Waichi Champion - Founder
Waichi is a percussion performer and music educator based in Dallas, Texas. She has performed with professional ensembles across the world including the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, Hudson Valley Philharmonic, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra, Spectrum Ensemble and International Chamber Artists. In 2020, she performed as a guest artist at the Manhattan School of Music Virtual Percussion Summit.
Specializing in solo percussion, Waichi has won or placed at multiple solo marimba competitions including the Southern California Marimba Competition, the PASIC International Solo Competition and the Great Plains Marimba Competition.
Waichi holds a BM from the Manhattan School of Music and an MM from Northwestern University, both in Percussion Performance. She has studied with She-e Wu, Duncan Patton, Christopher Lamb, Erik Charlston, Vadim Karpinos, Shaun Tilburg and Chin-Tung Chau. She is also an alumni of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and the Music Academy of the West. Currently, Waichi is teaching at multiple high schools and middle schools in Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD and Frisco ISD in the DFW metroplex.
Will Champion - co-founder
Will Champion is a freelance percussionist and educator based in Dallas, TX. As a timpanist and percussionist, his recent performing experience includes the Ft. Worth Symphony, Chicago Philharmonic, Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and the Charlotte Symphony. He also held the position of Section Percussionist with the Hudson Valley Philharmonic in Poughkeepsie, NY during the 2017-2018 season. His performing and teaching career has taken him to ten states in the US, as well as a solo performance in the Netherlands at the TROMP 2016 International Percussion Competition. As an advocate of contemporary music, Will and his wife, Waichi, have premiered a new work for percussion duo, titled “Vim”, by retired Metropolitan Opera timpanist, Duncan Patton.
Currently, Will is teaching percussion for Frisco ISD, Allen ISD, Princeton ISD, Red Oak ISD, and Farmersville ISD in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. He has served as a percussion instructor for several school districts in South Carolina and Illinois, and appeared as a guest clinician in North Carolina and Florida.
Will received his BM in Percussion Performance from Northwestern University and his MM in Percussion Performance from the University of South Carolina. He also pursued graduate work at the Manhattan School of Music. His past teachers include Dr. Scott Herring, Christopher Lamb, Duncan Patton, Kyle Zerna, She-e Wu, James Ross, Vadim Karpinos, John R. Beck, Rick Dior, and Rick Fischer.
