IU Jacobs School of Music Summer Percussion Academy

02/25/2023

We regret to announce that we will not be offering the IU Summer Percussion Academy in 2023. Please continue to check our page for information regarding a possible 2024 offering.

07/16/2022

SPECIAL THANKS to our IU faculty and guest artists: Keith Aleo, Kevin Bobo, Benjamin Braude, Evan Chapman, Sean Dobbins, Joe Galvin, John Tafoya, Karlyn Viña, and John Wittmann! And also a big thanks to the counselors and staff: Casey Street, Katie Curry, Eddie Meadows, John Sevy, Lucas Allen, Mihail Babus, and our percussion technician, Joel Castro.

07/16/2022

The 2022 IU Summer Percussion Academy/Workshop's Grand Finale Concert was a great success!! Great playing!!

07/15/2022

Percussion Ensemble dress rehearsals this afternoon. Concert tonight at 7 pm in Recital Hall. Please join us! Works by Craig Hetrick, Blake Tyson, and Tobias Broström.

07/14/2022

We began our day with percussion ensemble rehearsals followed by an informative and inspiring clinic by Professor Kevin Bobo. Special thanks also to Benjamin Braude (instructor of the IU Marching Hundred Drumline) for a "hands on" marching percussion session!

07/14/2022

Our day ends with Steel Pan! with Joe Galvin.

07/13/2022

Today continues with a timpani clinic by John Tafoya and a insightful session with John Wittmann (Yamaha). In the late-afternoon, our participants were involved in smaller "break-out sessions" with Kevin Bobo, Sean Dobbins, Joe Galvin, and John Tafoya.

07/13/2022

Another wonderful concert this evening (July 12, 2022)! Fantastic performances by Kevin Bobo, Joe Galvin, John Tafoya, Karlyn Viña, and IU percussion students Lucy Ritter, Emma Walsh, and John Sevy. If you are on the IU campus on Friday - please join us for our Grand Finale Concert at 7 pm in Recital Hall.

07/12/2022

Our 2022 IU Summer Percussion Academy/Workshop is off to a great start! Clinics and performances by Keith Aleo, Evan Chapman and Sean Dobbins!

07/07/2022

Our FIRST IU Summer Percussion Academy/Workshop Concert is Sunday, July 10 at 7 pm in MC066 (Musical Arts Center Addition) - featuring Keith Aleo and Evan Chapman!

Presented by Jacobs Summer Percussion Academy and Workshop

07/06/2022

We are slowly getting ready for the 2022 IU Summer Percussion Academy/Workshop! Photos taken during this morning's soundcheck of my "Crazy Excerpts" compilation. Special thanks to our Percussion Technician, Joel Castro, for all of his help!

06/15/2022

Faculty Spotlight: John Wittmann!
John Wittmann is the Director of Education and Artist Relations for the Band and Orchestral division of Yamaha Corporation of America. He is responsible for organizing the support for over 700 woodwind, brass, string, percussion artists as well as running educational programs such as the Yamaha Young Performing Artists Competition.

John holds Bachelors and a Master of Arts degrees in Music Education. He has toured extensively throughout the United States and abroad as a drummer and has given hundreds of drum set clinics. He remains an active performer/clinician and is the drummer for the Jennie DeVoe Band.

As a band director in New York State, John headed two highly successful high school music programs. He was awarded the Teacher of the Year award at Waterford-Halfmoon High School and was named a Distinguished Alumni from the College of St. Rose. He is an active music education advocate and a frequent presenter at major music conferences.

06/12/2022

Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Karlyn Viña!
Praised by the South Florida Classical Review for her "dazzling" and "incisive" performance, Dr. Karlyn Viña is a dynamic and creative percussionist based in Virginia. Dr. Viña is the newly appointed Assistant Professor of Percussion at Shenandoah Conservatory in Wi******er, VA, and previously taught at Florida International University and New World School of the Arts in Miami, FL. During the summers, Karlyn serves as a percussion faculty member at Interlochen Arts Camp in Interlochen, MI.

Karlyn maintains a busy schedule as an orchestral, chamber, and solo percussionist, and has a particular interest in works that incorporate theatrical elements. Performance highlights include several seasons with Palm Beach Symphony and Florida Grand Opera, as well as performances with Madera Viva, a bassoon and percussion duo with Dr. Carlos Felipe Viña.

