For former Northridge student and Goshen native Tristan Swihart, music is “special.”
“Music is one of those rare things that can really unite people of all sorts of backgrounds,” Swihart said. “Ultimately, I love performing music that I myself enjoy listening to, and to be able to share it with others is really special.”
His musical partner, Micah Detweiler, feels much the same way.
“I’m not sure if going into percussion was ever really a choice,” said Detweiler, a Goshen College graduate and former teacher at Northridge High and Middle Schools. “I was pretty obsessed from an early age. I had toy drums that I loved and would beat on my parents’ pots and pans. Music as a whole interested me, but always drums and percussion more than anything else.”
Although both have roots in Elkhart County, Swihart and Detweiler now divide their time between Goshen and Madison, Wisconsin, as the two founding members of pax duo, a percussion project which, in their words, “aims to break preconceptions of contemporary percussion through collaboration and new creation.”
“We hope to continue to share our projects through live performances and videos,” Swihart added.
The two first met in 2012, when Detweiler began working with the Northridge Raider Marching Band, where Swihart was a student. Formerly teacher and student, the two now are musical colleagues who are working on several new musical projects and recently completed a tour across Indiana and Wisconsin.
“After studying with Micah for five years, I went on to study with Michael Burritt at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, where I received my Bachelor of Music degree in percussion performances as well as a certificate in Arts Leadership in the spring of 2021,” Swihart said. “I currently live in Madison, Wisconsin, where I am a full-time freelance musician.”
Detweiler has also turned his longtime passion into a career, in both teaching and performance.
“I balance most of my time between teaching private lessons, playing gigs, and teaching as an adjunct for both Goshen College and Indiana University South Bend,” he said.
So far, pax duo has performed entirely within the Midwest, but Swihart hopes that will change.
“To perform for audiences nationally and even globally is something we are super interested in, but ultimately we will continue to measure our success by the projects we create and the relationships we create with our collaborative artists along the way,” he said.
Swihart also discussed how he and Detweiler, in addition the performance aspects, both work on the logistical aspects as well.
“I also spend a considerable amount of time doing administration work for pax duo,” he said. “Both Micah and I split up the responsibilities of running our ensemble. Some of my jobs include booking our tours, organizing percussion gear logistics, and being the liaison with our collaborators.
“We work closely together on grants and artistic decisions (like repertoire and figuring out who we want to collaborate with), and are often working on four to five different projects at a time. Organization and regular administration meetings are key when it comes to getting everything done.”
With respect to those considering a career in music, both offer some advice.
“Careers in music can be tricky,” Swihart said. “Every musician’s career is unique to their own methods of art and how they make money from it. Ultimately, you have to really believe in what you are doing and love the process of doing it.”
Speaking as a former music teacher, Detweiler describes music as a very rewarding career path but not necessarily an easy one.
“Firstly, listen to a bunch of music, to your teachers, to others who have done it before, to any knowledge you can soak up,” he said. “My other big advice is to be flexible in what your understanding of a career in music can look like. I know hundreds of musicians and only a very select few of them are full-time performers. Most are balancing several different elements to create one cohesive career.”
Detwiler offers some final thoughts.
“Music is pretty cool in how it can take you places you don’t expect,” he said.
