William Paterson University Percussion

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. Fun!

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 evening! Here’s some of the gear we’re using . . .

And here’s the marquee:

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 in residence at WP since 1968. We have an amazing show, plus a CD release, plus the trailer for the upcoming documentary film about NJPE. We’ll see you there!

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, who has taught theory and composition at WP for over 40 years.  Dr. Kresky has been a major supporter of the New Music Series for a long time and we are glad to honor his contributions to the WP community.

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 section and make a day out of it.  Topics include:

-Working with the conductor
-practicing effectively
-basic techniques on all the major instruments
-sight reading skills
-and much more

There will be raffle prizes, performances, and a lot of the teaching is active and interactive.  Please let Dr. MacDonald know right away if you’re interested!  Seating is limited!  macdonaldp@wpunj.edu

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 our schedule page for more information.

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, and hours and hours of personal practice.  It’s that kind of dedication that makes WP such a special place.  As always, I’m very proud of my students, who work hard day in and day out, and are also wonderful people.

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