April Centrone
April Centrone is one of the leading classical Arabic percussionists in America. Centrone plays riq (Arabic tambourine), frame drum, darbuka, oud and violin, and is also a proficient jazz drummer. Centrone has performed in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and Town Hall; lectured at numerous museums, cultural centers and universities around the country, such as Berklee, Columbia and Bucknell; directed and composed the music for plays; and has toured throughout Italy, Spain, Greece, America and New Zealand. Centrone has performed with artists such as Marcel Khalife with Kristian Jarvi's Absolute Ensemble, Bassam Saba, Najib Shaheen, Simon Shaheen, and Samir Chatterjee. Centrone has also performed as a soloist with the East Oakland Bay Symphony for the premiere of Nolan Gasser's "World Concerto." Centrone, as the Lead Teaching Artist for Musicians For Harmony, designs and teaches "Music of the World," a program geared towards the education of innercity high school youths. Holding an MA in Psychology from John Jay College, Centrone is presently constructing an educational and therapeutic music program for a leading children's psychiatric center. Centrone currently teaches percussion and drumset in New York.
