Born on April 3, 1969, George Tantchev
first began studying percussion at the age of eight with Prof. Dr. Dobri Paliev
and remained his student until graduation from the State Music Academy in Sofia, Bulgaria.In 1998 George completed a Master of Music Performance at Ithaca College, NY, with mallet virtuoso Gordon Stout. He furthered his studies with Dr. Richard Gipson at the Oklahoma University. George earned his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in 2004. His interest in irregular rhythms resulted in a dissertation titled Asymmetrical Rhythms for Marimba.
As an active Member of the Percussive Arts Society, George has appeared as a featured artist at the Dallas 2000 Percussive Arts Society International Convention and has contributed several articles for the Percussive Notes magazine.
He studied composition with Prof. Bentsion Eliezer and Prof. Dr. Gregory Woodward. His compositions have been performed at PENDIM International Percussion Competition, several PASIC meetings, Days of Percussion and have also been frequently reviewed in Percussive Notes. George is winner of the special prize of the Bulgarian Composers Union and is laureate of several percussion competitions.
George has collaborated as a drummer with jazz trumpeter and Grammy Award Winner Alex Meixner. He has appeared as drummer, vibraphone, marimba, xylophone and percussion soloist throughout the world. He also led a Bulgarian Folk Ensemble at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago.
Currently George Tantchev is Director of the NSO School of Music, where he also teaches Drum Set and Percussion. George is a member of the Vic Firth educational team. He resides with his wife Desi - violist and their two sons Boyan and George in Glenview, IL.
