Author Archives: macdonaldp

We had a great visit to Fallon Elementary School in Wayne, NJ, the other day. We played some of Lou Harrison’s music and talked about non-traditional percussion. One of our WP alums Christina Batiz teaches there and she guest conducted. … Continue reading →

Tonight is the night. After many months of hard work we’re getting ready to celebrate 50 years of music making with New Jersey Percussion Ensemble. So many alums and faculty and students will be there, it will be a magical … Continue reading →

Monday, February 5, 2018, 7:00 p.m., Shea Auditorium. Mark it in your calendar! This is a big, big, big event. Did I say big? It’s BIG!! This concert celebrates 50 years of New Jersey Percussion Ensemble, the professional percussion ensemble … Continue reading →

We have two more New Music Series concerts this fall, please go HERE to learn more.  The one this coming week will include some amazing student performances and then the one in late November is dedicated to Dr. Jeffrey Kresky, … Continue reading →

We had a fabulous clinic by Gene Koshinski this past week.  Thanks, Gene, for sharing your amazing music with us!

Saturday, May 6, 2017, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. This event is totally free and open to all students, directors, and percussion lovers.  The focus is on making YOUR percussion section sound better.  We encourage you to bring your entire … Continue reading →

So many concerts!  Collage, New Music, Midday Series, and on and on.  Late night rehearsals, early morning rehearsals, these are busy days, but the percussionists are digging in and playing very well.  

This is going to be a busy semester with appearances at two percussion festivals and the NAfME symposium in Atlantic City.  We’ve also got at least 5 New Music concerts this spring, all of which are percussion heavy.  Check out … Continue reading →

We had a great Fall 2016 semester here at WP.  Lots of exciting concerts, including our premiere of Gene Pritsker’s amazing “Forced Bravery” for 10 drum sets. Yes, 10 drum sets! We had a lot of early-morning rehearsals, late-night sectionals, … Continue reading →

We have a new promotional video in the WP percussion area.  Enjoy!