The 2013 MINNESOTA DAY OF PERCUSSION at Concordia College
by David P. Eyler
The Minnesota Day of Percussion will be held on Saturday, April 6, 2013 in Memorial Auditorium on the campus of Concordia College (Moorhead, MN). The Day will feature three world-class artists presenting a series of sensational clinics and concerts. This annual event will be the 23rd Day of Percussion hosted by Dr. David Eyler, Director of Percussion Studies at Concordia. It is made possible through the generous support of Concordia College Music Organizations and Department of Music, in cooperation with the Minnesota Chapter of the Percussive Arts Society, area music stores and percussion manufacturers.
The Day’s diversity of clinics and concerts offers something for everyone. ZORO, one of the most in-demand drumset artists of today, will present a “Drum Set” clinic and perform with the Concordia Jazz Ensemble I beginning at 1:30 p.m. Keith Aleo, Director of Education and Orchestral Activities at the Zildjian Company and a member of the percussion faculty at the Boston Conservatory, Interlochen Arts Academy, and the University of Rhode Island, will present a “Cymbals and Accessory Instrument” clinic at 9 a.m. Dr. Christopher Norton, Director of Percussion Studies at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, will present a “Mallet-Keyboard” clinic/performance at 10:30 a.m. His brilliant interpretation of Creston’s Concertino for Marimba and Orchestra, on the CD of the same title, sets the standard of performance for today’s percussion student and teacher.
Registration for the Day’s activities will begin at 8:00 a.m. and continue throughout the morning. Performances by several percussion chamber ensembles will greet early morning registrants.
The 3:00 p.m. hour will present a unique opportunity for the participants to get to know the guest artists. All three will serve on a panel discussion titled “Finding your path to success in the music industry” in which each artist will give hints/ideas/suggestions from their past experiences in the music industry as performers, authors, composers, and educators.
The Concordia Percussion Ensemble, and Marimba Choir, as well as the adult community group Viva Marimba and all three guest artists, will conclude the Day’s activities with a performance at 4:00 p.m. Door prizes will be awarded throughout the day. There is no admission charge for any events. A complete schedule for the Day can be found at: http://www.cord.edu/Music/Toursandevents/percussion1.php
BIOS of the guest artists
KEITH ALEO is the Director of Education and Orchestral Activities at the ZILDJIAN COMPANY. He is also a member of the percussion faculty at the Boston Conservatory, Director of Percussion at the Interlochen Arts Camp in Interlochen, Michigan and is Director of Percussion at the University of Rhode Island. He was a member of the percussion faculty at the University of Miami from 1994-2003. His playing credits include the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra and in 2004, the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Aleo's newest book, Complimentary Percussion, a Handbook for Tambourine, Triangle, Cymbals and Bass Drum, published by Bachovich Publishing, was released at PASIC 2011 with great success. Dan Bausch of the Boston Symphony says of the book: “Keith Aleo has filled a void in the field of orchestral percussion with his collection of etudes. They are clever, musically written, and address real challenges and impracticalities associated with these instruments. They are a valuable resource for all levels of experience." He was a member of the international Percussive Arts Society's Board of Directors. He received the Chapter President of the Year award for his work as president of the Florida Chapter of PAS. Mr. Aleo has given master classes and workshops on percussion instruments at numerous universities and conventions. Highlights have included the Percussive Arts Society State and International Conventions, PAS Journees de la Percussion in Paris France, the PAS Italian Percussion Festival in Fermo Italy and multiple Music Educator Conferences. His other publications include Advanced Etudes for Snare Drum and Advanced Duets for Snare Drum published by HoneyRock Publishing. He was contributing editor for the Encyclopedia of Percussion Instruments, published by Garland Publishing.
CHRISTOPHER NORTON is Professor of Music and Director of Percussion Studies at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. Prior to joining the Belmont faculty in 2001, he taught at Western Kentucky University for fourteen years. His bachelor's and master's degrees are from the Eastman School of Music, and his doctorate from Louisiana State University. Dr. Norton performs regularly as a percussionist with Nashville Symphony, Alias Chamber Ensemble, Sympatico Percussion Group, and the Peninsula Music Festival Orchestra. Formerly, he performed, recorded, and toured with the Nashville Chamber Orchestra, Bob Becker Ensemble, and the Jack Daniel’s Silver Cornet Band. He has held positions with the Rochester Philharmonic, the Virginia, Baton Rouge, and Alabama Symphonies, and the Eastern Philharmonic. Dr. Norton’s solo marimba CD Christopher Norton: Creston Concertino for Marimba features several first edition recordings of twentieth-century American works. In 2012, Dr. Norton and his wife Leslie, Principal Horn of the Nashville Symphony, released This Road We’re On, a CD of horn-percussion duos they commissioned over the past twenty-five years. Dr. Norton has given clinics and recitals in Europe and across the United States, most notably as a featured artist at Percussive Arts Society International Conventions and Days of Percussion. A past state chapter president of PAS, Norton currently serves as Chairman of the Keyboard Percussion Committee. His compositions are often listed as required repertoire for international marimba competitions and are published by Alabaster Music, Innovative Percussion, and Pioneer Percussion. Also an active orchestral conductor, Dr. Norton is Music Director of the Nashville Philharmonic Orchestra. He was one of five conductors participating in the Nashville Symphony’s performance of Charles Ives’s Universe Symphony in Carnegie Hall last May. Dr. Norton is a MALLETECH performing artist.
ZORO is both an internationally known rock star and one of the world's most renowned and respected drummers. He has toured and recorded with Lenny Kravitz, Bobby Brown, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, The New Edition, Jody Watley, Sean Lennon, Philip Bailey (of Earth, Wind & Fire), Lisa Marie Presley, Vanessa Paradis, among numerous others. Zoro is also one of the top educators in the world and was voted "No. 1" R&B drummer and clinician in the Modern Drummer magazine Reader's Poll for several years in a row. He also received "Best Funk Drummer" honors in Drum! and Rhythm magazines. Zoro's book and DVD, The Commandments of R&B Drumming, were awarded the prestigious "No. 1 Best Educational Products" title in the Modern Drummer Reader's Poll. His riveting drum performance can be seen on the DVD Modern Drummer Festival 2005 (Hudson Music). Zoro’s most recent publication, The Big Gig, was released by Alfred Music Publishing in 2011. The book is not only an insider’s guide for musicians wanting to break into the music industry, it is also a motivational story for drummers as well as non-musicians, covering the vocational, personal and spiritual aspects of achievement. Quincy Jones called The Big Gig “... a blueprint for a successful life.” Zoro's infectious enthusiasm for life and music is contagious - a positive role model full of heart, humor and passion. His upbeat persona is clearly evident in all that he does. Zoro is fun, flamboyant, zany, and serious, all at the same time. He continues to enlighten, entertain and inspire audiences around the world as both a motivator and musician. ZORO is a Performing Artist for DRUM WORKSHOP, VIC FIRTH, LATIN PERCUSSION and SABIAN. To learn more about the “Minister of Groove”, please visit www.ZoroTheDrummer.com