James Mauck
James Mauck enjoys performing and teaching many styles of music that reach beyond the humble cornfields of the Midwest. He works as an accompanist and composer for the Dance Department at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, Adjunct Professor of Percussion at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, and performs as an acousto-electronic improviser under the title, Forebeat.
In 2018, he created his solo musical project, Forebeat, which combines drum set and acousto-electronics, and blends free-flowing improvisation with sequenced synthesizers and pre-recorded samples. While performing as Forebeat, James has had the honor of collaborating with prestigious improvisors such as Bloomington-Normals own Stefan Robinson (Yea Big), Chicago’s Jason Stein and Avreeayl Ra (Sun Ra Arkestra), and international artists Tatsuya Nakatani and Ryosuke Kiyasu. He released his debut album, Duality (2019) and was commissioned to compose the music for Cynthia Oliver’s dance work, Summon. Sow. Reap. (2023) which premiered at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. James released the latest Forebeat album, Stages of Growth, in January 2025 which was recorded and mixed by Mark White and mastered by Anthony Gravino at High Cross Sound.
James is also sought after as an on-call drummer and percussionist across the Midwest and has had the chance to share the stage with artists/ensembles such as Gavin Lee (West End/Broadway), Kyle Gass (Tenacious D), Sara Caswell (Esperanza Spalding), Charlie Ballantine, the Danville Symphony Orchestra, the Owensboro Symphony Orchestra, and the Lafayette Symphony Orchestra.
He received his B.M. in Percussion Performance from Eastern Illinois University and M.M. in Jazz Performance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
In 2018, he created his solo musical project, Forebeat, which combines drum set and acousto-electronics, and blends free-flowing improvisation with sequenced synthesizers and pre-recorded samples. While performing as Forebeat, James has had the honor of collaborating with prestigious improvisors such as Bloomington-Normals own Stefan Robinson (Yea Big), Chicago’s Jason Stein and Avreeayl Ra (Sun Ra Arkestra), and international artists Tatsuya Nakatani and Ryosuke Kiyasu. He released his debut album, Duality (2019) and was commissioned to compose the music for Cynthia Oliver’s dance work, Summon. Sow. Reap. (2023) which premiered at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. James released the latest Forebeat album, Stages of Growth, in January 2025 which was recorded and mixed by Mark White and mastered by Anthony Gravino at High Cross Sound.
James is also sought after as an on-call drummer and percussionist across the Midwest and has had the chance to share the stage with artists/ensembles such as Gavin Lee (West End/Broadway), Kyle Gass (Tenacious D), Sara Caswell (Esperanza Spalding), Charlie Ballantine, the Danville Symphony Orchestra, the Owensboro Symphony Orchestra, and the Lafayette Symphony Orchestra.
He received his B.M. in Percussion Performance from Eastern Illinois University and M.M. in Jazz Performance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Forebeat: Improvisation through Acoustic-Electronics
Session Description:
In this session, James will briefly explain the process behind his project, Forebeat, how to incorporate electronics into your acoustic set up, and demonstrate how he utilizes electronics in his improvisations. James uses Forebeat as a means to explore the relationship between rhythm and texture, either balancing the two or treating one as accompaniment to the other. Rhythms are often stretched or uneven depending on how “perfect” a loop is recorded. Oftentimes we get too hung up on playing with a perfect tempo that we forget that rhythm can be elastic. It’s when musicians embrace that elasticity that unique and interesting textures can be created! The goal of this session is to showcase the freedom and musicianship that can be developed when you introduce electronics and looping into your improvising practice and performance.
Session Category:
- Electronic/Technology
Date:
Friday, November 14, 2025
Time:
12:00 PM
Location:
Room 101
Session Type:
Clinic / Performance
Session Format:
Shared
