Tate Ellis

Tate Ellis is a 4th year student at the University of Calgary Studying music performance for percussion, and composition. Studying under Chris Sies, and previously Tyler Hornby, he is an extremely versatile musician, playing with the YYC Youth Lab band, The University of Calgary Jazz Orchestra, Wind Ensemble, and Percussion ensemble. Tate has competed on world stages in the marching arts, and was a featured performer at the Calgary Stampede in 2025. Throughout his education, Tate has fallen in love with minimalist music, studying composers like John Cage, Steve Reich, and John Luther Adams. He is also a self trained composer, fascinated with ambient soundscapes that create auditory images for the audience. Many of his works focus on natural scenery, and how music can express different elements of our planet through chance based processes, and extended techniques, primarily written for percussion quartets.