In his early years, Tony had the fortune of a classical musical environment. Through the aid of his trumpeter father, he became a percussionist in the Merced Symphony Orchestra just before his twelfth birthday. By the time he had reached his university education in Fresno, CA, he was a professional playing and recording drums in popular music and jazz.
In 1989, he began to work in the Los Angeles–Brazilian music scene and eventually forming the world-class group Sambaguru with Kátia Moraes. In 2000, he began a tour with the Brazilian musical legend Sergio Mendes and Brazil 2000. His informal introduction to colonial music came to fruition with his time living in Peru and visiting Brazil.
Working on creating the various musical aspects of the feature film “Woman on Top” for Fox Searchlight Films, gave him the musical understanding to finally score a short for “Gladiator” famed CG Producer, Scott Anderson. Shogren’s work in film composition inspired change into a larger compositional world.
In 2007 Anthony achieved a B.M. degree and in 2010 an M.M. degree in composition from CSULA. In academia he forged a solid foundation in writing program music. Awards include the Valley Symphony Orchestra Thirteenth Annual Composers Competition as well as the world premiere of “Zona Amazona” of the “Zonas” program.
Shogren’s drive to jump full-force back into the live playing scene came at a time of industry strife. His full effort concentrated primarily on his love of Afro-Caribbean styles. He maintains a full playing schedule as timbalero (timbales player) with the Susie Hansen latin band. Meanwhile, the creative composer/producer launches the Latin big band project, Tumbao 21. The collaborative project is projected to debut in March 2014.
Shogren’s mission is to contribute a lasting understanding of lesser-known music cultures. He strives to bring to American people (North, Central and South) cultural awareness through composition, live performance, sound recordings and cinema.