In addition to her teaching and performing, Karlyn can be heard as a co-host on the Podcast and is proud to serve on the Percussive Arts Society's Education Committee. Karlyn earned her Doctorate of Musical Arts in Percussion Performance from the University of Miami as a fellow of the Henry Mancini Institute. Her dissertation focuses on the performance of works for theatrical percussion by Globokar, Kagel, and Smith. She also holds degrees in Percussion Performance and Music Education from The Boston Conservatory and the University of Maryland. Karlyn is proud to endorse Grover Pro Percussion, Marimba One, and Zildjian cymbals.

06/09/2022

Faculty Spotlight: John Tafoya!
John Tafoya is professor of percussion at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. He served as principal timpanist of the National Symphony Orchestra from 1999 to 2007. He has held previous principal timpani positions with the American Wind Symphony, National Repertory Orchestra, Owensboro Symphony (Ky.), Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra (Ind.), and Florida Philharmonic Orchestra. He has also performed with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and Detroit Symphony Orchestra.

Tafoya has presented numerous master classes and clinics at universities across the United States and Canada. He was a featured clinician at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC) in 2002, 2007, and 2011. His website, johntafoya.com, is accessed by thousands of percussion students and professional players each month. He has served on the music department faculties at the University of Evansville, Kentucky Wesleyan College, Florida International University, and the University of Maryland. He is the author of two orchestral timpani repertoire books: “The Working Timpanist’s Survival Guide” (2004), published by Carl Fischer, and “Beyond the Audition Screen” (2011), distributed by Hal Leonard.

Tafoya performed on the award-winning recording of Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 by the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of James Judd and on orchestral recordings by the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra and the National Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Leonard Slatkin. He can also be heard on the American Wind Symphony Orchestra’s CD Concertos All and Sundry performing Kaoru Wada's Concertante for Timpani, Percussion, and Winds under the direction of Robert Austin Boudreau. Tafoya also participated on the 1987 Summit Brass CD, All American Brass, on the Pro Arte label and on the 1992 Arkay CD of William Albright’s Music for Organ and Harpsichord, featuring organist Douglas Reed.

Tafoya has worked under many prestigious conductors, including Marin Alsop, Vladimir Ashkenazy, James Conlon, Jiri Belohlavek, Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos, Christoph von Dohnanyi, Valery Gergiev, Christopher Hogwood, Lorin Maazel, Mstislav Rostropovich, Leonard Slatkin, Osmo Vanska, John Williams, Hugh Wolff, and David Zinman.

He proudly endorses American Drum Manufacturing Co., Avedis Zildjian Company, Grover Pro Percussion, Remo Inc., and Yamaha Corporation.

06/03/2022

Faculty Spotlight: Joseph Galvin!
Joseph Galvin is visiting lecturer in music in percussion at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.

He is a multi-instrumentalist and clinician who earned his degrees from the Jacobs School. His education culminated in a doctorate of percussion performance, where he focused on steelpan and Afro-Cuban music traditions.

Galvin has performed on two Grammy-nominated albums: the Wayne Wallace Quintet’s Intercambio, and Michael Spiro’s and Wayne Wallace’s Canto América with La Orquesta Sinfonietta.

Galvin’s most recent album, released in 2017, is a collaboration with Spiro titled BÁKINI – En el Nuevo Mundo, combining the folkloric music of Afro-Cuban, Afro-Brazilian, and Trinidadian lineages into a contemporary sound.

Galvin and Spiro also performed together on two recordings by Ritmos Unidos, a former Latin jazz ensemble comprised of IU faculty and alumni.

05/31/2022

Faculty Spotlight: Sean Dobbins!
Drummer Sean Dobbins is associate professor of music in jazz studies at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.

Dobbins got his start as a sought-after Detroit-area jazz sideman at a young age, when he would regularly play with Blue Note artist Louis Smith. Dobbin’s sound can best be described as hard-driving, solid rhythm with refreshing melodic sensibility. Some of his influences include Art Blakey, Jeff Hamilton, Sonny Payne, Ed Thigpen, and Detroit-area greats Gerald Cleaver and Elvin Jones.

Dobbins has received numerous awards and accolades throughout his career, including a Woody Herman Jazz Award, for outstanding musicianship, and a Louis Armstrong Scholarship.

