As the founder and owner of The Tune Locker, Sean W. Simmons started this music publishing company with a vision to bring #NewMusic into the world by supporting talented artists who share his desire.  An avid composer and performer native to Mechanicsville, VA (near Richmond), Sean gained an interest in music through his many teachers and mentors.  Among these many fine educators, Sean says he owes "an especially great debt of gratitude" to those who got him started as a musician:

 

Delane Floyd Martin, piano teacher

Melissa Sunderland Jones, orchestra director

Paul Rozecki, band director and arranger

Henry Williams III, percussion instructor and arranger

David Chung, percussion instructor and arranger

Susanna Klein, violin teacher and VCU strings faculty member

Catherine Cary, violin teacher and RSO violinist

 

A recent graduate of Furman University (Greenville, SC), Sean earned his Bachelor of Music degree in both Violin and Percussion Performance.  As a student in the esteemed music department at Furman, Sean studied percussion with Omar Carmenates and violin with Thomas Joiner, Andrew Carlson, Xiaoli Saliny, and Mary C. Irwin.  In between countless hours of ensemble rehearsals and shedding notes in the practice room, Sean was also pursuing additional study in music composition in the marching arts through independent studies with Jay Bocook and Omar Carmenates.  Sean has earned commissions writing marching band scores for Mountain Crest HS in Utah and Atlee HS in Virginia.

 

As a student, Sean has was an avid performer with the Furman Symphony Orchestra and String Quartets as a violinist as well as the Furman Symphonic Winds, Percussion Ensemble, Jazz Combos, and the Paladin Regiment as a percussionist throughout his time at Furman.  Sean served as Principal Second Violinist in the Fall 2017 FSO Concert and as a percussion section leader with the 2018 and 2019 editions of the Paladin Regiment.  Moreover, Sean has made numerous solo appearances at Furman including his 2019 solo debut with the FSO as a winner of the biannual Furman Concerto Competition with the piece Concerto for Marimba and Strings by Emmanuel Séjourné.  Sean is also credited with competing in Division I of the 2019 Modern Snare Drum Competition hosted at the Cleveland Institute of Music and plans to return in 2020.  Other unique honors include a special performance of the marimba masterwork Merlin by Andrew Thomas at Furman's Fall 2019 Honors Recital as well as multiple appearances on major upcoming recordings of percussion ensemble arrangements by Omar Carmenates of the music of composer John Psathas.  In addition, Sean has appeared as a performer on the world premiere and original studio recordings (to be released in 2020) of the electroacoustic work Avian Telemetry by Matthew Burtner commissioned in 2019 by the Furman University Percussion Ensemble, the Shi Center, and the Furman English Department.

 

Now residing in his hometown of Mechanicsville, Sean has focused his attention on teaching both privately and as a substitute music teacher in addition to his duties as owner of The Tune Locker.  If you would like to contact Sean to commission a new work or to take private lessons, you are encouraged to contact him directly through the contact form below.