About Tusa Montes

Virtual Session Premiere – Wednesday, December 20, 2023 at 8:00 PM Eastern Standard Time

Tusa Montes is a percussionist, ethnomusicologist, and educator who specializes in the musics of the Philippines, Asia, West Africa and Latin America. She graduated in 2012 with a MM (Master of Music) Musicology degree at the University of the Philippines (UP) College of Music. She taught at the University of Santo Tomas Conservatory of Music for 10 years and is currently a Senior Lecturer at the UP College of Music. She is also a member of the World Percussion Committee of the Percussive Arts Society. Tusa has performed and recorded in various projects, events, and festivals in the Philippines and abroad. Some recent events include “Gongster’s Paradise” Kulintang festival in San Francisco, USA (May 2023), “Rain Motions” festival in Bangkok, Thailand (May 2023), “Padyak Hamburg” in Germany (November 2022), NUSASONIC Southeast Asian experimental music festival in Vietnam (October 2022), and Virtual PASIC in 2021. She has performed with notable local and international musicians such as Edsel Gomez, Joe Bataan, royal hartigan, Leonard Eto, Bob Aves, Grace Nono, Johnny Alegre, and Bo Razon.