Hailed by the New York Times as “deeply expressive” for his groundbreaking recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations on solo marimba, Pius Cheung is widely known as one of the most important percussionists of his generation. Highlights of his recent engagements include concerto appearances with the Edmonton Symphony (Canada), Opole Sinfonietta (Poland), Hong Kong Philharmonic, and Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, with whom he performed his arrangement of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue for an audience of 20,000+. In addition, he has also presented solo recitals at venues such as Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, National Concert Hall in Taipei, Kyoto Arts Center (Japan), as well as music festivals around the globe such as the Usedom Music Festival (Germany), Manchester Music Festival, Hong Kong Arts Festival, Taiwan International Percussion Convention, Chiapas International Marimba Festival (Mexico), Drum Fest (Poland), Percussion Plus Festival (Denmark), Italy PAS International Percussion Festival, Osaka Percussion Festival and Shenyang International Percussion Festival (China).

His debut album of the complete Goldberg Variations by Bach on solo marimba was the first of its kind, and the only one to date. It was written about in a feature story in The New York Times, which praised not only the technical feat of performing the intricacies of this keyboard work with 4 mallets, but also expressed admiration for his “deeply expressive interpretation, notable for its clear voicing, eloquent phrasing and wide range of color and dynamics.” Since then, he has released another CD album, Symphonic Poem, featuring his own compositions. He has also recorded extensively the works of renowned composer, Bright Sheng, including his marimba concerto Colours of Crimson with the Hong Kong Philharmonic.

Furthermore, he is one of the most sought-after composers for percussion today. His latest works include Allegro Brutale for solo marimba, commissioned by Dame Evelyn Glennie in celebration of her 50th birthday; Heaven and Earth, a 20 minute tone poem for percussion ensemble written for the Ju Percussion Group; and marimba concerto, Princess Chang Ping, commissioned by Pei-Ching Wu and the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra.

An inspiring teacher to young percussionists, Mr. Cheung frequently serves as a competition judge at national and international competitions, as well as presents masterclasses at renowned institutions such as the Juilliard School, Curtis Institute of Music, Manhattan School of Music, Amsterdam Conservatory, Paris Conservatory, Berklee Valencia, Toho Gakuen (Japan) and Beijing Central Conservatory.

Mr. Cheung was winner of the 2008 Young Concert Artists International Auditions. As a teenager, he has appeared as concerto soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra, as well as toured as a concerto soloist in Canada, Australia and Russia, representing Canada at the World Music Forum 1998 in Moscow.

A native of Hong Kong, Mr. Cheung moved to Vancouver at the age of 12. He received his Bachelor of Music from the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, his Artist Diploma from The Boston Conservatory, and his Doctorate from the University of Michigan. He endorses Yamaha, Zildjian, Remo, and Innovative Percussion, which produces his signature mallet series. Mr. Cheung is currently an Associate Professor and Chair of the Percussion Area at the University of Oregon.

“...the demeanour and virtuosity of soloist Eriko Daimo made this a performance to remember. Watching and hearing the four mallets play slow-moving, long-line, four part harmony was extraordinary....” -The Irish Times

“Highly impressive. The delicate percussionist Eriko Daimo delivered her musical performance brimming with energy and superb dynamics.... The audience was ecstatic in its enthusiasm and would not let her leave the stage without an enchanting encore.” -Volksstimme

Praised for her ‘mesmerizing combination of sound and sight’ (Irish Times), the award-winning marimbist, Eriko Daimo, is one of the leading artists of her field.

Her recent performances include concerto performances with some of the world’s leading orchestras such as the RTE Ireland National Symphony Orchestra, Tampere Philharmonic in Finland, Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra, Sophia Philharmonic in Bulgaria, Osaka Symphony Orchestra, Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra, Magdeburg Philharmonic Orchestra in Germany, Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra and Orchestra Nipponika among others; as well as recital tours over 20 countries in Asia, Europe and the Americas. She has given recitals and masterclasses in some of today’s most recognized percussion festivals, including the Taiwan International Percussion Convention, Italy PAS Percussion Festival, International Marimba Festival in Minneapolis, Internacional de Marimbistas in Mexico, Festival des Journees de la Percussion in Paris, Universal Marimba Festival in Belgium, KOSA International Music Festival in the US, International Percussion festival in Korea, International League of Artists Marimba Festival in Tokyo, Bamberg International Marimba Festival in Germany, and PASIC.

As an educator, she has given concerts and masterclasses at music institutions including the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, Paris Conservatory, Royal Irish Academy of Music, Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen, San Francisco Conservatory, Colburn Conservatory, among others. Also, she has been presenting a series of masterclasses at New York University since 2013.

She served as a judge for the New York International Percussion Competition(2016, 2018), Percussion Arts Society International Percussion Competition(2011,2012, 2013, 2017), Majaoja Percussion Competition(Finland), Italy PAS Percussion Competition, Latin America Marimba Competition in Mexico, and Bamberg International Marimba Competition(Germany), Universal Marimba Competition in Belgium.

As a student, she has won top prizes in numerous competitions, including 1st prizes at the International Marimba Competition 2004 in Belgium, Japan International League of Artists Competition, Japan PAS 20th Annual Percussion Solo Competition 2004, and Japan Soloist Music Competition and more.

Born in Kagoshima, Japan, Ms. Daimo began her musical studies at age five on the piano. She started studying the marimba when she entered high school in 1997, and went on to study at the Aichi Prefectural University of Fine Arts and Music and the Boston Conservatory.

Ms. Daimo is an endorser of Marimba One, Innovative Percussion Inc., and Zildjian company. She is on the faculty and Director of Marimba Studies at the New York University Steinhardt and faculty at The Juilliard School pre-college division.