Percussionist and Composer, Germany/USA

Born and raised in South Dakota, Robyn Schulkowsky has been an innovator and collaborator throughout her life. She has dedicated herself to revealing the wonders of percussion to people around the world. Her continuous exploration of new sound dimensions has led to the development of new and unusual musical instruments. An active musician on five continents, Robyn moved to Germany during a heyday of experimental and adventurous classical composition. She has premiered and recorded some of the most important solo percussion works of the 20th and 21st centuries, working with composers Karlheinz Stockhausen, Iannis Xenakis, and Morton Feldman, presenting their works on tours in Africa, India, Asia, the USA, South America and Mexico. Robyn Schulkowsky’s adventurous nature connects her with exceptional project partners, and, also with alternative performance spaces. She has collaborated with legendary African drummer Kofi Ghanaba, visual artist Guenther Uecker, actress Edith Clever, social scientist Nilam Ram, and choreographers Merce Cunningham and Sasha Waltz. Schulkowsky’s virtuosity has been captured on over 20 recordings, including cds with violist Kim Kashkashian and trumpet players Nils Petter Molvaer and Reinhold Friedrich, and seminal recordings of compositions by Morton Feldman and Christian Wolff, with whom she has collaborated for over 20 years.