KEN SHORLEY has studied with some of the world’s finest percussionists, most notably the South Indian master drummer, Trichy Sankaran. He has received training from Glen Velez (pan-global frame drumming), Faruk Tekbilek (Turkish darabuka), Sal Ferreras (African and Latin American drumming), and John Brownell (Orchestral percussion).

Since 1994, Ken has been based in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada. He has served on the part-time faculty of Acadia University since 1998, where he developed Atlantic Canada’s first (and only) university credit course in world drumming.

In addition to offering workshops and lessons in hand drumming, Ken encourages his students to explore improvisation and composition, and to focus on the study of rhythm itself in order to develop a more focused awareness of musical time.

As well, Ken is an active composer and performer. His music has been presented by the Nova Scotia Youth Orchestra, Symphony Nova Scotia, mezzo-soprano Paula Rockwell, the Acadia University Percussion Ensemble, the Indo-fusion group Trichy’s Trio, the Quey Percussion Duo, and the Blue Engine String Quartet. Performance highlights include the Atlantic Jazz Festival, the Lunenburg Folk Festival, Halifax Drumfest, and the World in Wolfville concert series. He has three CDs, Waterwheel (1999), Nonagon (2002) and Sekar Alit (2008).