In 2024, Synergy Percussion celebrates its 50th anniversary, a remarkable milestone that affirms the ensemble’s significance in Australia’s cultural landscape.
Led by newly appointed artistic director Rebecca Lloyd-Jones, Synergy Percussion has been a pioneering ensemble pushing the boundaries of contemporary music for 50 years. Founded in 1974 by Michael Askill, the group has collaborated with a diverse range of artists, including Fritz Hauser, Iannis Xenakis, Toru Takemitsu, Les Percussions de Strasbourg, Kroumata, Amadinda, Evelyn Glennie, Steve Reich, Riley Lee, Taikoz, William Barton, Hossam Ramzy, Omar Faruk Tekbilek, Aly n’Diaye Rose, Trilok Gurtu, Jose Vicente, Kazue Sawai, Sydney Dance Company, Meryl Tankard and Regis Lansac, Akira Isogawa, Grainger String Quartet, and The Sydney and Melbourne Symphony Orchestras, among many others.
Synergy Percussion’s extensive musical expertise has allowed them to create a unique oeuvre, having released on labels such as Tall Poppies, Celestial Harmonies, Vox Australis, and Move Records. They have commissioned over fifty works from renowned Australian composers such as Liza Lim, Melody Eötvös, Anthony Pateras, Kate Moore, Elena Kats-Chernin, Ross Edwardes, Peter Sculthorpe, Gerard Brophy, and premiered Nigel Westlake’s iconic 1984 quartet, Omphalo Centric Lecture. With their expansive vision and unyielding commitment to their craft, Synergy Percussion has established themselves as one of the most influential and ground-breaking percussion ensembles in the contemporary music community.
Australian-born percussionist Rebecca Lloyd-Jones is a multiform musician passionate about performance, research, and education.
Praised as “captivating” (San Diego Union-Tribune), Rebecca has performed professionally across Asia, Europe, North America, and Oceania, presented at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention, and held residences at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, Canada.
Active across many genres, Rebecca has performed on the Walt Disney Concert Hall stage with the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Noon to Midnight festival, with the PARTCH ensemble, ensemble Red Fish Blue Fish, and Hong Kong based percussion quintet Up:Strike Project.
Rebecca performed in the soundSCAPE composition and performance exchange (Italy) and was a guest artist at the VI Semana Internacional de Improvisación (Mexico). The Artistic producer of the Transplanted Roots Percussion Research Symposium (2022) and creative development grant recipient from the American Australian Arts Fund, Rebecca’s research focuses on the archival and performance process of percussion works composed by female composers during the late 20th Century.
Rebecca graduated from the Victorian College of the Arts, holds a Doctorate from the University of California San Diego, and is currently a Lecturer and Coordinator of Percussion at Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University.
Joshua Hill completed his undergraduate and postgraduate studies in Percussion and Timpani at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. Additionally, he pursued studies in Korean Traditional music at the National Gugak Centre in Seoul. Joshua’s musical journey began with Synergy Percussion in 2000, where he initially performed at the Opening of the Sydney Olympic Games, he become young artist in residence in 2009 and progressed to become a core member in 2010.
An active musician throughout Australia, Joshua has collaborated with various groups and ensembles, including the Sydney Symphony, Opera Australia Orchestra, Orchestra Victoria, Australian Chamber Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Australian Ballet, Opera Australia, Victorian Opera, Canberra Symphony, Australian Baroque Brass, Duo Blocksticks, Ensemble Offspring, Taikoz, NSW Police Band, and the Australian Air Force Air Command Band. Additionally, he has contributed to numerous recordings for Anime, computer games, and feature films.
Australian percussionist Sophia Ang is an eclectic musician who is passionate about performing and music education for all ages.
Sophia completed a Bachelor of Music at Melbourne University and then went on to perform with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Opera Australia Orchestra, Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Synergy Percussion.
In 2014 Sophia joined the Sydney based Japanese drumming ensemble Taikoz. She has performed around Australia and internationally as a core member of the group in their major projects.
Sophia co-leads the Sydney Onikenbai Club and regularly travels to Japan for study with Iwasaki Onikenbai Hozonkai, the original masters of the dance-music form known as Onikenbai. When in Japan, she regularly performs Onikenbai in the Kitakami Michinoku Geinou Matsuri.
Sophia is a teacher and administrator at the Australian Taiko Academy, where she teaches the art of Wadaiko to adults and children. Sophia also regularly tours metropolitan and regional centres to present concerts and workshops in schools.