About Pathos Trio

"Elevated themselves into those elite ranks alongside Yarn/Wire, Sō Percussion, Tigue, Iktus and Ensemble Et Al", as described by the New York Music Daily, Pathos Trio (percussionists Marcelina Suchocka, Felix Reyes, and pianist/composer Will Healy) is a two percussion and piano trio committed to combining aesthetics of contemporary classical music with their interests in dark, heavy, dense sounds drawn from various genres of music such as alternative rock, progressive/black metal, cathedral music, minimalist music, electronic synth-wave, and more, while also aiming to bring adventurous music to audiences through collaborations with young, living new music composers.

Their accolades include being Semi Finalists for Concert Artist Guild's 2022 Victor Elmaleh Virtual Competition, 2021 & 2022 Ensemble Forward Grantees from Chamber Music America, and receiving project support from various national music organizations and NYS sources of funding such as New Music USA, Foundation for Contemporary Arts, Johnstone Fund for New Music, Amphion Foundation, and New York State Council for the Arts, amongst others.

Recent Press/Reviews

Pianist Magazine: "Marcelina Suchocka and Felix Reyes, and pianist Will Healy succeeds in altering what many of us will automatically envision when we think of the phrase chamber music..This is a multidimensional album full of flavour and drama." - Ellie Palmer, Digital Editor

New Sounds Radio Soundcheck Podcast: "The Brooklyn Based Pathos Trio has, to paraphrase Liam Neeson, a very specific set of skills." - John Schaefer, New Sounds Radio Host

AM:plified Magazine: "Pathos trio has not only surpassed itself with "Polarity", but has also created a milestone in contemporary music..This album is a must for lovers of experimental sounds and creative collaboration." - Alexander Moell, Editor

Metalhead - Italy: "Dark, provocative, hypnotic sounds and rhythms: acoustic, electronic dimensions, improvisations, digressions, sudden turns... all in the comfortable peace of seductive, brilliant... often even destabilizing progressions. 10/10." - Luca Zakk, Editor

I Care If You Listen: “In 21600.. an orange luminescence washes over a dim performance space where the trio — percussionists Marcelina Suchocka and Felix Reyes, and pianist Will Healy — paints a meditative instrumental ambience. But the neon lights, and the double percussion set, also suggest a pent-up intensity that is about to erupt into rhythmic interaction between the musicians.” - Amanda Cook, Editor

About Polarity

Serving as a continuation of the work done in their first album When Dark Sounds Collide [New Focus Recordings], Polarity continues to blur the lines between non classical genres of music (such as post rock music, electronic synth-wave, alternative rock, and heavy metal music) and classical/contemporary music in new and innovative ways. To that extent, Polarity features new works for percussion and piano by composers Ian Chang (from Son Lux), Phong Tran (from MEDIAQUEER), Andrew M. Rodriguez (from Close Your Eyes), Vicente Hansen Atria (from Orlando Furioso), Paul Mortilla, and Clara Warnaar (from Infinity Shred).

Whether that be through usage of electronic instruments such as MIDI keyboard, synthesizers, and sample pads in combination with acoustic instruments, doing live electronics in real time, or using pre-recorded/pre-made tracks that accompany the ensemble, their goal with Polarity was to create truly unique pieces of music that will engage, challenge, and appeal to audiences in both mainstream and classical/new music worlds.

About the Composers

Ian Chang

Born in the colony of Hong Kong in 1988, Chang has lived a nomadic life. Stationed out of New York for 10 years, he built an impressive roster of progressive pop collaborators such as Moses Sumney, Joan As Policewoman, and Matthew Dear, among others, all while performing internationally and recording as a member of Son Lux and Landlady. Now relocated to Dallas, Texas, Chang's discovered an inquisitive confidence that can only come from newfound isolation. Between tours, he dedicated himself to developing his international musical language, facilitated by a home studio and a burgeoning relationship.

As a percussionist and drumset player, Chang's magic starts with his method: from an improvised foundation of sampled percussion, he follows the innate logic of a musical conversation, allowing his compositional forms to reveal themselves. Through unedited performances without overdubs, Ian is always pushing the envelope to expand his palate, burrowing deeper into a layered, symphonic subconscious.

Clara Warnaar

Clara Warnaar (b. 1991, Los Angeles) is a percussionist, drummer and composer living in New York. A member of the International Contemporary Ensemble, Clara tends towards collaborative, devised and interdisciplinary projects. As the drummer for the band Infinity Shred, Clara thrives at the intersection of rock, electronic, improvised, and composed music, and is sought out as a drummer and collaborator for having this particular versatile blend of skills.

