those who demand the best, care the most

Percussion On the Sound is a unique, pre-collegiate music program designed exclusively for percussionists. Created in 2019, Percussion on the Sound, or POTS!, has performed seminal percussion works by composers such as Keiko Abe, John Cage, Carlos Chavez, George H. Green, Toru Takemitsu, and Toshimitsu Tanaka, as well as world music from parts of West Africa, Cuba and Brazil.

The New York City metropolitan area has wonderful young percussionists but few opportunities for them to perform as soloists and chamber musicians. Something that young pianists and violinists do on a regular basis. 

Emphasizing essential music skills along with an understanding of traditional and new repertoire, POTS! students develop music skills that last a lifetime. The curriculum includes the development of important percussion techniques on a large collection of instruments, an understanding of music theory and ear training, and crucial peak performance practices that allow students to perform at their best. Activities include various percussion instrument classes, a soloist concert, NYSSMA preparation, college audition workshops, and a final percussion ensemble concert with college-level repertoire. Every session takes place on a college campus with full access to the music facilities.

Students in this program learn more than music skills, they acquire knowledge and experiences that transfer to all areas of their lives.

Our students are highly motivated young musicians who have gone on to exceptional schools such as Juilliard, Harvard, Cornell, Manhattan School of Music, and Rensselaer, among others. 

The 21st Century is the pinnacle for percussionists. We have moved from the back of the orchestra to the forefront of modern music.

POTS! is…

  • Education

    Helping young musicians become excellent artists and thoughtful artistic citizens is an important goal. POTS! faculty bring decades of teaching experience into the classroom from such esteemed institutions as The Juilliard School, Hofstra University, Five Towns College, and the Nassau County Public School System.

  • Performance

    POTS! faculty perform with some of New York City’s finest ensembles, including the New York City Ballet, New York Philharmonic, American Composers Orchestra, and New York Pops, as well as numerous Broadway musicals.

  • Composer Collaborations

    "You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have." -- Maya Angelou

    Creativity is king. POTS! will regularly commission works from emerging composers.

  • Equity

    POTS! is committed to the inclusion of all persons regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, gender identity, or sexual orientation to ensure a diverse and equitable work environment and maximize creative output. Fostering a healthy and robust community is a priority.

Creator of POTS!

    A native of Uruguay, Pablo Rieppi lives and works in New York, where he is a member of The New York City Ballet Orchestra, Percussion Department Coordinator and Instructor at The Juilliard School, Pre-College Division, and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Percussion at Hofstra University.

    The Houston Chronicle wrote, “Pablo Rieppi sparked a lot of buzz at intermission with his ability…he was rock solid no matter what position he had to contort into to play.”

    In the last three decades, Mr. Rieppi has performed a wide range of music with some of the world’s leading artists and ensembles, including regular engagements with New York Philharmonic and numerous performances with The Metropolitan Opera, Mostly Mozart Festival, American Symphony Orchestra, The New York Pops, American Composers Orchestra, Speculum Musicae, New York New Music Ensemble, DaCapo Chamber Players, The New York City Opera, Manhattan Sinfonietta, New York Percussion Quartet, Perspectives Ensemble, American Symphony Orchestra, and numerous others. He has performed under the world’s finest conductors, as well as with world, jazz, classical, rock and R&B luminaries Joe Zawinul, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Joshua Bell, and The Who, among others.

    Mr. Rieppi was a member of numerous Broadway orchestras, including The King and I, Legally Blonde, and West Side Story. He has recorded many feature film scores, including Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story, Salem’s Lot, Gemini Man, Zoolander 2, television shows (recently The Marvelous Mrs. Maizel), and new compositions with several ensembles.

    He is equally dedicated to music education, particularly the development of the creative learning process. Currently, he is teaching at The Juilliard School and Hofstra University. Past appointments include SUNY Purchase College-Conservatory of Music and Columbia University. He has been a teaching artist with the Juilliard Summer Percussion Seminar, Carnegie Hall, New York Philharmonic, and The American Composers Orchestra, and has given numerous percussion master classes in the United States and abroad. Most recently, Mr. Rieppi created Percussion On The Sound (POTS!), a year-round, pre-collegiate group of solo and ensemble musicians in residency at Hofstra University, and joined the faculty of Percussion Conservatory, an international, online percussion school.

    In 2004 he composed music for the soundtrack of Blackballed: The Bobby Dukes Story, which won numerous prizes at several film festivals. His percussion and electronics piece “Rage and Peace” was performed by the New York University Percussion Ensemble and at The Aspen Music Festival in 2007. His first method book, Snare Drum Technique: Essential Basics for Daily Practice, was cited in the March 2015 issue of Percussive Notes as one of the 30 most utilized snare drum method books. His composition Rhythmic Roots, for snare drum, bass drum, and hi-hat, is available through Amazon and is a popular audition and recital selection. His melodic and harmonic accompaniments for the 12 Etudes for Snare Drum by Jacques Delecluse, titled Accompaniment Music for Solo Snare Drum, Vol. 1, is available through Bandcamp.com. Videos of various solos and short clinics are available on YouTube and at PRieppiMusic.com.

