Former Principal Percussionist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Edward (Ted) Atkatz has performed with the Atlanta Symphony, Boston Symphony, Boston Pops, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Houston Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Pacific Symphony, Seattle Symphony, and the Santa Barbara Symphony. Now residing in Los Angeles, Ted is a studio musician as well as a performer in both the orchestral world and with his band, NYCO. Ted is an active teacher and clinician: he’s currently a faculty member at Lynn Conservatory of Music in Boca Raton, Florida; the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California; and the Texas Music Festival in Houston, Texas. He has given clinics and masterclasses worldwide, and is a three-time PASIC clinician.

Ted began his studies at age 10 at the Bloomingdale House of Music in New York City and later attended the preparatory division at Manhattan School of Music. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Percussion Performance and Music Education, magna cum laude, from Boston University. His graduate studies were at the New England Conservatory of Music and at Temple University, where he worked with Alan Abel of the Philadelphia Orchestra. An avid long-distance runner, Mr. Atkatz ran the Chicago Marathon in 2001 with a time or 2:59:32, and ran the Santa Barbara Marathon in 2012 with a time or 3:09:34.