Meet the hardworking and dedicated staff of Third Coast Percussion

Third Coast Percussion is a thriving not-for-profit arts organization based in the great city of Chicago. With a robust mission to inspire and educate through the creation of exciting and unexpected musical experiences, TCP’s full time staff of four works year-round to further the organization’s ambitious goals.

Click on a Staff Member to see their Bio

 

Reba Cafarelli is the General Manager with nearly two decades of experience in arts management.

 

Reba Cafarelli was recently named General Manager of Third Coast Percussion after serving for 4 years as the organization’s Managing Director. As a result of her work to help the organization navigate challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, she was named a 2022 Top Professional of the Year by Musical America. She previously served as Manager of the Chicago Center for Contemporary Composition at the University of Chicago, and assistant to world-renowned composer Augusta Read Thomas. She was Manager of the 2016 Ear Taxi Chicago Festival of New Music and Executive Director of Ensemble Dal Niente in addition to working extensively in the Chicago area as a freelance project manager with an array of arts organizations including the Chinese Fine Arts Society, the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts, and Shattered Globe Theatre Company. Reba was the Director of Production and Education for University of Chicago Presents from 2007–2013, where she produced classical, jazz, and contemporary music performances and managed a range of educational programs. She led the organization as Interim Executive Director in its 2011–2012 season. She holds degrees in Bassoon Performance from the Eastman School of Music and Cleveland Institute of Music, and performed with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago before launching her arts administration career at the Grant Park Music Festival in 2005.

Colin Campbell is the Production Manager and A trained percussionist.

A trained percussionist, Colin Campbell spent over a decade performing and/ or recording with artists such as Arlo Guthrie, Maya Beiser, On Fillmore and Radiolab Live: Apocalyptic. His playing can be heard on the score for the documentary “Maidentrip.”

Since his retirement from performing, he has continued to be an active member of the Lyon & Healy/ Salvi Harp Technicians’ Guild, serving harpists worldwide, including Opera Australia, the National Symphony and National Opera of México and many others. He is also a woodworking and restoration specialist at Century Mallet Instrument Service in Chicago.

When he’s not working, Campbell enjoys advancing his woodworking skills, smoking various meats, and sitting quietly with a glass of bourbon.

Rebecca McDaniel is the Development Manager.

Rebecca McDaniel is passionate about sharing music with others and about supporting the creativity of young musicians. Relying on music as a unifying force, Rebecca seeks to share curiosity and joy as a performer, educator, and arts administrator. She is the Development Manager for the GRAMMY® Award-winning quartet Third Coast Percussion, working closely with the ensemble in support of its performance, education, and collaborative programs. She is also an active chamber percussionist in the Chicagoland area, collaborating most frequently with violin and percussion duo Hot Second and interdisciplinary percussion ensemble Beyond This Point. As an educator, she serves on the faculty at the Merit School of Music. 

Rebecca attended Furman University (B.A. Music, B.A. Earth and Environmental Sciences) and the University of Missouri-Columbia (M.M., Percussion Performance). When she isn’t playing or supporting performances, she is most likely found hiking, biking, or otherwise outdoors.

Amanda Cantlin is the Marketing Consultant.

A writer with a lifelong passion for the performing arts, Amanda Cantlin works as a freelance marketing and communications consultant with nonprofit arts organizations around the country. Her areas of expertise span communications planning & content development to advertising, performance analysis, and project management, with past and current clients including La Jolla Playhouse, the Midwest Clinic, ACT Contemporary Theatre, Third Coast Percussion, and more.

Amanda attended the University of Chicago, receiving a B.A. in English Language & Literature and an MBA with concentrations in Marketing, Entrepreneurship, General Management, Organizational Behavior, and Operations. She founded her freelance business in 2020 after working in-house at the University of Chicago, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, and Victory Gardens Theater. In her free time, Amanda can be found tending to her garden, whipping up a dessert to share, or exploring Chicago’s many unique nooks and crannies.

Nolan Ehlers is the Operations Assistant.

