10th Annual "A Night of Percussion"
The UVa Percussion Ensemble and alumni and guests will perform a special anniversary concert.on Saturday April 11th, 2015 in Old Cabell Hall.
Come celebrate the 10th Year Anniversary of “A Night of Percussion Concert!” Under the direction of I-Jen Fang, the UVa Percussion Ensemble will feature the jazz vibraphonist and Balinese gamelan specialist, Ed Smith, UVa Percussion Ensemble alumni, the UVa Bucket Band, and five world premieres commissioned by the ensemble in this celebratory concert!
Ed Smith will perform his original composition on vibraphone as well as the soloist with the ensemble on Minuano by Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays. The five commissions include a keyboard percussion octet Ten Year Portrait by Ed Smith, dedicated to I-Jen Fang in celebration of her 10th year anniversary of making and teaching music at UVa; a percussion quintet, Khamsa by UVa faculty, Judith Shatin; and a percussion sextet by Brian Simalchik. The current members will also joint by the ensemble alumni in premiering Hoos Forever, by the 4th year ensemble member, Craig Hunter and Survive by the UVa Percussion Ensemble alumnus, Elliott Burris. Also, the ensemble will premiere a Keyboard Quartet Consortium Commission, Mechanical Ballet by Anders Koppel.
Ed Smith's music career as a jazz vibraphonist and percussionist spans morethan three decades. He has performed with distinguished artists such as John Cage, Phil Wilson, Louie Bellson, Johnny Mathis, Ed Soph, Glen Velez, Trichy Sankaran, Nyoman Wenten, Hands On’Semble and many others. In 1992 Ed helped form the internationally recognized world percussion group, D'Drum, which recorded the soundtrack for the National Geographic Film "Lions of Darkness" and performed in Hong Kong as part of the Chinese modern presentation of Mozart's "The Magic Flute." A PBS short film about the group and their world travels won an Emmy in 1999. D’Drum has been a featured concert act at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC). They have two CDs published, Village Besides Time and Within You, Without You.
As a member of D’Drum Ed recently collaborated with Steward Copeland, drummer of The Police, on a world music concerto called Gamelan D’Drum. The world premiere with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra in February 2011 received rave reviews. They performed it again with the Cleveland Orchestra in 2012 and the Corpus Christi Symphony 2015. A documentary film about the collaboration called Dare To Drum is set for release in the Spring of 2015.
Ed began traveling to Bali, Indonesia in 1995 to study the music of wayang kulit (shadow puppet play) on the gamelan gender wayang. While in Bali in 1998, Ed was awarded the high honor of performing on the gender wayang with his teacher, Ketut Madri, in a temple celebration. Since 2002 Ed has also been studying the repertoire of the large Balinese gamelan, gong kebyar, with Nyoman Wenten and Wayan Sudirana.
Along with teaching vibraphone at UNT, Ed also directs the UNT Gamelan Bwana Kumala. In 2009 Bwana Kumala won the first annual PAS World Music Ensemble contest and performed at PASIC later that year. He also teaches at Southern Methodist University and Cedar Valley College. Ed is a Malletech Love Vibe Artist and has his own line of Malletech mallets.
Members of the UVa Percussion Ensemble are Theresa Bolan, Brandon Burton, Emily Church, Craig Hunter, Julianna Lee, Ryan Lerner, Gregory Lewis, Beth Loudin, Emily Milan, Steven Moore, Earl Park, Miles Sollinger, Shaun Spisak, and Crystal Triplett.
Old Cabell Hall is located on the south end of UVA's historic Lawn, directly opposite the Rotunda. Parking is available in at the Central Grounds Parking Garage, or in the lots off University Avenue at the University Corner. Handicapped parking is available in the C1 parking lot or in designated spaces on McCormick Avenue.
Supported by the Eleanor Shea Music Trust.
For more information please call the McIntire Department of Music at 434.924.3052.