FusionFest 2023
Thursday, March 30th
With a 20+ year history serving high school and college jazz ensembles, rock bands and contemporary music groups, Tiffin University's annual music festivals continue this year with the launch of FusionFest 2023. Participating groups will be featured in performance, and participate in workshops and clinics with a team of professional performers and educators. The Detroit funk-jazz-soul band Paddlebots will serve as guest artists, and featured clinicians include saxophonist Dominic Biernga and bassist Haruki Hakoyama.
Paddlebots
Paddlebots was born out of a college friendship between Kortez Buckner and Haruki Hakoyama – two remarkably different individuals who came together through a shared love and vision for music. Haruki’s upbringing in the world of jazz and the gospel/pop/soul influences that made up the soundtrack of Kortez’s life have coalesced into a sound that brings the best of these sensibilities together. In collaboration with their immensely gifted friends Andy, Dom, Mike, Zakariya, Ethan, Adam, and Conor, Paddlebots has forged a unique sound combining the accessibility of soul and pop with the sharp musicianship of funk and jazz that can be referred to simply as “Progressive Soul-Pop”. Paddlebots seeks to bring good feels and great vibes through their music, and nowhere is this more present than during their electric live performances. Groove-heavy rhythm backing horn-driven melodies over soulful vocals - it’s a recipe that is as unique as it is undeniable.
Dominic Biernga
Known as one of the most progressive and creative musicians and educators on the Detroit scene, saxophonist Dominic Bierenga currently leads the 12-piece Moving Mind Orchestra, and is a member of Paddlebots, the Zen Zadravec Quintet, Northwoods Improvisers, and the Dr. Prof. Leonard King Orchestra. He has also performed or recorded with such a wide variety of artists as Gary Burton, the Jeff Hamilton Trio, Wayne Bergeron, Beartrap, Marcus Elliot, Grey Matter, Virago, Nick Small, the Planet D Nonet, and many more. He has made multiple appearances at
the Detroit Jazz Festival, Ann Arbor Summer Festival, Soaring Eagle's Arts, Beats & Eats, and Cowpie Music Festival. Dominic has an active private studio, and has been on faculty at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, University of Michigan Youth Jazz Ensembles, Detroit Symphony Orchestra Civic Youth Ensembles, and Central Michigan Univeristy Summer Music Institute. He holds an M.M. in Improvisation from the University of Michigan, where he studied with Andrew Bishop, Ellen Rowe, and Ed Sarath, and a B.S. in Music from Central Michigan University where his primary teachers were Rob Smith, John Nichol, and José-Luis Maúrtua.
Haruki Hakoyama
Based in Detroit, Haruki Hakoyama is an accomplished bassist, trumpeter, and guitarist equally known for exploring various other instruments to bring a cohesive hue to his projects. His reputation for multi-instrumental fluency has garnered significant attention both in the live performance scene and online where his videos have been featured numerous times on sites like Coffee Music reaching hundreds of thousands of viewers worldwide. Whether on stage or in the studio as a producer and engineer, Haruki remains in-demand with his hallmark being his keen ears and attention to musicality no matter the style of music. This reputation has led to working across diverse styles and genres from
artists like Ed Motta, Insane Clown Posse, Jacob Sigman, AJ Rafael, Kris Johnson, and more. In addition to his work as a sideman or collaborator, his holistic musical stylings and sensibilities are best represented in his own music with Paddlebots. Haruki currently serves as faculty for the audio engineering program at Lawrence Tech University and regularly gives guest lectures at schools around the region.
Drew Parent
Drew is on staff at TU as the Director of Bands and Instructor of Percussion. He has been teaching and performing around the midwest for over fifteen years with regional jazz ensembles, orchestras, percussion ensembles and commercial music groups. He has served as assistant marching band director at Trine University and drumline director at Bowling Green State University, University of Toledo, and Central Michigan University. He has also taught and arranged percussion for many successful high school marching band programs in the Midwest that include Maumee High School, Springfield High School, Angola High School, Carroll High School, and Lake Orion High School. Currently performing around the region as both a drummer and bass player, he holds both music education and performance degrees from Saginaw Valley State University and Central Michigan University.
Dan Myers
Dan Myers serves as Assistant Professor of Commercial Music at Tiffin University. Dan is an active composer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist and writes music for film, television and the stage, and his original songs can be heard in major motion pictures, animation, and network television series. As a member of actor Gary Sinise's Lt. Dan Band, Dan has enjoyed the privilege of dueling on fiddle with Charlie Daniels at the Kennedy Center, performing for U.N. troops in Afghanistan and Kuwait, and debuting new music at the Ravinia Festival. Dan tours nationally with his Indie-folk band Stolen Silver, which has been featured in the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, and American Way Magazine. Dan holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Studies from Western Michigan University and a Master of Fine Arts in Music Composition for the Screen from Columbia College.