The Austin Percussion Collective (APC) is a percussion chamber group that represents the thriving percussion scene in Austin, TX. Abundant with local percussionists and composers, APC is actively bringing new percussion music into Austin’s live music scene.
Embracing collaborative singer-songwriter culture, APC champions new music written and performed by its own members, including award-winning composers such as Ivan Trevino and Louis Raymond-Kolker.
The Austin Percussion Collective’s roster features local freelancers, educators, composers, students, and collegiate faculty.
Having sold out local Austin venues such as Monk’s Jazz Club, APC is actively unraveling the possibilities of a vibrant percussion scene, supported by an interwoven ecosystem of composers, performers, and teachers.
The Austin Percussion Collective was founded in 2023 and is directed by Dan Hartung and Sebastian Zhang.
Dan Hartung founder, artistic director
Dan Hartung is a percussionist and educator based in Austin, TX. He has served as principal percussionist of Opera San Antonio, Ballet San Antonio, and the Classical Music Institute Orchestra for the Andrea Bocelli World Tour. As a solo and chamber musician, Dan has commissioned and recorded over 20 new works from composers including Ivan Trevino, Ian Whillock, Sophie Mathieu, and Darian Thomas. He is a member of several chamber groups including Flat Water Trio, Density512, and the LNK Percussion Collective who were artists-in-residence at the Avaloch Farm Music Institute in 2022.
In 2019, Dan began studying Afro-Diasporic and West African drumming with Kevin “Bujo” Jones, Jon Weber, and Richard Huntley. In 2023, Dan spent time in Cuba studying Afro-Cuban percussion genres such as Batá, Güiro, and Rumba with Octavio Rodríguez Rivera, Miguel Bernal, and Miguelito León. Additionally, he performs with Tambores del Pueblo, an Afro-Puerto Rican Bomba group, the Austin West African Drum and Dance Company, and has also participated in Afro-Venezuelan Tambor celebrations with San Juan New York City.
Dan is currently completing a DMA at the University of Texas at Austin, and holds degrees from Michigan State University (MM) and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (BME). He has been fortunate to study with some of the foremost percussionists and educators including but not limited to Dave Hall, Gwen Dease, and Tom Burritt.
Sebastian Zhang co-founder, co-artistic director
Unapologetically embracing the electric nostalgia of a younger generation, Sebastian Zhang (b. 2003) is a composer-percussionist influenced by the modern chiptune scene, jazzy video game music, and upbeat anime soundtracks. His music draws upon scenes of everyday life—from chasing tadpoles to memories of cartoon ice cream—and how they echo grander themes of merry wonder and existentialist hope.
Sebastian has written for Sandbox Percussion, the University of Texas Percussion Ensemble, and Blacktop Percussion. An award-winning composer, recognitions include the Tribeca New Music Emerging Composer Award, I Exist Project Emerging Composer Award, and finalist for the Icarus Quartet iQ Test call for collaborators. His music has been performed across the United States, at events such as the Victoria Bach Festival and the Great Plains International Marimba Competition; several of his works appear on the Texas UIL Prescribed Music List (PML) and the Missouri MSHSAA PML.
Sebastian is currently pursuing a BM in Music Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. His instructors include Ivan Trevino, Yevgeniy Sharlat, and Thomas Burritt.