William Paterson University Percussion

It’s going to be busy! We have lots of festival appearances, a recording to make, and some great concerts right here on campus. And, a new group photo:

It’s been a busy fall. Between four senior recitals, and ensemble concerts for percussion, new music, global group, band, orchestra, and the music, our WP Percussion students have been crazy busy. We also premiered a new piece (40 minutes!) by Kyong Mee Choi, a wonderful Korean-American composer based in Chicago.

Special thanks to Joseph Butz Sr for taking these wonderful photos!

Here is the schedule for Friday, May 13, 2022. The festival is in Shea Auditorium. Looking forward to seeing everyone there! Directions below the schedule.

Directions: GPS is 300 Pompton Road, Wayne, NJ, 07470, take Entry 2, park in the Visitor’s Lot to the right. The festival is in Shea Auditorium, as part of the Shea Center for Performing Arts, across the street, towards the guard station.

Spring 2022 can be summed up in one word: BUSY! WP Percussion has a lot going on. We have some local gigs, an appearance at NJMEA (New Jersey Music Educator’s Conference) in Atlantic City, an appearance at the Verona Day of Percussion, we’re hosting our own WP Day of Percussion, and of course our usual concerts. We might also be doing a recording session at the end of the semester if the stars align.

And we’ve got a bunch of new videos out. Here’s one, Nathan Daughtrey’s “Shock Factor.”

Fall 2021 semester is off to a great start. We’ve started rehearsing our contemporary percussion ensemble music, with pieces by Philip Glass, Baljinder Sekhon, Michael Colgrass, and many more. The students are digging into their parts and working hard on some challenging music. We’re excited about this concert as we have several students conducting pieces, and the students are also involved in all aspects of the production of the program, including repertoire selection, logistics, PR/marketing, and more.

We’ve also started rehearsals with the new Global Percussion Ensemble, a group dedicated to exploring various world music drumming traditions, and creating new music. Special guest M’bemba Bangoura, a master drummer from Guinea, will be working with our students later in the semester.

Applied lessons are underway, and we’re working on the usual diverse range of material, including contemporary music, orchestral excerpts, jazz drum set, and of course our ensemble parts.

The students are busy, morning until night, practicing and studying. They are truly amazing.

We’ve been busy this semester learning cool music and performing it and recording it. Check out this video of Kyong Mee Choi’s amazing “A New Earth”:

Busy days for us here at WP Percussion. In the last three weeks we’ve performed at the New Jersey Music Educator’s Conference in Atlantic City, the Necessary Noise Festival in Rahway, and the Verona Day of Percussion. Our students played beautifully!

Spring 2020 will be a great semester. We’re performing at NJMEA, the Necessary Noise Festival, and the Verona Day of Percussion. We’re also starting to lay down tracks for our next recording, featuring music from the 1930s. We’re going old school!