Morgan Tao serves as the director of percussion at Science Hill High School. For several years, he was a freelance performer and teacher in several programs across North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. He has a M.M. from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, where he was a Teaching Assistant and taught the UT Steel Band. He holds a B.A. in Music Studies with a performance certificate from the University of Texas at Austin.

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Mr. Tao has an extensive background in education and marching arts, having taught and given master classes all over the greater Austin area. He was a member of the Academy Drum and Bugle Corps from 2015-16. He has instructed many front ensembles including Travis High School, LBJ High School, McCallum High School, Alvin High School, and McNeil High School.

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Mr. Tao has a passion for chamber music, both in teaching percussion ensembles and also performing. He is a founding member of the Cue Percussion Quartet, based in Knoxville, TN, as well as the Left/Right Percussion Quartet in Austin, TX.

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In addition to his classical percussion background, Morgan has an eclectic passion for world music. He devoted the majority of a summer  to studying gyil, the West African xylophone, and West African drum and dance in Ghana. He has been a member of Austin Samba, the world’s largest samba school outside of Brazil, and currently is a member of Zabumba Asheville Samba in NC. He has also performed regularly with “The Pans of Texas”, and the Inside Out Community Steelband in Austin, TX.