01 — Beginnings

Hootie (Josh Hooten) is a classically trained percussionist, keyboard player and dj with his Master’s degree in Music from the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University in Chicago, Illinois.  He grew up playing piano from the age of five, eventually studying with teachers from the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  After picking up percussion in 7th grade, he began studying with two members of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Dean Borghesani, Principal Timpani, and Thomas Wetzel, Principal Percussion.  Performing with the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra and UWM Wind Ensemble, he really started to fall in love with percussion. He gave his dual senior recital in piano and percussion at the WCM which included amongst many pieces, his original arrangement of Shotakovich’s Second Piano Concerto with violin, viola, horn, oboe and double bass and his timpani solo, accompanied by Cedric Gardener who was featured on “So You Think You Can Dance.”

02 — Education & Expansion

In college, Josh chose to focus his studies on percussion entirely and received his BFA in Percussion Performance from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2010.  During this time, he also spent four summers at Aspen Music Festival and School playing with some of the best youth musicians from around the world as well as performing on trips to Russia and Canada under the baton of such famous conductors as David Zinman and Alan Gilbert.  

After graduating, he skipped down to Chicago to receive his MM in Percussion Performance and Orchestral Studies certificate from the CCPA at Roosevelt in 2012 and 2016, respectively.

03 — Progression

During those years, he also fell in love with house music and the electronic music scene in Chicago.  He then joined musical duo Aathee, established in 2016 by Joseph Ruggiero and Nikhil Gidwani, in 2017.  They would go on to produce a plethora of intricate electronic soundscapes inspired by house, jazz, techno, and world music on their label, Aathee Records.