About

Whether sitting behind a drum set or a set of timpani, Jeff Sagurton is at home in a wide range of musical settings. An active freelancer in both New York and Boston, Jeff has performed at venues ranging from Carnegie Hall to prominent East Coast jazz clubs. Jeff holds a master’s degree in Percussion Performance from The New England Conservatory of Music and dual bachelor’s degrees from Boston University—a B.M. in Percussion Performance and a B.S.B.A. in Accounting. Jeff has had the pleasure of studying with distinguished orchestral and jazz musicians including Timothy Genis, Joe Farnsworth, Daniel Bauch, Cecil McBee, Samuel Solomon, Kyle Brightwell, and Vince Cherico.

Jeff was surrounded by drums and cymbals from a young age. His father, Dave Sagurton—an independent cymbal maker and drummer—sparked his interest in percussion and gave him his first lesson the night before his fourth grade band audition. A native of North Jersey, Jeff took frequent trips into New York City as a teenager, studying privately with NYC freelancers Matt Smallcomb and Jeremy Levine and watching his favorite jazz musicians play at clubs around the city. Jeff’s interest in music quickly evolved into a passion as he began auditioning for honor bands, earning first-chair percussion and timpani positions in the All-State and All-Eastern bands in high school.

As an orchestral percussionist and timpanist, Jeff performs regularly with Symphony New Hampshire, The New Bedford Symphony Orchestra, Princeton Symphony, the National Concerts at Carnegie Hall chamber orchestra, and a host of other New York and Boston-based ensembles. His schedule as a drummer is equally full, with frequent performances in jazz and funk bands at prominent New York and New England venues and clubs.

Jeff has been a finalist in several recent percussion and drum set auditions, including for “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band, the United States Air Force Band, and the U.S. Army West Point Concert Band. In 2021, Jeff attended The National Orchestral Institute, where he was a member of the percussion quartet featured in Viet Cuong’s concerto Re(new)al. Jeff also attended Round Top Music Festival, Chosen Vale International Percussion Seminar, and Miami Music Festival.

Passionate about music education, Jeff has experience teaching at a wide range of levels. He frequently leads percussion sectionals as a substitute teacher at Tufts University’s Youth Philharmonic and previously served as the percussion teaching assistant for Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras. Jeff also teaches private drum set and percussion lessons to students of all levels.