He has performed with many great musicians, including Mose Allison, David Baker, Johnny Basset, Benny Golson, Marion Hayden, Randy Johnston, Frank Morgan, and Lonnie Smith.

Most recently serving as director of jazz studies at Oakland University and jazz program director at Community Music School–Detroit, Dobbins also served on the faculty at the University of Michigan and Wayne State University.

05/28/2022

Faculty Spotlight: Evan Chapman! Evan Chapman is a percussionist, composer, and filmmaker based in Philadelphia, PA. After receiving his BM in Classical Percussion Performance from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, Evan has gone on to build a prolific and unique career by seamlessly blending multimedia and contemporary music. Evan is a founding member of contemporary-classical percussion trio/rock band Square Peg Round Hole (squarepegroundhole.me), who recently released their sophomore full-length LP, Juniper, on Spartan Records. The group’s groundbreaking original compositions, dubbed a “creative adventure” by Bob Boilen (NPR), have been met with critical acclaim by Modern Drummer Magazine, Paste Magazine, Mental Floss, NPR, Boing Boing, and Relix, among others. Evan is also a touring member of the successful pop/rock band Lydia, who recently served as direct support on a full national tour for PVRIS (Rise Records). Evan is sponsored by Vic Firth Drumsticks, Evans Drumheads, and SJC Custom Drums.

05/23/2022

Faculty Spotlight: Benjamin Braude! Benjamin, known by most as “Benjy,” hails from Cincinnati (OH) and currently lives in Bloomington where he teaches high school biology and chemistry. Benjy graduated from IU with a bachelor’s degree in biology as well as a master’s degree in secondary education. He performed with the IU Drumline for five years, and returns to work with the group as director. In his marching career, Benjy is proud to have performed with the Blue Stars Drum & Bugle Corps, Legacy Indoor, and Rhythm X. He works as a bass technician with high schools across the Cincinnati and Indianapolis areas, most recently teaching at Center Grove High School, Legacy, Legacy Open, Veritas, and the Colts Drum and Bugle Corps.

05/20/2022

Faculty Spotlight: Joshua Bowman! Dr. Joshua Bowman is a freelance musician and educator based in San Francisco. He has served as the Director of percussion at the University of Texas at Tyler, and also held appointments at universities in Virginia. He is a graduate of the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.

05/16/2022

Faculty Spotlight: Kevin Bobo!
Kevin Bobo is professor of percussion at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. He has presented solo performances on five continents and throughout the United States. His compositions receive regular performances across the country and abroad, with many of his solo works appearing on international competition repertoire lists.

Apply Today! Info available at: https://jacobsacademy.indiana.edu/descriptions/percussion-academy.html

05/12/2022

Faculty/Guest Artist Spotlight: Keith Aleo!
Keith has a multifaceted career as a performer, educator and administrator. He is the Director of Percussion at the Interlochen Center for the Arts and a consultant for the Zildjian and Vic Firth companies. He was a member of the Florida Philharmonic and is a published percussion composer. Keith will be presenting a hands on session covering complementary percussion.

03/18/2022

Hi, there! Are you a percussionist or know one looking for a summer course guaranteed to foster musical potential in a fun, and engaging environment? Look no further, the IU Summer Percussion Academy-Workshop is for you!

This week-long intensive is open to participants of ALL ages and includes masterclasses, clinics, and performances by renowned faculty and guest artists.

Register before March 25, 2022 to qualify for the early registration DISCOUNT! For more details, please visit https://bit.ly/3KZ4fqD or email [email protected]

02/17/2022

IU Faculty and Guest Artists have been announced for the 2022 IU Summer Percussion Academy/Workshop (July 10-16, 2022)!! More information can be found at: https://jacobsacademy.indiana.edu/descriptions/percussion-academy.html
Registration information will be posted very soon!
IU Faculty: Kevin Bobo, Sean Dobbins, Joe Galvin, and John Tafoya
Guest Artists: Keith Aleo, Joshua Bowman, Evan Chapman, John Wittman, and Karlyn Viña

Information about the Indiana University Summer Percussion Academy and Workshop

02/17/2022

11/18/2021

THIS JUST IN! Our dates for the 2022 IU Summer Percussion Academy/Workshop will be: July 10-16, 2022! More details will follow in a few weeks!