SU Percussion Ensemble Performs Thursday, April 18

SALISBURY, MD---From African drumming to ragtime music, the Salisbury University Percussion Ensemble presents a variety of styles on an array of keyboard and percussion instruments 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 18, in Holloway Hall Auditorium.

Directed by Ted Nichols and Eric Shuster, featured works include a Native American war song and dance, ragtime music by composer William Bolcom in the tradition of Scott Joplin, and a new work for bowed vibraphone. Ensemble members also solo on SU’s new concert grand marimba.

The World Drum Ensemble performs a selection of songs demonstrating African bass drums called “dun duns.” This semester, students also took the African musical tradition a step further, designing their own instruments from found objects.

“When West African slaves were brought to South America, they were not allowed to play drums, so they played on wooden boxes and shipping crates,” said Nichols.

Among the first items students created was a cajon, a wooden box upon which the musician sits, hitting different sections of the box to create different sounds that combine to form a rhythm. They also constructed what Nichols calls an “orchestra of trashcans” to perform a new composition, “Trash Can Alley.” Ace Hardware and Lowe’s Home Improvement provided materials for these projects at cost.

Sponsored by the Department of Music, admission is free and the public is invited. For more information call 410-543-6385 or visit the SU Web site at www.salisbury.edu.