Four guest artists will conduct a variety of events, including clinics, competitions and concerts, at the Western New York Day of Percussion on Saturday, March 30, at the State University of New York at Fredonia.
The day-long program in Mason Hall is designed for musicians, from middle school students through professionals. Individual clinics will focus on jazz drumming, rudimental snare drum and orchestral percussion.
Morning sessions in the Room 1080 rehearsal hall include: “The Groove and Spirit of Rudimental Drumming,” by Dominick Cuccia, instrumental band leader for the Paul Effman Music Service and leader of the Great American Fife & Drum Band; “Becoming an Orchestral Percussionist,” by Torrell Moss, a Cleveland-based percussionist, timpanist and Fredonia graduate; and “Coordinating Melody, Pitch and Rhythm,” by John Bacon and Alec Dube, both School of Music faculty and Fredonia graduates.
An afternoon concert, featuring separate performances by the Fredonia Percussion Ensemble and the KOS Percussion Ensemble, the combined middle and high school ensemble from Hamburg, N.Y., will be held in Rosch Recital Hall. The drum set competition at 2:30 p.m. will conclude the day’s activities.
Admission is $5, payable at the door. There is an additional $5 charge to participate in the drum set competition. Participants are to bring their own lunch. Registration will begin at 8:30 a.m. in the Mason Hall lobby.
Day of Percussion is sponsored by the New York state chapter of The Percussive Arts Society, Percussion Guild of the Fredonia Student Association and the Fredonia School of Music, with additional support from Yamaha, Vic Firth, REMO, Hal Leonard, Mike Balter, Zildjian and Black Swamp Percussion.
For more information, contact Dr. Kay Stonefelt, chair of Percussion Studies, at stonefelt@fredonia.edu
