ABOUT UTAH PERCUSSION
The Percussion Area has established a reputation for innovation and excellence through an extensive percussive arts experience. With successful graduates in professional orchestras, studio jobs, military bands (Hellcats and Air Force Band of West), university teaching positions, private teaching studios, public education (HS/JH/MS directors and percussion specialist), arts administration (Houston Symphony), ethnomusicology, as well as working independently as composers, audio engineers and touring artists, the program has a proven record of preparing percussionists for professional success. Recent graduate school placements include New England Conservatory, Carnegie Mellon University, Florida State University, and Texas Christian University. Students have the opportunity to study and perform in a diverse set of areas including solo repertoire and chamber music, orchestral percussion, non-western musical styles, rudimental percussion, mallet keyboards, jazz drum-set and vibraphone, timpani and multi-percussion.
Our faculty supports students in discovering and developing their own artistic voice while also providing a comprehensive percussion curriculum as a platform for individual interests and career aspirations. In addition to in-depth performance skills, students develop expertise in areas of pedagogy, composition, audio/video engineering, marketing and entrepreneurship; all critical to succeeding in the 21st-century marketplace.
The internationally acclaimed Utah Percussion Ensemble has won the Percussive Arts Society International Percussion Ensemble Contest on multiple occasions, has appeared at the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic, and most recently, the Northwest Percussion Festival. The Utah Percussion Group (UPG) is dedicated exclusively to the performance of chamber percussion repertoire commissioning new works, creating recording projects, and performing at festivals including Percussive Arts International Convention (PASIC), Northwest Percussion Festival, among others including international opportunities.
The (UPG) has consistently ranked among the top four ensembles at the PASIC Chamber Percussion Competition over the past five years. Past Utah Percussion Ensemble and Doug Wolf commissions include repertoire such as Gillingham’s Stained Glass and Gauger’s Past Midnight, while recent commissioned composers include Anders Koppel, Christopher Deane, Askell Masson, Marc Mellits, Brian Nozny, Joseph C. Phillips, Chad Floyd, and Dwayne Rice.
UTAH PERCUSSION GROUP, PERCUSSION ENSEMBLE & GLOBAL MUSIC ENSEMBLE
Want to learn more?
The Global Music Ensemble focuses its repertoire on traditional music and dance from non-western cultures, particularly of and through the African Diaspora. While the focus of the ensemble is musical, cultural contexts relevant to the music studied are inherently stressed, providing a deeper understanding of the music’s meaning. Students from across campus disciplines are highly encouraged to join including non-music majors and non-percussionists.
