all the chaos but I finally finished it. May I present four of the six Womxn of the WCU Percussion Studio performing Vous avez du feu? Enjoy!
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