Named the 2019 Performing Artist of the Year by the Northeast Louisiana Arts Council, Mel Mobley currently resides and teaches in Monroe, Louisiana. As composer, conductor, performer, and advocate of new music, he has been part of numerous premieres and festivals around the country. Serving as principal percussionist of the Monroe Symphony Orchestra and frequent performer with the Shreveport Symphony and South Arkansas Symphony, Mel has performed with many chamber groups including the Implosion Percussion Group, the NMB Percussion Group, and M2– all groups that he served as a founding member. He has also performed with the 2X2 Percussion Quartet with performances at the Sugarmill Festival and at the National Percussion Pedagogy Conference. His most recent work centers on the combination of live and recorded music and dance. His collaborative work with dancer/choreographer Tina Mullone seeks to break down the barrier between dancer and musician as well as between live and recorded performance. Dr. Mobley teaches at the University of Louisiana at Monroe and at several camps throughout Haiti in the summer.  He is a founder and coordinator of the New Music on the Bayou Festival that connects composers from around the world with the communities of north Louisiana. He is a member of the Percussive Arts Society (PAS), the National Composers’ Association, USA (NACUSA), and the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP).  More information can be found at melmobley.com and soundcloud.com/melmobley.