Department of Music

The UVA A Night of Percussion Concert features the UVA Percussion Ensemble directed by I-Jen Fang and guest artist, Robert Jospé, our very own Drum Set faculty. Jospé will perform as the soloist with the ensemble on two numbers, David Mancini's Suite for Solo Drum Set and Percussion Ensemble, and Christopher Rouse' Bonham. Jospe will also lead the ensemble in performing his composition/arrangement, Learn to Groove on hand drums. This is a concert you do not want to miss!

Robert Jospé began playing the drums at twelve and first performed professionally in France at the age of sixteen. He has studied with Tony Williams and Bob Moses and performed with Michael Brecker, Dave Liebman, John Schofield and John Abercrombie. An accomplished performer, improviser and educator Jospé has been recording and touring with his group Inner Rhythm since 1990. His interactive, lecture/demonstration The World Beat Workshop is presented to thousands of students every year and has received annual touring grants from the Virginia Commission for the Arts. Jospé's CDs have been recognized in Jazz Week and Downbeat Magazine. His CDs include "Heart Beat," "Hands On," "Time to Play,"  "Blue Blaze," and "Inner Rhythm Now!" Jospé has been featured in Jazz Times Magazine and in Modern Drummer Magazine, UVA Magazine and The Savvy Musician. He has been teaching jazz drumming and a rhythmic fluency course “Learn to Groove” at the University of Virginia since 1989. He is also a member of UVA's faculty jazz ensemble, The Free Bridge Quintet. Throughout his career Jospé has played and recorded in many genres including rock, reggae, fusion, folk, Brazilian, Jazz, Soul & Afro-Pop. Rhythm and Resilience, a program developed by MBSR instructor Tussi Kluge and Jospé in 2009, works to improve the well being of inmates in the regional jails. The Kluge Foundation also funds his free community program Rhythm and Resilience.
          
The UVA Percussion Ensemble is a chamber ensemble that performs literature from classical transcriptions to contemporary music. The ensemble draws upon a large family of pitched and non-pitched percussion instruments.  Members of the UVA Percussion Ensemble: Joshua Bressler, Laura Chesser, Sarah Clememts, Bena Dam, CJ Harlow, Craig Hunter, Kevin Johnson, Michael Koenig, Chanmee Lee, Gregory Lewis, Beth Loudin, Steven Moore, and Miles Sollinger.  
 
This concert will also feature works by Cage, DeLuca (Virginia premiere), Hatch, Rouse, Saint-Saens, and a world premiere composed by our very own member, Craig Hunter.

For more information on this free concert, call 434.924.3052.