Nolan Ehlers is a Chicago-based percussionist specializing in new music, improvisation, and chamber music. He has commissioned and premiered works from composers such as Michael Gordon, David Fennessy, John Supko, and Molly Joyce. He is a co-founding member of the new music/improvisation trio Else, if Else and the artist collective Inland Ocean. Nolan has performed with Aiyun Huang, Wynton Marsalis, Ensemble Modern, Beyond This Point, and others. In 2025, Nolan will work with students of Kunstacademie Deinze in Belgium to present collaborative multidisciplinary performances alongside members of Inland Ocean.

Nolan has studied Afro-Cuban drumming with the acclaimed rumba group Los Muñequitos de Matanzas. He directed Lawrence University’s Afro-Cuban ensemble Tambo Toké, and he received a 2020 Downbeat Student Music Award for a collaborative performance with the Lawrence University Jazz Band.

Nolan is the Operations Assistant for the GRAMMY® Award-winning quartet Third Coast Percussion, and Orchestra Manager and Librarian for the Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra. He received an M.M. in Percussion Performance and Chamber Music, as well as a Certificate in World Performance Studies, from The University of Michigan. He received a B.M. in Percussion Performance from Lawrence University. Aside from music, Nolan is passionate about coffee and enjoys watching the English Premier League.

Board of
Directors

Ethelbert Williams, President | Head of Retail Media Search & DTC Marketing, PepsiCo

Beth I. Davis, Vice-President | Senior Vice President of Real Estate (retired), Spencer Stuart

Mary K. Woolever, Secretary | Art and Architecture Archivist (retired), Art Institute of Chicago

Daniel Knaus, Treasurer | Member, ShiftCo LLC

Jim Barasa, Member | Managing Director, CIBC Private Wealth Management

Sara Coffou, Member | President (retired), Coffou Partners, Inc.

Robert Dillon, Member | Ensemble Member and Development Director, Third Coast Percussion

Nimish Dixit, Member | Vice President for Portfolio Operations, Marblegate Asset Management

André Dowell, Member | Chief Programming Officer, Sphinx Organization

Jamie Jung, Member | Owner, Provence Consulting LLC

Samir Mayekar, Member | Managing Director, Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation at UChicago; Former Deputy Mayor, City of Chicago

Sarah Forbes Orwig , Member | Executive Editor, ABA Publishing at American Bar Association

Louise K. Smith*, Member | Management Consultant

Catharine Fox Walby, Member | Director of Development, Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra; Founder, Assai Arts Management

Advisory
Board

Martin Bresnick, Charles T. Wilson Professor in the Practice of Music Composition, Yale School of Music

Michael Burritt, Professor of Percussion, Eastman School of Music

Matthew Duvall, Percussionist, Eighth Blackbird

Charles Katzenmeyer, Vice President, Institutional Advancement, The Field Museum

Jennifer Kim-Matsuzawa, Board Advisor and Strategy Consultant

Marc Miller , Vice President, Chief Development and Marketing Officer (retired),Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum/Chicago Academy of Sciences

Bruce Oltman, Fellow of Technical Staff (retired), Motorola Solutions, Inc.

Shauna Quill, President and CEO, Music Academy of the West

Augusta Read Thomas, University Professor of Music, University of Chicago

Thomas M. Welsh, Performing Arts Professional

Board
Alumni

John Bierbusse | Vice President and Manager, Research Administration (Retired), A.G. Edwards

Julio Desir, Jr. | Executive Creative Director, DesirCreative

Sidney Robinson | Emeritus Professor, University of Illinois at Chicago and School of Architecture at Taliesin



* Leave of Absence

Next Show

Thursday, October

17

Hong Kong Performing Arts Expo

38 Museum Drive
West Kowloon, Hong Kong

Hong Kong Performing Arts Expo

Learn More

Friday, October

18

Hong Kong Performing Arts Expo

West Kowloon,


Thursday, October

24

TCP Fall Benefit

Chicago, IL