FANTASTIC ILLINOIS DAY OF PERCUSSION

Okay, I might be biased since my colleague Greg Beyer here at Northern Illinois University hosted the event, but today was one fantastic Day of Percussion for the Illinois chapter of the Percussive Arts Society. For most of the day we had 250 attendees, and for the evening concert the attendance was over 300.

The day began with an "uncontest" for middle school and high school players to play their solo and ensemble pieces for a judge to get comments on improvement so that they're more prepared in a few weeks when the state solo and ensemble contest takes place. Several dozen students took advantage of that great opportunity. We then had a terrific clinic by Vadim Karpinos of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, an amazing masterclass by She-e Wu, a truly unique and engaging performance by Aiyun Huang, and then several of the universities in the state performed individually and then together in a wonderful "summit" of Illinois percussionists.

Vadim Karpinos

She-e Wu

Aiyun Huang

The evening concert featured So Percussion, who played beautifully. (We were fortunate have had So in residence here at NIU for the past 3 days - the students were incredibly happy to have them here and are even more motivated than usual.)

So Percussion

In addition to how musical and inspiring all the clinics and performances were, what always impresses me the most is that the finest artists in our field are some of the most wonderful people you'll ever meet. And, as these things always go, it was great to see so many former students as well as colleagues from all over the state here and to have a chance to catch up on what they're doing.

Greg did an amazing job marketing the event and organizing the event. Everyone I spoke with had a really great time and was really grateful to be able to be here for the day.

Greg Beyer