Anthony J. Cirone received his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees from The Juilliard School where he studied with the famous, solo timpanist of the New York Philharmonic, Saul Goodman. Upon graduation, he was offered the position of Percussionist with the San Francisco Symphony under Maestro Josef Krips. During his 36-year tenure with the Symphony, Cirone also performed under the Musical Directorship of Seiji Ozawa, Edo DeWaart, Herbert Blomstedt, and Michael Tilson Thomas, along with noted guest conductors, such as Leonard Bernstein, Igor Stravinsky, Aaron Copland, Eugene Ormandy, Kurt Mazur, Rafael Kubelik, and James Levine.

Mr. Cirone was also Professor of Music at San José State University and Chairman of the Percussion Department. Anthony Cirone is a prolific composer, with more than 100 published titles, including textbooks, symphonies for percussion, sonatas, a string quartet, and works for orchestra and concert band. His most recent publications include: Cirone's Pocket dictionary of Foreign Musical Terms and The Great American Symphony Orchestra. He was the Percussion Consultant/Editor for Warner Bros. Publishing Co. (now Alfred Music Publishing). His Portraits in Rhythm (50 Studies for Snare Drum) is recognized worldwide as a standard text for training percussionists. Cirone is also featured in a video, entitled, Concert Percussion, A Performer's Guide, distributed by Alfred Publishing Co. He presently is the Executive Editor of Percussion Publications for Meredith Music Publications. Cirone has designed two pairs of Signature Snare Drum Sticks for the Malletch Corporation. He won the Modern Drummer Magazine Reader's Poll for five consecutive years as a Classical Percussionist and was subsequently elected to the publication's Hall of Fame. Cirone was inducted into the Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame in 2007. He is a clinician for The Yamaha Corporation, the Avedis Zildjian Cymbal Company, and the Remo Drum Company. Cirone received a Special Distinction Award from the ASCAP Rudolf Nissim Composition Contest for his work for full orchestra, entitled: Pentadic Striations.
 

Spine was commissioned by the Yale Percussion Group and premiered in 2015 at Carnegie Hall in New York. A single line runs through most of the piece, and virtually all of the musical material is derived from it. This meta-line, performed by Percussion 1, serves as the “spine” of the music, both in structural terms (backbone), but also with respect to the line’s perceived control over the direction and progression of the music (central nervous system). The material played by the supporting members of the quartet colors and punctuates this main line. Over the course of the work, players drift in and out of agreement with one another, and occasionally the primary line loses its unique identity within the texture of the ensemble. I tried to impart an almost biological sense to the way motives grow, attempting to balance intuitive, almost improvisatory, types of development with more structured patterns and processes. Spine is dedicated to the players of the Yale Percussion Group for their unwavering support.

Michael Laurello (b. 1981) is an American composer, recording/mixing engineer, and pianist whose music reflects his fascination with temporal dissonance and emotional immediacy. His music has been presented at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, MATA, PASIC, Bang on a Can Summer Festival, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, Carlsbad Music Festival, Music from Angel Fire, N_SEME, National Conference of the Society of Composers, Inc., and others. He has collaborated with ensembles and soloists such as Sō Percussion, Nashville Symphony, arx duo, HOCKET, GVSU New Music Ensemble, Triplepoint Trio, icarus Quartet, Sandbox Percussion, and Yale Percussion Group. Recent commissions include a six-movement work for percussion duo and string quartet (commissioned by arx duo), a solo piano piece for Brianna Matzke/The Response Project, an SATB choral work celebrating the birth of architect Theodate Pope Riddle, and a composition for the GVSU New Music Ensemble's 2018 Listening to Our National Parks project. 

Laurello studied composition at Yale (A.D., 2015), where he received the Woods Chandler Memorial Prize. He holds an M.A. in music from Tufts University (2013) and a B.M. in music synthesis (electronic production and design) from Berklee College of Music (2004). His mentors include David Lang, Martin Bresnick, Christopher Theofanidis, and John McDonald. Recent honors include a residency at Avaloch Farm Music Institute (with Triplepoint Trio), a commission from the American Composers Forum, selection for the SCI 50th Anniversary National Conference, participation in the Nashville Symphony Composer Lab, participation in the EarShot Berkeley Symphony Readings, a Baumgardner Fellowship and Commission from the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival's Chamber Choir and Choral Conducting Workshop, and an Emerging Artist Award from Boston's St. Botolph Club Foundation. He has attended the highSCORE and Etchings composition festivals, and has been a composition fellow at the Bang on a Can Summer Festival. 

Laurello works as a freelance composer, and as Manager of Recording Services and Technical Engineer for the MidAmerican Center for Contemporary Music at Bowling Green State University.