School of Music Visiting Artist Series
Michael Bettine is a storyteller. He tells stories with percussion and uses different sounds that will bring up memories, so the stories he tells are your own stories, the stories you live. Remember the sound of your grandma’s music box, the wind outside your window, or the busy street where you grew up? These are the type of sound stories that he tells. He uses the sound to connect you to memories. With over 40 years of research and performance, every day is different, every session is different, and all of the wonderful people he connects with are different. He does not work from a script. The Universe is fluid. What works one day, may not work the next. It's important that he work in the moment. Since 2002 Bettine has worked under the name, G O N G T O P I A, presenting concerts of original compositions & improvisations played on metal instruments, sounding bass drum, and hand drums. He’s released over 40 albums of solo percussion music and various duo/trio performances.