Percussion Studio
The University of Michigan Percussion Program is one of the longest active and most successful university percussion programs in the country. With over 60 years of history, its faculty have included some of the field’s most outstanding teachers and its alumni continue to achieve success in all areas of the percussion world. The percussion program and its artist faculty work to foster growth in the areas of performance, pedagogy, technology, composition/arranging, and improvisation in an effort to provide a comprehensive percussion education in response to the ever-changing demands of the 21st-century musical landscape.
Faculty
Ian Antonio
Jeremy Epp
Michael Gould
Doug Perkins
Thomas Sherwood
Nancy Zeltsman
Welcome to the Percussion Suite
Facilities
The Moore Building hosts a unique suite of 12 acoustically-isolated practice rooms exclusively designed for the needs of the percussion department, as well as ample storage for personal items (drums/cymbals/mallets). The rooms are available to students enrolled in percussion and jazz percussion, and can also double as teaching studios or rehearsal spaces.
- Room 1426 – Multi A – dedicated multi percussion space (enough space for 2-4 set ups)
- Room 1422 – Multi B – dedicated multi percussion space (enough space for 2-4 set ups)
- Room 1412 – LEO – Timpani practice and chamber music (enough space for a small chamber ensemble)
- Room 1409 – Orchestral Room #1 – Xylophone/Glockenspiel/ Snare Drum Room
- Room 1407 – Orchestral Room #2- Xylophone/Glockenspiel/ Snare Drum Room Room
- 1410 – Marimba/Xylophone Room #1 Room 1403 – Marimba/Xylophone Room #2 Room
- 1408 – Marimba/ Vibraphone Room #1 Room
- 1405 – Marimba/Vibraphone Room #2 Room
- 1411 -“Flex” Room – space for small/ med multi percussion set ups (space for one Thirteen Drums-sized set up)
- Room 1406 – Drumset/Vibraphone/Congas
- Room 1401 – Timpani/Multi Room (space for one Rebonds-sized set up)
Instrument Inventory
The University of Michigan Percussion Program enjoys the use of one of the largest and finest inventories of percussion instruments in the country. We are fortunate to have an incredible diversity of impeccably maintained professional instruments.
Percussion Inventory at a glance (large instruments):
- Marimbas (11) – Marimba One, Yamaha, Adams, Kori
- Xylophones (8) – Musser, Deagan, Leedy, including vintage instruments
- Vibraphones (7) – Yamaha, Musser, Adams
- Glockenspiels (7) – Fall Creek (wide bar- extended range), Deagan (vintage) , Malletech, Adams
- Timpani (8 sets) – Hinger Touch-Tone, Walter Light, Yamaha, Adams, Ludwig, as well as custom-built cable drums in 20″ and 34″ sizes
- Snare Drums/Field Drums – numerous instruments including drums made by Pearl, Yamaha, Ludwig, Leedy, Hinger, Slingerland, Black Swamp
- Drumsets (5) – Pearl & Yamaha Kits
- Concert Bass Drums (10) – Reamer, Ludwig, Yamaha as well as smaller suspended “Abel” chamber bass drums
- Concert Toms – numerous complete full sets including: Pearl, Yamaha, Slingerland, Ludwig
- Hardware – a wide assortment of including: Pearl, Yamaha, Ludwig, Slingerland,
- Gibralter rack system, speed rail, custom gong racks
- Cymbals – a wide assortment of Sabian, Zildjian
Additional Specialized Inventory (abbreviated listing)
- Various Taiko/Odaiko Drums, Chinese Toms
- 4.5 Octave rage of Paiste tuned gongs
- Collection of various Thai gongs, cloud gongs
- 4.0 Octave range of chromatic tuned almglocken
- A complete collection of Brazilian Instruments – various surdos, tambourims, shekeres, repeniques, pandieros, agogo bells
- Full set of Equilibrium Chromatic Log Drums
- Mannette Steel Drums (lead, double seconds, cello pans)
- Dominican Tamboras and Palo drums
Michael Gordon’s Field of Vision
In summer 2022, after years of planning and a year of workshops, the U-M Percussion Ensemble went on tour. As part of their performances, they premiered Michael Gordon’s Field of Vision, a large-scale outdoor work for 36 percussionists that Gordon wrote for the U-M Percussion Studio featuring a choir of 24 brake drums, 24 gongs, 6 bass drums, and hosts of metal plates, pipes, and more.
Performance Opportunities
From large ensembles in celebrated concert halls to chamber groups in intimate recital spaces, performance opportunities across all disciplines abound, with nearly 900 student performances each academic year. Whether your focus is on early, classical, or contemporary music, whether your passion is for jazz, electronic, or world music, there is an ensemble—or in many cases, multiple ensembles—to suit your interests, including specific opportunities for percussion, piano, and organ & carillon. For students in theatre & drama, musical theatre, dance, and opera, opportunities abound in both professionally produced and student-run presentations.
Organ Performance
Students perform and study with their peers in studio classes and perform for the public in solo student recitals and studio recitals. In addition, the Organ Department organizes several recitals each term in local churches in the communities surrounding Ann Arbor and Detroit.
Carillon Performance
The University of Michigan has two world-class carillons. Half-hour recitals are given on weekdays throughout the academic year and are open to the public to view. Intermediate and advanced carillon students may perform for the campus regularly on these recitals.
Early Music Ensembles
Students interested in historically oriented performance have opportunities to explore music from across the centuries, performed on authentic period instruments and high-quality replicas.
Ensembles
Organ students have opportunities to perform with the University of Michigan orchestras, bands, and choral ensembles, and can gain extensive experience in continuo playing on organ and harpsichord with the Baroque Chamber Orchestra.