Gregory C. Landes

Gregory Landes - Percussionist, Drummer, Educator, Composer, Arranger

Valuing the benefits of diversity, versatility and adaptability Gregory works and performs in a wide variety of musical genres and settings. Gregory began playing drums at the age of 6 with the encouragement of his father.

Gregory is principal timpanist with The Garden State Philharmonic, he was also principal timpanist with The New Haven Symphony. Gregory has performed as timpanist and percussionist with The New Jersey Symphony, American Symphony Orchestra, Novus NY, New York Chorale Society, The Brooklyn Philharmonic, Princeton Symphony, Albany Symphony, Little Orchestra Society of New York, Greenwich, Stamford, and Westchester Symphonies, Masterwork Chorale Orchestra, New Jersey Wind Symphony and The Goldman Band.

For the last 30 years Gregory has performed as both drummer and percussionist for over 50 Broadway and Off-Broadway productions. Gregory joined local 802 in 1988 when he played his first Broadway show Gypsy while still attending The Juilliard School. 2019 Lyrics and Lyricists 92nd St. Y “Live and in Living Color”, Co-Artistic Director, Musical Supervisor/Director Rob Berman, Andy Einhorn Musical Supervisor. 2018, “The Beast in the Jungle” by John Kander and Susan Stroman. 2017 drums and percussion for John Kander and Greg Pierce’s “Kid Victory” and also helped create the drum and percussion book for “The Landing” by the same composers. Gregory was percussionist for the 2017 revival of “Pacific Overtures” by Stephen Sondheim, directed by Tony winner John Doyle.

Gregory is the drummer and percussionist for the Broadway, Chicago, Boston and Madison Square Garden productions of ‘How The Grinch Stole Christmas” He has also played drums or percussion for: “Avenue Q", “Newsies”, "In The Heights," “Curtains”, “Wicked,” “42nd Street,” “Play Without Words,” “Ragtime,” “Les Miserables,”, “Falsettos,” “Putting It Together,”(with Julie Andrews) and many others.

Gregory has recorded for: Broadway, Sony, Summit, New World, Blue Note, DRG and RCA/BMG Records. Gregory is grateful and proud to be endorsed by Paiste cymbals and Innovative Percussion.

Since 1997 Gregory has been performing with his brother Garah Landes, pianist, as Synchronicity. For more information on the group go to their website: www.synchronicitymusic.com or their many Youtube and Vimeo videos https://vimeo.com/363393174 and is also a proud member of The Pit Stop Players. For more information go to www.rosenblummusic.com

As a passionate educator Gregory is the director of percussion studies at The Calhoun School in New York City. Watch the Calhoun Percussion Ensemble. http://youtu.be/nKBr-ChZqqM. Gregory’s arrangements and pieces written for percussion ensemble are published by Bachovich Music Publications.

Watch his quartet “4 In The Pocket” https://youtu.be/fq9j-ALJMxg. Gregory also teaches in the Encore Program at Ridgewood High School in NJ.

Other Interests: American Red Cross Disaster Action Team volunteer, FOCAS: NJ based animal welfare organization, Colon Cancer Alliance Advocate and Buddy Program volunteer, Caring Kind/National Alzheimers Association volunteer, Nichiren Buddhism

Equally at home in many musical genres and situations Gregory performs as a timpanist and percussionist and occasionally as a soloist with Symphony Orchestras, as a drummer and percussion in Broadway pits, as a drummer in the cabaret world accompanying singer/songwriters, as a chamber player with groups like his piano percussion duo Synchronicity; having collaborated with Paquito D'Rivera and Robin Eubanks as well as The Pit Stop players who have worked with Stephen Schwartz and Jonathan Tunick.

A passionate educator Gregory works both as an institutional teacher as well as a private one. Gregory works both in an ensemble setting as well as privately in a one on one setting. Gregory has arranged and composed for drums and percussion as well as strings and is published by Bachovich Music Publications