Sonic Smithy is both a student musical ensemble and a creative sound workshop devoted exclusively to the living music and great musicians of our time and place. (2011, NYC, USA) The ensemble encourages students to explore many styles of music composition, performance and improvisation. Sonic Smithy aims to encourage students to take advantage of their creative skills as arrangers and improvisers at any point in their journey toward technical mastery of their instruments, with the understanding that an awareness of their expressive needs will drive their practice and inspire the acquisition of new skills and artistic dreams. The ensemble aims to emphasize this creative process in order to foster an open attitude about the many ways music can be conceived, explored, composed and performed, at any level, and in any genre.

Konrad Meissner is a drummer who loves Sonic Smithy and the work that Nicole is doing with them.  Konrad has played locally and toured nationally and internationally with many artists and he is honored to be stepping out of assistant teacher mode and into guest artist mode.  Normally he plays with singer-songwriters (Syd Straw, Graham Parker, Teddy Thompson), rock (Tracy Bonham, The Silos) and pop bands (Matt Nathanson, Katy Perry) , but looks forward to re-interpreting his work through the Sonic Smithy lens for their performance on June 5th.  He is also looking forward to touring with Brandi Carlile this summer.  For more information, please go to www.konradmeissner.com.