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FSU’s Department of Music Presents the Percussion Ensemble in Its Fall Concert

Frostburg State University’s Department of Music will present the FSU Percussion Ensemble in its fall performance in a livestreamed concert on Friday, Nov. 4, at 7:30 p.m. in the Pealer Recital Hall of FSU’s Woodward D. Pealer Performing Arts Center. The concert is free and open to the public and is free to view on YouTube. The recital will also be livestreamed; click the “Join Stream” button on this page a few minutes before the recital is scheduled to begin, or anytime during the recital, to view the live performance.

Directed by Dr. Mackenzie Jacob LaMont, the Percussion Ensemble consists of Benjamin Alvey, Alec Chapman, Jacob Deaver, Grace Giles, Jacob Hunt, Jacob Hutzell, Joseph Louie, Julia Seddon and Guy Witt. They will be joined by guest performers Cheyenne Jeffries and Joe Rubens.

The concert will feature “Stratus” by Chris Crockarell, “4/4 for Four” by Anthony Cirone, “Introduction and March” by Garwood Whaley, “Gravity” by Marc Mellits, an arrangement of the fourth movement of “Concerto for Mixed Choir” by Alfred Schnittke and “The ‘O’ Zone” by Jack Stamp.

In 1990, seeing a void in entertaining yet educational percussion literature, Crockarell and business partner Chris Brooks co-founded Row-Loff Productions. RLP soon became the global publishing leader in percussion literature. Since that time, Crockarell has written and arranged marching and concert percussion for RLP as well as Arranger’s Publishing Company.

Cirone’s “4/4 for Four” was written in 1972 during the composer’s long tenure as a percussionist at the San Francisco Symphony and as a professor at San Jose State University. He serves as an executive editor of percussion publications through Meredith Music Publications and is a clinician for the Avedis Zildjian Cymbal Company, the Yamaha Corporation of America and the Remo Drum Company. Some of his most lasting contributions to the world of percussion, besides his compositions, teaching and performance history, are his many educational method books.

Whaley is the president and founder of Meredith Music Publications (1979) and conductor emeritus of the Bishop Ireton Symphonic Wind Ensemble in Alexandria, Va. He is the author of more than 30 highly acclaimed method books for percussion instruments, solos and ensembles, as well as the co-author of two supplementary band methods. His many publications for percussion instruments have become standard texts worldwide. In 2021, he was inducted into the Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame, the highest honor one can receive in this field.

Mellits is one of the leading American composers of his generation, performing hundreds of concerts throughout the world every year. His unique musical style is an eclectic combination of driving rhythms, soaring lyricism and colorful orchestrations. Mellits’ music is described as visceral, making a deep connection with the audience. He is often a miniaturist, composing works comprised of short, contrasting movements. His music is eclectic, all-encompassing, colorful and always has a sense of forward motion.

One of the most performed and recorded composers of late 20th-century classical music, the Russian composer Schnittke depicted in his music the moral and spiritual struggles of contemporary man. After he converted to Christianity and his deeply held mystic beliefs influenced his music, he was often viewed suspiciously by the Soviet bureaucracy. After his death in 1998, he was buried, with state honors, at the Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow, where many other prominent Russian composers are interred.

The title of Jack Stamp’s “The ‘O’ Zone” refers to the Percussion Department that Professor Gary Olmstead (“O”) developed at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. The work was written in celebration of Olmstead’s 25th year at the university.

FSU is following CDC guidance based on current area conditions. For current health and safety guidelines, visit www.frostburg.edu/COVID19.

For more information, contact FSU’s Department of Music at 301-687-4109.

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