bio
As a recipient of the 2019 Michigan State University Dissertation Completion Fellowship Award, Sebastian is currently researching the history and performance practices of tabla in Varanasi, India. His doctoral research is titled, “Deconstructing the Tabla Solo: A Visual Analysis Using the MacDonald/Mativetsky Notation System.” Preceding this research project, Sebastian served as a sabbatical-replacement instructor and graduate teaching assistant of percussion at Michigan State University where he taught applied percussion, percussion methods, and coached percussion ensemble. He was also on faculty at the Michigan State University Community Music School where he taught orchestral percussion, solo marimba, drum set, and tabla lessons. Prior to his appointments in Michigan, Sebastian was on the adjunct percussion faculty at Belmont University.
Sebastian specializes in chamber music, orchestral percussion, solo marimba, and North Indian tabla drumming. He has performed with several regional orchestras including the Lansing, Midland, and Jackson Symphony Orchestras, the Nashville Philharmonic Orchestra, various musical theater companies, and has collaborated with numerous chamber groups including the Nashville Composer Collective and the Tri Star Brass Ensemble—comprised of faculty musicians from Vanderbilt, Belmont, and Middle Tennessee State Universities. He has also performed as a soloist and chamber musician throughout the U.S., as well as in Scotland, Austria, Germany, and Italy. In Summer 2018, Sebastian was a fellow at the New Music Sessions in Cortona, Italy, where he collaborated with and premiered three works for Pierrot ensemble. In Spring 2017, Sebastian performed with the MSU Wind Symphony at the College Band Directors National Association conference at the Kauffman Center in Kansas City, MO. Shortly thereafter, the Wind Symphony recorded and released its CD, "Antique Violences. Music of John Mackey," on the Blue Griffin label. In Fall 2017, Sebastian performed with the MSU Percussion Ensemble at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention in Indianapolis, IN.
Sebastian Buhts is pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in percussion from Michigan State University. He earned his Master and Bachelor of Music degrees in percussion along with a Bachelor of Arts degree in German from Belmont University in Nashville, TN. He has also studied at the Hochschule for Musik in Dresden, Germany, the Aspen Music Festival and School, Zeltsman Marimba Festival, Leigh Howard Stevens Summer Marimba Seminar, and Summer Tabla Workshop with Shawn Mativetsky. In India, Sebastian studies tabla with Pandit Kishor Kumar Mishra of the Benares gharana.
