Ted Atkatz is the founder of and frontman for the Los Angeles-based alternative rock group NYCO. He is a former principal percussionist for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO).Atkatz left the CSO in 2006 to devote himself full-time to NYCO. The band released its debut album, Two, in 2005. NYCO released its second album, Realize, in June 2008, and its third album, Future Imperfect, in October 2012.Atkatz grew up in Queens, New York, where he began studying percussion at an early age.