| PERCUSSION PROGRAM |
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The University of Michigan Percussion Program is one of the longest active university percussion programs in the country. With over 50 years of history, its faculty have included some of the field’s most outstanding teachers and its alumni continue to achieve success in all areas of the percussion world. Broad in its musical scope, the percussion program promotes a comprehensive approach which includes opportunities for study in numerous areas including: contemporary solo and chamber playing, orchestral studies, timpani, drum set, and world music. The percussion program and it's artist faculty work to assist individual growth in the areas of performance, pedagogy, technology, composition/arranging, and improvisation in an effort to provide a comprehensive percussion education in response to the ever-changing demands of the 21st century musical landscape.
The Percussion Ensemble, World Percussion Ensemble, Brazilian Ensemble (Vencedores) and Pop-Fusion Percussion Ensemble are all integral to the studio curriculum and combine to give numerous concerts each year. Supplemental to these performance opportunities, percussion students can also elect course offerings covering percussion-specific topic areas such as orchestral repertoire, percussion pedagogy, and percussion literature.
Housed in the Earl V. Moore building, the percussion program has an extensive collection of world-class instruments and our facilities offer percussionists 12 dedicated practice rooms as well as additional storage. Additionally, the University of Michigan Percussion Program features 5 outstanding artist-faculty members that are both active as performers and committed to teaching. All percussion students have opportunities to study with various combinations of teachers during their undergraduate or graduate residency thus combining a variety of musical perspectives, approaches, and concepts into one integrated percussive foundation.
Ann Arbor's proximity to Detroit (45min) allows students frequent opportunities to see the Detroit Symphony Orchestra as well as take advantage of the rich cultural scene in Detroit, including museums like the Detroit Institute of the Arts, Museum of Contemporary Art-Detroit, and jazz clubs like Cliff Bells, Bert's, and Baker's Keyboard Lounge - the oldest jazz club in America. Detroit is also the host of Movement a 3-day electronic music festival which annually celebrates Detroit as the birthplace of techno as well as the Detroit International Jazz Festival, the largest free jazz festival in the country which takes place over 4 days during the labor day weekend every year. Highlights from the 2011 jazz festival include: Gary Burton, Joe Locke, Dave Samuels, Jeff "Tain" Watts, Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez, and Pedro Martinez.
Ann Arbor is also the home to the University Musical Society, which brings world-class artists and performers to campus every year. Recent concerts have included: Berlin Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, So Percussion, KODO Drummers, Jack Dejohnette, Wynton Marsalis/ Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, Amhad Jamal, and Danilo Perez, to name a few. Many of these UMS visiting ensembles/artists are often invited to work with our students in the percussion program. These frequent guest artist visits provide students with a unique opportunity to directly connect with successful percussion professionals in clinics/masterclasses, private/group lessons, and guest soloist appearances.
Check us out on the web!
 
 
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Upcoming Percussion Concerts & Events - Spring 2012
all concerts are FREE unless otherwise noted
UM Graduate Percussion Group | Chamber Percussion Concert
Tuesday, April 17, 2012 | McIntosh Theater - E.V. Moore Building | 8:00pm
Pavel Haas Quartet with Joseph Gramley, percussion
Wednesday, April 18, 2012 | Rackham Auditorium | 7:30pm
Junior Recital - Chris Sies, percussion
Friday, May 4, 2012 | McIntosh Theater - E.V. Moore Buildin | 8:00pm
DMA Third Dissertation Recital - Neeraj Mehta, percussion
Saturday, May 5, 2012 | McIntosh Theater - E.V. Moore Building | 5:00pm
UMMA Jazz Series - Jonathan Ovalle Quartet
Wednesday, May 9, 20120 | University of Michigan Museum of Art | 8:00pm
Check out the online calendar for a complete listing of all School of Music, Theater and Dance events
Percussion Section of the UM Symphony Band, on the band's 3-week Tour of China - May 2011
(L-R: Quincy Brown, Kyle Acuncius, Sam Livingston, Michael Colletti, Jeremy Malvin, Jeffrey Grant, Chris Sies)
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Current Students (2011-2012)
Kyle Acuncius - Maryville, IL
Andrew Bahle - Suttons Bay, MI
Julian Bridges - Atlanta, GA
Jonathan Brown - Clarkston, MI
Quincy Brown - Detroit, MI
Peter DiLeo - Greenville, SC
Peter Felsman - South Orange, NJ
Josh Graham - Livonia, MI
Jeffrey Grant - Ann Arbor, MI
Dylan Greene - Vashon Island, WA
Benjy Krauss - Fairfield, CT
Jon Larson - Pickerington, OH
Evan Laybourn - Novi, MI
Darren Lin - Hershey, PA
Christina Manceor - Troy, MI
Neeraj Mehta - Milwaukee, WI
Garrett Mendelow - Ann Arbor, MI
Paul Owen - Eugene, OR
August Pappas - Chelsea, MI
Nick Rifken - Leonia, NJ
Chris Sies - Manchester, MD
Alexander Sikorski – Grosse Pointe, MI
Arlo Shultis - Alton, IL
E. Ross Ura - Royal Oak, MI
Ye Young Yoon - Seoul, Korea
Brian Young - Ann Arbor, MI
 
Prof. Joseph Gramley with UM Percussion Seniors Prof. Jonathan Ovalle and UM Percussion Alumnus, Dr. Brian Zator
DMA Candidate, Neeraj Mehta
Members of the UM Symphony Band Percussion Section with Prof. Joseph Gramley and Prof. Michael Haithcock
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