Percussionist Karen Toney (she/they) showcases her passion for music through chamber performances, collaborating on new mallet percussion works, and connecting with the community through music education. 

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Toney has been afforded many opportunities as a performer, including with the Patterns Quartet, originally formed at the University of Central Florida. The group produced a pioneering album of previously unrecorded works for two vibraphones and two marimbas called Patterns, which was shared by John Schafer on his radio show New Sounds on WNYC, a public radio station in New York. Another major chamber opportunity presented during her time at UCF was to perform Jose/BeFORe John 5 (Aurél Holló), which was later recorded and featured as a Performance Spotlight on the Vic Firth website. She was also able to perform on the Candlelight Concert Series with the Peabody Percussion Group, and with the Peabody Honors Ensemble Milieu. 

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Toney has also been forming her education philosophy in practice for over a decade, teaching students ranging from elementary school to collegiate, and large ensembles to one-on-one lessons. A particular highlight for her was teaching at the UCF Percussion Summer Institute in 2017 and 2018. She is passionate about providing a safe and healthy environment for students to reach their goals and find their voice for authentic self-expression whether their medium is music or otherwise.

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Karen received her Master of Music degree from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University under the direction of world-renowned percussionist Robert van Sice in 2016. Prior to that, she received her Bachelor’s in Music from the University of Central Florida under the expert guidance of prolific educators/performers/arrangers/composers Jeffrey Moore, Kirk Gay, and Dr. Thad Anderson, where she received music and academic scholarships as well as the Presser Award.

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