Author Archives: macdonaldp

The concert with Glen Velez was a tremendous success on many levels.  Here’s a photo of the whole crew in one place:

We are honored to be hosting the four-time Grammy winner Glen Velez here at WP.  He is performing with us tonight on February 22, and also conducting a masterclass.  Amazing opportunity for our students!

We’re wrapping up a great semester.  Last night we had yet another amazing New Music Series concert that included some classic percussion ensemble literature and improvised music created in the moment. Our next big event (and final one for the … Continue reading →

Summer = practicing stuff you like.  Awesome, huh?  Sometimes during the busy school year we just barely have enough time to get all our technique exercises, band parts, percussion ensemble, and everything else in and we don’t have time to … Continue reading →

This semester I’m working with some of WP’s most advanced percussion students on Xenakis’s seminal percussion ensemble masterpiece Persephassa.  It’s a big piece—at least 25 minutes—with a lot of instruments and many intricate sections.  We get together every Saturday for at least … Continue reading →

Winter break is upon us.  If you’re a high school or college student you are probably sipping some egg nog, hanging with your folks, and generally enjoying some time off from the business of the semester. You SHOULD relax a … Continue reading →

This is Dr. MacDonald writing.  I was in India last year on a Fulbright, but now I’m back and super excited about our new students and all the great stuff we’re doing this year.  Peter Jarvis has a great season … Continue reading →

The semester is cooking along with lots of concerts and recitals and other good stuff.  Check out the WP Music Department homepage for information about upcoming events.

And we’re up and running again!  We have a great year planned with lots of amazing concerts, new ensembles, new compositions, and other events.  Stay tuned for more info!

I just realized today that I haven’t posted since November.  Agghhh!  One might think we haven’t been doing much, but it would be quite the opposite.  We’ve been completely bonkers with New Music concerts, band concerts, orchestra, several outstanding recitals, … Continue reading →