Percussion at 果冻传媒
Percussion Studies
The goal of the听percussion curriculum听at The University of Toledo is to equip students with a broad survey of musical skills in orderto better prepare them for a demanding marketplace in which jobs are becoming increasingly competitive. Although there are certainly notable exceptions among 21st听century musicians, there are very few percussion professionals who make their living exclusively from one discipline (just performing or just composing or just teaching, for example.)
Many successful professionals often make their mark in one of those areas, but often find themselves deriving success and, more importantly, income from a number of areas in combination, such as performing, teaching, arranging, composing, recording, authoring, etc. Taking a multi-disciplinary approach to one鈥檚 college music education and career planning can often lead to a successful, lucrative and enjoyable living as a professional musician in the 21蝉迟听肠别苍迟耻谤测.听
The University of Toledo Percussion Studies program strives to offer students a world-class percussion education focused on an individualized course of study designed to assist each percussion student in becoming well-rounded, musically-diverse musicians. The program offers all percussion majors opportunities for instruction in the areas of both concert/symphonic percussion as well as jazz studies. Although there is a rigorous overall curriculum, great care is made to personalize each student鈥檚 experience by tailoring the curriculum to serve each student鈥檚 individual musical interests.
The UT percussion program offers comprehensive instruction in classical/western percussion instruments and literature for keyboard percussion instruments (marimba, vibraphone, etc.), snare drum, timpani, and auxiliary percussion. The classical focus is on ensemble performance, solo literature, and orchestral excerpts.
The percussion program also offers comprehensive coverage in jazz, ethnic, and contemporary
popular music applications for percussion study. This area includes drumset instruction,
hand drumming, jazz vibraphone, and marimba playing.听 Jazz percussionists at UT are
also exposed to cutting edge applications of electronic percussion programming and
performance.
UT offers both Bachelor鈥檚 and Master鈥檚 degrees in Music Performance and Music Education. To study percussion at the University of Toledo, you must audition for acceptance into the program. Scholarships are also available. For details visit the听department audition听page.
Guest Artists
Guest artists are an also an important part of exposing students to successful professionals in the field and can provide a significant supplement to the normal curriculum. We are fortunate to have had hosted some wonderful guests artists including: 听(world-renown percussion soloist/composer),听听(drummer - Stefon Harris, Christian McBride)听听(percussionist - Detroit Symphony Orchestra),听听(world percussionist 鈥� Paul Simon, ),听听(marimba soloist/ author),听(tabla soloist),听听(vibes). In addition, the annual Jazz Masters Series, Dorothy MacKenzie Price Piano Series, as well as the Spring Festival of New Music annually host guest artists in both performance and master class settings available to all students. 听 听 听 听 听
Performance Opportunities
Performance opportunities abound for the percussionist. Within the UT Department of Music are a number of ensembles. Classical ensembles include the UT Symphony Orchestra, the University Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band. The 鈥渃orps鈥� style marching drum line performs with the UT Rocket Marching Band at home games and in special performances. In the Jazz area there are big bands, combos, Jazz Vocalstra, and the guitar ensemble, GuitArkestra.听The Percussion Ensemble performs a diverse repertoire ranging from jazz and ethnic influenced pieces to more traditional classical compositions.听Students interested in Percussion Ensemble should contact Dr. Olman E. Piedra by phone or email in order to set up an audition. Students are encouraged to participate in multiple ensembles. To join other ensembles, visit their web sites and contact their directors, or call the Music Department office at 419.530.2448.
Dr. Olman E. Piedra (bio)
Phone:419.530.2215
Fax: 419.530.8483
贰尘补颈濒:听Olman.Piedra@utoledo.edu听
ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
Whether it鈥檚 playing bebop or rock with some of Toledo and Detroit鈥檚 legendary musicians, teaching and arranging for high school drumlines, freelancing with local bands, church services, with local orchestras, or even starting your own private lesson studio, in addition to all of the on-campus opportunities in the Department of Music, Toledo and the surrounding areas offer numerous musical opportunities for percussion students to take advantage of and hone their craft in real-world applications.
In addition, Toledo鈥檚 proximity to Ann Arbor (45min), Detroit (1hr), Cleveland (2hrs), Cincinnati (3hrs) and even Chicago (4hrs) also offers UT percussion students numerous venues to see world-class musical artists within a few minutes to a few hours drive. One of the country鈥檚 largest arts promotion organizations, the , brings world-class jazz artists, orchestras, vocal ensembles, chamber groups and internationally-acclaimed soloists to the Ann Arbor/Detroit area every year. Recent concerts have featured the , , , , the , , , as well as jazz artists , , , , , and / to name a few.
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