Kai Strandskov

  Kai grew up with music in the home, and his musician parents immersed him in a wide variety of music from around the world. Today, Kai continues that spirit of discovery and he embraces a wide variety of genres. Starting out on trumpet at age 9, he has expanded to drums, percussion, theremin, and voice. With decades of experience, he composes and teaches music to students of all ages, and has performed across the United States and Canada.

With a mother who played accordion and sang in a Balkan music ensemble, Kai has had an affinity to music from the Balkan and Mediterranean region since early childhood. He went on to study with distinguished and award winning Roma musicians Demiran Cerimovic and Rumen "Sali" Shopov. Those experiences have shaped Kai's style on the doumbek and tapan instruments. Kai was the band leader for the operetta Tesla Projekt: The Light, written by Gino Jevdjevic, and has performed with folk groups including The m9 brass band, Bucharest Drinking Team, and Sazerac. 

Kai appears in the band's quarantine video for the song, "Eixa Kapote Mia Agapi" written by Pantelis Pantelidis, as performed by The Rumba Kings.  He's also a featured musician in the band's live performances.

Photo by Alex Hart Photography