    Mr. Rieppi has a master’s degree and Professional Studies Certificate from The Juilliard School and a bachelor’s degree from George Mason University. Pablo Rieppi proudly endorses Innovative, Yamaha, and Zildjian music instruments.

Team

  • One of New York City’s most in demand percussionists, Sean Ritenauer has performed on Broadway, as a concerto soloist, for lm and television, and with the world’s most prominent symphony orchestras. Well versed in classical, contemporary, and popular music styles, the Ohio native’s multi-genre uency has led to his similarly disparate career.

    Mr. Ritenauer has become one of the industry’s most active commercial musicians, performing in award-winning television and lm soundtracks like The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Tick, Tick... Boom!, A Dog’s Purpose, Zoolander 2, and Moonrise Kingdom, with several other projects yet to be released including White Noise and Salem's Lot. He made his Broadway debut on the 18-month national tour of Hair, followed by holding the percussion chair of Something Rotten! and Pippin on Broadway. As a substitute, he has performed in countless Broadway productions. Currently you can nd Sean lling in for his esteemed colleagues at MJ, Tina, and BeetleJuice.

    Ritenauer holds a deep anity for classical repertoire, proudly serving as Principal Percussionist of the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra (AL) since 2016 (member since 2005). As a guest musician, Sean enjoys performing regularly with National Symphony Orchestra (D.C.), and the New York Philharmonic, whom he accompanied on tours of Europe (2017), Asia (2018), and Germany (2022), and in residencies in Vail and Shanghai. In 2022, Ritenauer joined the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra (Santa Cruz, CA) in his rst season as a member of the percussion section.

    With the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra, he has often appeared as a concerto soloist, including the second-ever performance of Andy Akiho’s Percussion Concerto in January 2020. The Akiho marked Ritenauer’s third solo appearance with the orchestra, joining performances of Gregory Vajda's Drums, Drums, Drums and Jennifer Higdon’s Percussion Concerto. Reviewing his interpretation of the Higdon, The Huntsville Times praised Ritenauer for “mesmerizing dexterity”, and recounted “an immediate standing ovation” from the audience.

    Perhaps most at home as an artistic leader and chamber musician, Sean co-founded Rocket City New Music in 2021. Determined to make Huntsville, AL a meeting place for the elite in contemporary music, Sean has combined his aection for music by living composers with his passion for curating performance opportunities for like minded artists from across the country. In addition to performing with his own organization, Sean is frequently featured as a chamber musician with the world famous Mark Morris Dance Group.

    Ritenauer also places a premium on excellence as an educator. As Adjunct Assistant Professor of Percussion at Hofstra University, he teaches privately and is the director of the Hofstra Percussion Ensemble. As a private teacher, his Manhattan-based studio features alumni admitted to the country’s top music programs, including Juilliard, Eastman, and the New England Conservatory to name a few. Mr. Ritenauer strives to nd the ruthless self-critic and the careless artist in all of his students in an attempt to help them become generous educators and marketable musicians.

    A proud graduate of the Interlochen Arts Academy, Mr. Ritenauer holds degrees in Classical Percussion (B.M.) and Orchestral Performance (M.M.) from the Manhattan School of Music. He resides in New York City with his ancé, the oboist Hsuan-Fong Chen. They share a home with their cockapoo, Hiro.

  • James Dragovich served as a band director for the Hewlett-Woodmere Public Schools for thirty-three years, twenty-nine as Director of Bands at George W. Hewlett High School. During his tenure, the Hewlett High School Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Bands performed in Montreal, Boston, Washington DC, Virginia, Disney World, Puerto Rico, and numerous appearances at Carnegie Hall. The Hewlett Jazz Orchestra performed at many jazz festivals and was a featured ensemble at the 2014 NYSSMA Winter Conference in Rochester, NY. The Hewlett Marching band performed the halftime show at the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville Fl and marched many times in the NYC Columbus Day Parade, including a first place finish in 1991. During his time in Hewlett, Mr. Dragovich served as a cooperating teacher to over forty college students, all of which are now enjoying their own careers in music education, and was nominated to “Who’s Who Among American Teachers” numerous times by his students.

    Mr. Dragovich presently serves as the Director of Undergraduate Music Education for Five Towns College. Before this appointment, he served on the Music Education Faculties for LIU Post and Hofstra University, teaching method classes in percussion and brass studies. As a conductor, he has commissioned works for both symphonic bands and jazz ensembles by such composers as Robert Sheldon, Errol Weis Schlabach, Mike Carubia, and Carl Strommen. Guest soloists with Mr. Dragovich’s ensembles include Joseph Alessi, Dave Pietro, Stanley Drucker, Cecil Bridgewater, Eric Ralski, Jack Schatz, Pete McGuinness, Mike Carubia, and John Riley.

    Mr. Dragovich directs the Nassau Suffolk Jazz Band, is a clinician for Music in The Parks, Festivals of Music, and Educational Tours Inc., and is on the teaching staff for POTS! (Percussion on The Sound). He serves on the board of directors for Best Bands International and The American Chamber Ensemble while keeping an active performance schedule, including his own seventeen-piece jazz orchestra. Mr. Dragovich continues teaching percussion and low brass in his private teaching studio in Amity Harbor, NY, enjoying life with his wife Mindy.