Clara’s own music merges field recordings, classical music and electronics, to create sound environments that evoke magic realism. In addition to the International Contemporary Ensemble, Clara has appeared as a guest artist with So Percussion, Yarn/Wire, the Bang on a Can Orchestra, Ensemble Signal, Nouvel Ensemble Moderne and the American Modern Ensemble. Recent projects include: “The Force of Things” by Ash Fure and Adam Fure, “PLACE” by Ted Hearne and Saul Williams (BAM), “Proving Up” by Missy Mazzoli (Opera Omaha), “Reich/Richter” by Steve Reich (The Shed), “Playground/Run” by Ellen Reid, and “The Back Door” by Martin Creed (Park Avenue Armory).

Phong Tran

Phong Tran (born 1993) is a Brooklyn-based composer and visual artist primarily working in digital and electronic mediums. His work revolves around emotions and experience in nonphysical spaces. His most recent album, “The Computer Room” is a thank you to virtual worlds, video games, message boards, and the people that filled them in the early 2000s.

Phong’s work has been released through New Amsterdam Records, people | places | records and slash sound, and he performs live using all analog and modular synthesizers. Phong currently is a part of MEDIAQUEER alongside fellow composer and visual artist Darian Donovan Thomas. MEDIAQUEER is an interdisciplinary project where Phong performs synthesizer and Darian is on violin, where they work together to create music accompanied by visual art and video.

Andrew Rodriguez

Andrew Rodriguez’s (b. 1989) interest in music began with stints as the guitarist for various metal/hardcore bands as a teenager. This path culminated with three full-length albums as one of the main songwriters for the hardcore/punk band Close Your Eyes on Chicago-based label, Victory Records. Rodriguez’s history as a performer sculpts the core of his musical identity. Having spent over three years touring the country, Andrew’s passion for the DIY scene continues to guide his creativity. The embedded experiences of performing intense and passionate music night after night have led to a musical language that is both raw and dramatically expressive. His music combines a personal history and love of indie rock with a traditional education in composition, and is expanded upon with through live electronics. 

Andrew’s inspirations vary widely, ranging from jazz, hip hop, and rock to contemporary and traditional classical genres. This wide spectrum of influences pushes him to explore truly unique and engaging approaches to songwriting and production. He is an alum of the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music and a former Bouman Fellow for Kinds of Kings’ 2019-20 residency at National Sawdust. Andrew holds degrees from Hardin-Simmons University and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Vicente Hansen Atria

Vicente Hansen Atria is a Chilean composer and drummer based in New York and Santiago. Described as “virtuosic”, “revelatory” (The New York Times) and “ecstatic, (...) filled with a wild distorted energy” (The Guardian), his music riffs on a wide range of idioms, from renaissance dances to Korean sanjo, creating lucid, futuristic sonic worlds. He has written for groups such as the Sun Ra Arkestra, JACK Quartet, Wet Ink Ensemble, Yarn/Wire, TAK Ensemble, International Contemporary Ensemble, Bozzini Quartet, Science Ficta, and Daedalus Quartet. 

As a drummer and composer, his music has been showcased at a wide variety of venues and festivals, including The Shed, moers Festival, MATA Festival, Roulette Intermedium, Re:Sound Festival, Festival Mixtur, ATLÁNTICX Festival, The Stone, Dizzy’s Club at JALC, Saint Vitus, Jazz Standard, and DiMenna Center for Classical Music, among others. His music has been released on Carrier Records, Aguirre Records, and Endectomorph Music, and has been reviewed by publications such as The New York Times, The Guardian, The Wire, Nettavisen, I Care If You Listen, Foxy Digitalis, Vinyl District, and Which Sinfonia.

Paul Mortilla

Paul Mortilla seeks to write engaging music that challenges many of the norms of new music. This is achieved through juxtaposing many different styles as a sort of collage. Paul draws influence from many genres within and outside classical music, from church music to electronic dance music. Paul began composition at the Frost School of Music in Miami, and went on to do a Bachelors of Music at Indiana University and complete his Masters in Composition at Yale University. 

As a composer Paul has received many awards/accolades and has worked with many ensembles/festivals to premiere his music, such as the Albany Symphony, Tanglewood Music Festival, Alarm Will Sound, and Mizzou International Composers Festival. Paul has and currently composes orchestral works, opera, chamber music and electronic music. Paul is currently pursuing his PhD in Composition at Rice University and during his down time serves as a librettist and visual artist for many multimedia collaborations.