pax duo
pax duo is a dynamic new percussion project created by Tristan Swihart and Micah Detweiler. Based in Goshen, IN and Madison, WI. pax duo aims to break preconceptions of contemporary percussion through collaboration and new creation of genre bending works.
Tristan and Micah first met in the fall of 2012 when Micah began working with the Northridge Raider Marching Band in Middlebury, IN where Tristan was a student. The marching band show that year was entitled Et in Terra Pax. Since then they have gone from student and teacher to close friends and colleagues.
As an active performing ensemble, pax duo has more than 20 engagements yearly; including community performances, clinics at secondary schools, and presentations for university students. They continually work on new projects, commissions, and growing their list of collaborators.
pax duo are Malletech performing artists and are proud to endorse their products.
Micah Detweiler is an in demand teacher and performer based in Northern Indiana. He has taught at Northridge High School and Middle School, The University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Goshen College.
As a performer Micah has shared the stage with Third Coast Percussion, appeared on “A Prairie Home Companion”, and played a solo concerto with the Goshen College Orchestra. Garrison Keillor described his playing as, “An astonishing beautiful musical event. Everything. All of it. Mesmerizing and Elegant.” He has performed in masterclasses with Leigh Howard Stevens, Svet Stoyanov, and composer Elliot Cole.
Micah is a graduate of Goshen College and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His principal teachers were Dr. Anthony DiSanza, and Dr. Christopher Fashun, with additional world percussion study with Thomas Ross and Todd Hammes. Micah has also spent four summers studying and instructing with Leigh Howard Stevens at the Indiana LHS Marimba Seminar.
Tristan Swihart is a percussionist based in Madison, WI. Being equal parts performer, educator, and arts administrator, Tristan keeps himself busy as a freelance artist. When not on the road performing or teaching private lessons, Tristan enjoys reading, kayaking, and riding his bike. He is also actively involved in the process of creating new works for percussion, having been a part of multiple commissions and world premieres with several composers such as Austin Keck, Elizabeth Gartman, and Victor LaBozzetta.
Tristan received a Bachelor of Music degree and Arts Leadership certificate from the Eastman School of Music, where he studied with Professor Michael Burritt as well as adjunct professors Brian Kushmaul, Chip Ross, Jim Ross, and Rich Thompson. Tristan previously studied with Micah Detweiler.
In addition to his contemporary and classical music background from Eastman, Tristan also studies Brazilian percussion with master drummer Jorge Alabê in both Brazil and the US. He has performed with Grupo Samba Rio based in Oakland, California, and is an active member of the Madison, WI based Handphibians and Saideira Pagode.
