SAUDADE
A MULTI-PECUSSION CONSORTIUM
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Bella Scotti, percussionist & consortium leader
Gabriel Gekoskie, composer
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A crowd-funded commission of a new social-justice focused, multi-percussion solo by Gabe, led by Bella.
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The consortium opens June 2, 2025 at 12:00 AM, EST and closes September 2, 2025 at 11:59 PM, EST.
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BUY-IN: $30 - $100 USD (pay what you can)
Participation includes your name in the piece's front matter, one PDF of the completed score (delivered via email on September 9, 2025), and performance rights for one year following the score delivery (until September 9, 2026).
Consortium Team
Bella Scotti (she/they)
CONSORTIUM LEADER
Award-winning percussionist Bella Scotti (she/they) has been active in the State College area, collaborating and working with local rising artists, including current Penn State students and faculty, as well as having performed several solo percussion gigs locally and performed with numerous ensembles, locally and nationally. They are an active private instructor for both piano and percussion, with students ranging from elementary school-age to PhD candidates. Bella serves on the Education Committee for the Percussive Arts Society, and is proud to be an endorsed educator by Sonaris Percussion and a member of the Black Swamp Percussion Educator Network.
Bella is determined to become a university professor in percussion - to make waves in the percussion field by making percussion more accessible to composers and arrangers through collaboration, as well as more accessible to the public through advocacy in performance and education.
Bella earned their Bachelor of Arts degree in music and percussion performance, a graduate Professional Performance Certificate, and a Master of Music degree in Percussion Performance from Penn State University as the Percussion Studio Teaching Assistant under the instruction of Dr. Lee Hinkle. They are currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Percussion Performance at the University of Texas at Austin as the Percussion Studio Teaching Assistant under the instruction of Dr. Thomas Burritt and Prof. Ivan Trevino.
Gabriel Gekoskie (he/him)
COMPOSER
Gabriel Gekoskie (he/him, b. 2001) is a composer, sound artist, and engineer based in State College, PA. Delving into the intricacies of the human experience and exploring the absurd, his creative portfolio spans diverse media. Gekoskie's cohesive musical methodology draws inspiration from contemporary phenomena—short attention spans, mass communication, and heightened individualism in the information age. His work resonates with the complexities of modern existence, offering a poignant reflection on the interplay between technology and the human psyche.
As an academic, Gabriel’s research reflects his artistic goals of equity and accessibility. Gekoskie frequently collaborates with artists of extramusical disciplines, articulating improvisation and abstraction as the core tenets of his work. Gekoskie holds a BM in Composition and Music Theory from the University of Florida and an MM in Composition from Penn State University. He will return to UF in August 2025 to pursue a PhD in Composition, studying with Drs. Paul Richards and Scott Lee.
