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Eastern Michigan University
Ypsilanti, MI, USA 48197
Dr. Diane L. Winder
Interim Department Head
emu.music@emich.edu
Phone: 734.487.4380
Fax: 734.487.6939
Percussion Ensemble is a vital and integral part of the percussionist’s musical experience at EMU. First established in 1973, the Eastern Michigan University Percussion Ensemble has grown into one of the outstanding performing ensembles at the university. This exciting group has received much acclaim for its innovative programming and superlative performances. In addition to its activities on campus, the ensemble has been featured at the Michigan Percussive Arts Society State Festival, the Midwestern Conference on Music Education, and performed at many middle and high schools throughout Michigan and Ohio. As evidenced by the growing number of professional groups and acts such as Nexus, Kroumata, Kodo, and Stomp, the percussion ensemble is an increasingly popular and dynamic musical combination.
The Percussion Ensemble is a performance class designed to develop the percussionist's technical and musical skills in a small ensemble setting. It is devoted to the rehearsal and performance of the best in twentieth and twenty-first-century percussion ensemble literature in a variety of styles. It is the objective of this course to learn, perform and promote outstanding music written exclusively for percussion instruments, occasionally with non-percussion instruments; to develop chamber ensemble skills; to broaden the percussion student’s understanding of different styles of music, both traditional and non-traditional; to provide for a learning environment in which to further the percussion student’s general, technical and practical knowledge of a wider range of percussion instruments than might normally be covered in applied lessons; to enrich the cultural aspects and appreciation of the students involved, as well as the university and community; and to further develop professional educators and performers who are proficient on a wide variety of percussion instruments so that they will be prepared for whatever opportunities arise in the field of professional music and music education.
Participation in the Percussion Ensemble is reserved for percussion majors and minors or by special department permission (audition).
