Sebastian Buhts is a percussionist and conductor based in St. Louis, MO. He is on faculty at Washington University in St. Louis (WashU), Lindenwood University, and St. Charles Community College (SCC). At WashU, Sebastian teaches Applied Percussion. At Lindenwood, Sebastian teaches Applied Percussion, Percussion Ensemble, Percussion Techniques, and the Lion Pride Marching Band Drumline. At SCC, Sebastian teaches Music Theory/Aural Skills, Applied Percussion, and has guest-conducted their Symphony Orchestra.
In addition to teaching, Sebastian maintains an active and diverse performance schedule. Recent highlights include conducting the complete production of Stravinsky’s The Soldier’s Tale, performing solo marimba for the Orchestra of Northern New York, performing timpani with jazz artist Ronnie Burrage and the Holographic Principle, and performing North Indian tabla for the prestigious St. Louis Literary Award ceremony honoring Booker Prize winner and New York Times best-selling author Arundhati Roy. Sebastian is also an avid proponent of new music. He has performed world premieres at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention, Cortona New Music Sessions in Cortona, Italy, and with chamber music ensembles throughout the U.S. and Germany.
As a specialist in North Indian tabla drumming, Sebastian has lectured at the Percussive Arts Society Michigan Day of Percussion, and regularly appears as a guest-artist at universities across North America. Sebastian’s doctoral dissertation analyzes the form and structure of a traditional tabla solo in the North Indian musical lineage known as the Benares gharana. Sebastian has studied tabla intensively in Canada and India. His primary tabla teachers include Shawn Mativetsky and Pandit Kishor Kumar Mishra.
Sebastian received his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Michigan State University, where he studied with Gwendolyn Dease and Jon Weber. His Master of Music and Bachelor of Music degrees are from Belmont University, where he studied with Christopher Norton. Additionally, Sebastian studied orchestral percussion and timpani at the Hochschule für Musik in Dresden, Germany, and at the Aspen Music Festival and School. Sebastian is a proud artist endorser for Marimba One and Black Swamp Percussion. To learn more about Sebastian and his upcoming performances, please visit www.sebastianbuhts.com.