Jeff Stern
percussion (icarus Quartet)
Known for performing “with precision and an impressive attention to timbral detail” (Boston Musical Intelligencer), percussionist Jeff Stern has developed a voice to listen for in today’s contemporary music scene. He has performed extensively throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia, and has collaborated with a number of the world’s most prominent composers. Notable premieres include Alejandro Viñao’s Stress and Flow with The Percussion Collective, James Wood’s Secret Dialogues for solo marimba, and John Luther Adams’ Sila at Lincoln Center’s Out of Doors Festival.
Jeff is the executive director, co-artistic director, and founding percussionist of icarus Quartet, a 2 piano/2 percussion group and winner of the 2019 Chamber Music Yellow Springs Competition. As a core member of The Percussion Collective, his concert highlights include a live broadcast for WXQR’s Midday Masterpieces, a headlining performance at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention, a recital at the Kennedy Center with virtuoso violinist Paul Huang, and concerto appearances with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Florida Orchestra, and the Phoenix Symphony. Jeff has appeared at the Eighth Blackbird Creative Lab, the Yellow Barn, Bang on a Can, Lake George, Annapolis Chamber Music, and Norfolk Chamber Music festivals, and can be heard on the Albany, Furious Artisans, Elm City, Bright Shiny Things, figureight, and Cantaloupe record labels.
Jeff has served on the percussion faculty at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University since 2017 and at the Luzerne Music Center since 2022. He holds degrees from UMass Amherst, the Peabody Conservatory, and the Yale School of Music. Jeff is a proud artist endorser of Vic Firth sticks and mallets, Zildjian cymbals, Evans drumheads, and Pearl/Adams drums and percussion.
