About Trioblique

Luke Sanders is Assistant Adjunct Professor of Guitar at the University of Northern Iowa. Prior to UNI, Luke taught guitar and various courses and ensembles within the jazz curriculum at Luther College in Decorah, IA and Wartburg College in Waverly, IA. Luke earned his undergraduate degree in Instrumental Music Education at Coe College in 2017. Luke later would go on to lead the jazz program and direct the 9th grade band at Waterloo West High School. Following his time at Waterloo West, Luke earned his Master of Music in Jazz Pedagogy at UNI under the tutelage of Bob Dunn, Chris Merz, and Dr. Mike Conrad.

An active performer, clinician, and composer/arranger, Luke has been a staple in the Eastern Iowa music scene for the past decade. Luke has performed with the Des Moines Symphony Orchestra and the Cedar Rapids-based Orchestra Iowa, and has been a featured guest artist with multiple professional concert bands around Iowa presenting the stateside premieres of Mario Parizek's guitar concerto, Fingerpick meets Blasmusik.

While at UNI Luke's student quintet, "Bad News," earned a grant to record an album of all original music titled We Get That a Lot. Luke's jazz performance experience has taken him around the Midwest in numerous acts as a bandleader and sideman. Luke has been on faculty for the KCCK Middle School Jazz Camp held at Kirkwood Community College since 2016, and has also served on staff at the Cedar Falls Summer Jazz Camp and UNI's own Amp Camp.

When Luke is not surrounded by guitars and gear he loves to spend time at his home in Waterloo with his fiancée, Casey, and their chihuahua, Kiki.

// Education M.M. · University of Northern Iowa

Dr. Will Yager is a versatile double bassist committed to experimental music, improvisation, jazz, and collaborating with living composers in the creation of new solo and chamber repertoire for the double bass. He is a founding member of the soprano/double bass duo LIGAMENT and improvising trio Wombat. Performance highlights include appearances at Bang on a Can's Long Play Festival, Big Ears Festival, University of Iowa Center for New Music, International Society of Bassists Convention, SPLICE Festival, High Zero Festival, Experimental Sound Studio's Quarantine Concerts, Omaha Under the Radar, SEAMUS National Conference, and the Feed Me Weird Things concert series. Yager is also a founding member and currently serves on the board of the nonprofit organization Bass Players for Black Composers.

As members of LIGAMENT, Anika Kildegaard and Will Yager have premiered many new works and have an upcoming album of pieces written expressly for the duo. Notable performances include appearances at the Kansas City Contemporary Music Festival, Cleveland Uncommon Sound Project's Re:Sound, New Music on the Point, and the Cortona Sessions for New Music. Recent concert seasons have included residencies at the University of Idaho and University of Iowa, a collaboration with the composition department at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, and tours of the midwest and east coast. Their upcoming 2024–25 season will include a return to the Peabody Institute, a residency with the University of Iowa Center for New Music, a winter tour with clarinetist Jean-François Charles, and a spring tour with voice/flute ensemble SydeBoob Duo.

Wombat, along with saxophonist Justin Comer and guitarist Carlos Cotallo Solares, is an improvising trio dedicated to experimental and intermedia performance. Wombat has performed at the Oh My Ears Festival, MOXsonic Experimental Electronic Music festival, the University of Iowa Center for New Music, as well as tours across the US. Wombat has several recordings available on Bandcamp, including their most recent recording Burnt Ends. Will is also an active jazz musician and has performed with Gregory Tardy, Damani Phillips, Mark Boling, Steve Grismore, and others in the Iowa and Tennessee areas. He has an upcoming piano trio album with Dr. Geoffrey Dean and Hunter Deacon slated for release in 2025.

In addition to his varied performance activity, Will is a devoted educator. He currently teaches double bass at the University of Northern Iowa, and spends his summers on faculty at the North Carolina Governor's School West. Prior to his position at UNI, Will taught at the University of North Alabama and Maryville College.

// Education University of Iowa · University of Tennessee · Maryville College

Josh Hakanson is a musician and educator based in Cedar Falls, IA. On drum set, Hakanson has played professionally in the Northwest and Midwest in a range of musical styles, encompassing jazz, rock, hip-hop, and fusion. As a student and professional performer, he has had the privilege to share the stage with such musicians as Bobby Shew, Adam Kolker, Luis Bonilla, John Fedchock, Jennifer Wharton, Benny Green, John Wojciechowski, Steve Owen, Idit Shner, Joe Manis, Bob Washut, Chris Merz, Mike Conrad, Anthony Williams, Dave Rezek, and many others. As an educator, he has taught private lessons to all ages, coached large and small jazz ensembles at the collegiate and high school levels, and conducted music clinics at the middle and high school level. He is currently a member of the percussion faculty at Wartburg College in Waverly, IA, where he directs the Knightliters Jazz Band and the Wartburg Percussion Ensemble.