Makana Kai Noah Medeiros is a percussionist emerging as a musician participating in many genres ranging from jazz to classical to contemporary music.

As a chamber musician, Makana has performed with ensembles and festivals including the Yale Percussion Group, The Percussion Collective, New Music New Haven, Blackbox Ensemble, Eastman Percussion Ensemble, Eastman Jazz Combos, Nief-Norf Summer Festival, and Chautauqua Festival Orchestra. Makana has performed with established artists in the contemporary music genre including Pamela Z, Caroline Shaw, and Eighth Blackbird. Presented by TedX, he has performed works by Alejandro Vinao and Garth Neustadter in Shenzhen, China with the Yale Percussion Group. Makana has also appeared as a guest at summer festivals such as Next Festival of Emerging Artists and the inaugural season of ContemporArt in Satu Mare, Romania, performing repertoire ranging from classics such as Bela Bartok’s “Sonata for Two Piano and Percussion” to innovative electro-acoustic works like “Walkman Antiquarian” by Thomas Meadowcroft. With a reputation as an advocate of contemporary music, Makana has held leadership positions and participated in peer-managed ensembles including Ossia New Music at the Eastman School of Music and Versicolor New Music at Yale University, both with a mission to promote innovative music of the last century. He has also performed solo percussion repertoire throughout Connecticut at the George Flynn Classical Concerts and Ely Center for Contemporary Art. He also appeared as a clinician at the 2025 Percussive Arts Society Connecticut Chapter Day of Percussion where he presented works by Ivan Trevino, Alejandro Viñao, James Wood and Andy Akiho.

As an educator, Makana teaches in a variety of settings in public high school programs in Southern Connecticut. He is a front ensemble and drumline instructor for Greyhound Percussion, Naugatuck High School’s indoor percussion program. He self-administers a private studio based out of New Haven, CT where he teaches drumset and classical percussion to students ranging from ages 8 - 17.

Makana holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music, where he was also awarded the prestigious Performer’s Certificate and Arts Leadership Certificate. He holds a Master of Music and Master of Musical Arts degree at the Yale School of Music where he studied under the tutelage of Robert van Sice.