Simone Mancuso is a percussionist and drummer specializing in contemporary music, with over 25 years of teaching experience. He has received international recognition for his interpretations of contemporary classical works, earning the Kranichstein-Stipendienpreise from the Internationales Musikinstitut Darmstadt (2002) and First Prize from the Stockhausen Stiftung für Musik (2005), personally awarded by Karlheinz Stockhausen, who later named him a recommended performer of his works.

Mancuso has performed worldwide, including in Japan, Russia, Brazil, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Mexico, South America, and the United States. He has appeared at prestigious venues and festivals such as the Kennedy Center, Blues Alley, Strathmore Hall, Martha Argerich Project, and PASIC.

He has collaborated with leading composers, including Karlheinz Stockhausen, Salvatore Sciarrino, Alvin Curran, Klaus Huber, Chaya Czernowin, Edoardo Soto-Milan, Rudolf Kelterborn, Adriana Hoelsky, Chris Shultis and Glenn Hackbarth. In chamber music, he has performed and recorded with renowned pianist Martha Argerich.

Mancuso’s critically acclaimed recordings are featured on DECCA Classics, Deutsche Grammophon, Stradivarius, Col Legno, Curva Minore, Suisse Grammont Portrait, and Chelandia. He is a member of the Swiss-based Lugano Percussion Ensemble and co-founder of the Mancuso-Suzda Project, a jazz/classical crossover duo based in New York.

Currently based in Phoenix, USA, Mancuso is a professor of Percussion at Arizona State University, where he serves as Director of the Arizona Contemporary Music Ensemble, Co-Director of the Contemporary Percussion Ensemble, and Artistic Director of the PRISMS Contemporary Music Festival.