Percussion

The ASU Faculty Percussion Quartet

The ensemble is composed of the percussion faculty and performs concerts in the Rosen Concert Hall, Broyhill Music Center. Members of the percussion faculty perform regularly on the Faculty Recital Series.

Concert Percussion Ensemble - Dr. Robert Falvo, Conductor

The Concert Percussion Ensemble includes approximately eighteen percussionists. The ensemble performs newly -composed and standard works representing a variety of styles including contemporary, fusion, Latin, pop, ragtime, and performance art. The ensemble has performed throughout North Carolina, Europe, and northern Africa. In the Spring of 1986, the percussion ensemble performed a concert tour of Puerto Rico and presented clinics at the University of Puerto Rico and the Interamerican University.

The New Paradigm Percussion Quartet - Dr. Robert Falvo, Conductor

The New Paradigm Percussion Quartet comprises of four percussion students who are hand-picked by the instructor to perform advanced percussion quartet literature. They present one major concert throughout the school year usually in the Spring semester and perform on various recitals throughout the season. Literature has included, Fugue by Lou Harrison, Third Construction by John Cage, Snow In June by Tan Dun, The Whole Toy Laid Down by Dave Hollinden, Black Page by Frank Zappa, and Caprice for percussion and electronic tape by Art Kreiger.

Steely Pan Steel Band - Dr. Scott Meister, Conductor

The Steely Pan Steel Band consists of 18 players, utilizing 37 pans. The band performs throughout the South at various universities, public schools, and art festivals. Performances have included the University of South Carolina's Performing Arts series and Charlotte's "Spring Fest." The band was featured at the North and South Carolina Music Educators' Conventions. The band plays many styles including calypso, classical, pop, country, African, and rhythm and blues and uses pans made bythe "father of the steel drum," Ellie Mannette. Each year Dr. Meister travels to Trinidad and Tobago with some of his students to continue his studies of the steel band movement.

Mid-East Ensemble - Dr. Scott Meister, Conductor

The Mid-East ensemble performs music from Northern Africa and the Middle Eastern countrys and performs on Arabic and Turkish doumbecs, bendirs, muzhars, rics, tars, khartals, chimtas sticks, and zills. Basic doumbec and frame drum techniques are taught (doums, teks, toks, finger snaps, rubs, finger rolls, etc.). The ensemble performs on a regular basis with the Steely Pan Steel Band.

The Tabla Ensemble - Dr. Robert Falvo, Conductor

The ASU Tabla Ensemble comprises of 6-10 student percussionists performing traditional North Indian tabla compositions from the Benares baj. Beginning students learn basic bols called VARNA which are 5 strokes on the dahina (te te, tin, na, ta), and 2 strokes on the baya (ka, gha). They progress to extended strokes and combination strokes (dha, dhin, dhe, dhere dhere, etc.) and then to phrases (dhaStirakitataka, etc.) eventually learning compositions for their first soli. The soli is built on various compositions: bhumika/uthan, moharas, mukhras, kayadas, relas, gats, parans, and tukaras.

Marching Mountaineers, Mr. Scott Tobias, Director

As a part of the Appalachian State University Marching Mountaineers, the Marching Percussion Section offers the aspiring musician a positive marching and musical percussion experience during the fall semester. The Marching Mountaineers, 230+ members strong, perform at every home game and selected away games, the annual Marching Band Festival, and in exhibition at selected high school competitions. The marching percussion section is closely patterned after the contemporary sections found in competitive high school bands and drum corps, and annually creates an exhibition performance of their own. Featuring a field battery and sideline"pit", the section utilizes approximately twenty-seven players whose academic majors represent virtually every degree program offered at Appalachian.

The Percussion Audition

All students wishing to enter the School of Music must successfully complete an audition. The School of Music schedules several audition dates each year. Individual appointments may also be scheduled. Each prospective student must prepare one piece on snare drum, timpani, a mallet keyboard instrument and drum set or multiple percussion. Audition material can be found for snare drum in Method for Snare Drum by Jacques DelÃcluse or Portraits in Rhythm by Anthony Cirone, for mallet keyboard in Modern School for Xylophone, Marimba, Vibraphone by Morris Goldenberg, for timpani in The Solo Timpanist by Vic Firth or Timpani Technique for the Virtuoso Timpanist by Fred Hinger, for multiple percussion in Studies in Solo Percussion by Morris Goldenberg, for drumset in Contemporary Drumset Solos by Murry Houllif. Pieces from the solo literature are welcomed. The audition will also include scales and arpeggios on mallet keyboard, rudiments on snare drum, tuning on timpani and sightreading on all mediums. The student must demonstrate musical skills on all four areas of percussion.