Contact: Whitney Hale

(Photo by Danny Clinch)
Glenn Kotche

The concert, under the direction of professor of percussion James Campbell, features a broad range of music from the earliest known percussion works to music that is ‘hot off the press’ and commissioned for this event.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 24, 2005) -- Grammy winner and University of Kentucky music alumnus, Glenn Kotche will join the award-winning UK Percussion Ensemble and other featured alumni performers for a concert celebrating the 20th anniversary of the UK Percussion Studies program. Kotche, drummer/percussionist for the two-time Grammy-winning band Wilco, joins several prominent UK percussion alumni for a free concert at 3 p.m. Sunday, April 3, at the Concert Hall of the UK Singletary Center for the Arts. 

The UK Percussion Ensemble recently won the International Percussion Ensemble Competition sponsored by the Percussive Arts Society, an international organization of over 8,000 percussion professionals and enthusiasts.

Other featured alumni performers include several prominent university percussion instructors, including Josh Dekaney of Syracuse University, Michael Gould of the University of Michigan, Frank Kumor of Kutztown University, Daniel Moore of the University of Iowa, Rande Sanderbeck of East Tennessee State University, and Kenyon Williams of the University of Minnesota at Moorhead.

The concert, under the direction of professor of percussion James Campbell, features a broad range of music from the earliest known percussion works to music that is ‘hot off the press’ and commissioned for this event. "Ritmicas No. 5 and 6," written in 1930 by Cuban composer Amadeo Roldàn, are the earliest ensemble pieces written for percussion instruments alone. Glenn Kotche has written a new work, "Clapping Music Variations," that brings together current percussion students with the alumni performers.

Current DMA student Julie Hill has penned a new work with a Brazilian flair that not only features all alumni artists, but also will interact with the audience.

Special commemorative percussion shakers will be available for a donation that will benefit percussion scholarships. The concert is free and open to the public. For further information on this event or Percussion Studies, contact James Campbell at (859) 257-8187 or by e-mail.