Company News - percussion

Composer Spotlight: Michael Crawford

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DR. MICHAEL CRAWFORD is an active musician, educator, and adjudicator based in the Dallas/Fort Worth area metroplex. He currently serves as an adjunct faculty member at the University of North Texas (UNT) where he teaches the Percussion Methods course for undergraduate music education majors and supervises band student teachers. Dr. Crawford holds a B.M. in Music Education, an M.M. in Percussion Performance, and a Ph.D. in Music Education.

Prior to his appointment at UNT, Dr. Crawford maintained a 10-year teaching career as a Texas public school band director and percussion coordinator. His previous collegiate teaching experiences include a three-year appointment as Lecturer of Percussion at Tarleton State University (2011-2014) and serving four years as Drumline Instructor/Arranger for the Baylor University Golden Wave Marching Band (2013-2017).

Dr. Crawford has performed throughout the United States and Europe with the Waco Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Chorus, Lone Star Wind Orchestra Percussion Ensemble, and the Pioneer Drum and Bugle Corps. He has presented featured clinics, showcase concerts, and research projects at the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA), National Conference on Percussion Pedagogy (NCPP), Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA), and Texas Bandmasters Association (TBA) conferences.

Dr. Crawford’s scholarly work has been published in the Journal of Music Teacher Education, The PAS Rhythm! Scene magazine, and The Instrumentalist. He is a member of the Percussive Arts Society Education Committee, a certified Smithsonian Folkways World Music Pedagogy educator, and a Pearl Drums/Adams Regional Marching Percussion Artist.

Featured Video: FIVE MORE MINUTES by John Tadlock

FIVE MORE MINUTES is a groovy duet for two battery percussionists with mirrored instrumentation. Starting with interlocking clapping patterns, the piece seamlessly moves from texture to texture, section to section, while keeping the audience's toe-tapping attention. While programming my master’s recital, I ended up being exactly five minutes short of the required length. So, rather than [...]

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Composer Spotlight: Aubrey Simmons

AUBREY SIMMONS is currently the Director of Bands at the Bradwell Institute in Hinesville, Georgia. Originally from Mount Olive, North Carolina, Aubrey attended North Carolina Central University where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Ethnomusicology. He also has some Masters of Music in Conducting credit from Messiah University in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. During his [...]

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Composer Spotlight: Bradley Baird

Born in Texarkana, Texas, BRADLEY BAIRD is an avid educator, composer, and performer in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Bradley Baird is the newly appointed Assistant Band Director and Percussion Director for Cypress Falls High School in Houston, Texas. ⁠He is a recent alumnus of Texas Christian University where he earned a Master of Music [...]

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Featured Video: BLACK WIDOW by Bradley Baird

BLACK WIDOW is a chamber percussion ensemble for Solo Snare Drum accompanied by Marimba Quartet. The first deadly spider that comes to mind for many people is the black widow spider. Its daunting characteristics and portrayal in pop culture makes it widely known and recognized. While brainstorming titles for this work, I was (un)fortunate enough to [...]

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Featured Video: ImPULSE by Austin Franklin

ImPULSE for percussion quartet was written for an aleatoric set of non-pitched percussion instruments, chosen by the performers according to only a few instructions given in the score. The piece is composed in two parts, held together by a somewhat constant quarter note pulse, from which the title is derived. This pulse grows in intensity [...]

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Featured Video: Payload by Adam Bruce

PAYLOAD is an energetic chamber piece for six percussionists, cello, and contrabass. Inspired by the sheer power and driving force produced by the rocket boosters for a space shuttle launch, it portrays a mixture of experiences one might have while taking off, leaving the atmosphere, and the suspension of gravity.Performed by members of the University [...]

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Composer Spotlight: Dave Hall

DAVE HALL is Associate Professor of Percussion and coordinator of the percussion program at the University of Nebraska. Under his direction, the University of Nebraska Percussion Ensemble was selected to perform a showcase concert at PASIC in both 2019 and 2016 as winners of the Percussive Arts Society International Percussion Ensemble Competition (IPEC). Before his [...]

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Featured Video: Photovoltaic by Matthew Kilby

PHOTOVOLTAIC is an ethereal, yet catchy percussion ensemble piece that uses a diverse harmonic pallet and intense metric interplay. The piece depicts the quantum mechanical interaction between photons and electrons that could power our society’s future.

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Composer Spotlight: Matthew Kilby

MATTHEW KILBY is an educator and performer in North Charleston, South Carolina. He is currently Associate Band Director and Percussion Instructor at Fort Dorchester High School, where he won Rookie Teacher of the Year in 2019. He also assists with the Gateway Program, teaching gifted and talented young percussionists in Dorchester School District 2. Matthew earned his [...]

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