Biographies

Chris Lennard is a graduate of the University of Washington, where he studied with Thomas Collier and Michael Crusoe, and received majors in both Music Performance (classical percussion) and Music Education. He has taken a total of 23 years of lessons on both percussion instruments and piano, his first instrument, as well as nine years playing the French Horn and Bass Guitar. Prior to his involvement with SMQ, he has gone on two national tours of America with the Seattle Cascades Drum and Bugle Corps, an international tour of Japan with the University of Washington Wind Ensemble, and has participated in various ensembles ranging from the Everett Youth Symphony and the Everett Symphony to the Bellevue Philharmonic Orchestra and the Sammamish Symphony Orchestra.

Christian Krehbiel holds a Masters Degree in Percussion Performance from the University of Washington, where he studied with Tom Collier and Michael Crusoe. In addition to teaching private lessons, Christian also leads his own jazz vibraphone quartet and is a freelance percussionist in the Seattle area. He has performed and taught music in Japan with Tom Collier in 2005, and with the University of Washington Wind Ensemble in 2007. Christian holds a BA/BM in Percussion Performance from the University of Washington.

Craig Wende holds a Masters in Percussion Performance from the University of Washington and a Bachelors of Music in Percussion Performance from Eastern Washington University. Wende's main performance teachers include Marty Zyskowski, Tom Collier and Michael Crusoe. He has performed under the batons of renowned conductors such as Frederick Fennel, Anthony Meiello, Gordon Johnson, and Frank Battisti. As a percussionist Wende has performed with a number of groups including the Great Falls Symphony, the Great Falls Symphony Pops Orchestra, the Great Falls Municipal Summer Band, the Winds of Montana, the Puget Sound Symphony, the Sammamish Symphony, the Lyric Opera Northwest, and the Summer Stock pit orchestra in Idaho. Wende has been a guest performer with several different groups including the Spokane Area Children's Choir, the United States Air Force Brass Band, and the United States Army Field Band. He has also had acclaimed performances on KPBX public radio as a guest soloist in Spokane, Washington. Wende currently performs with, and is a founding member of SMQ.

Brian Yarkosky holds a B.M. degree from Lawrence Conservatory of Music and an M.M. degree from the University of Washington. Brian is a freelance percussionist in Seattle who teaches private lessons all over Western Washington. He regularly performs with many groups such as his percussion quartet, SMQ, as well as his flute/marimba duo, The Evergreen Duo, and regularly plays congas in the Caribbean music group Pan Leggo. Brian has performed with many Western Washington orchestral ensembles such as the Everett Symphony Orchestra, the Bellevue Ballet, Philharmonia Northwest, and Lyric Opera Northwest. He has toured internationally with The University of Washington Wind Ensemble to Japan, and performed in New York City's Carnegie Hall with The National Wind Ensemble. Brian studied with renowned marimba artist Julie Spencer and has performed along side marimba virtuoso Nancy Zeltsman, and two-time Tony Award winning actress/singer Bernadette Peters.