Percussion

One of the leading percussion programs in the Northwest, Southern Oregon University’s Percussion Studies program at the Oregon Center for the Arts offers students the opportunity to study the diverse art of percussion as graduate and undergraduate students. With exceptional faculty and facilities, students can expect to develop their musicianship and perform today’s most exciting contemporary percussion repertoire at the highest level.

“In the course of my career, I have visited many, many universities, music schools and conservatories around the country, and in very few places (and these were outstanding institutions, such as the Juilliard School of Music, New England Conservatory, University of Southern California, and Indiana University, in particular) and I can say with complete confidence that the Percussion Ensemble at Southern Oregon University is a match for those at any of these other institutions.”

William Kraft – Assistant Conductor, Composer in Residence, Principal Timpanist, L.A. Philharmonic

Percussion Ensembles

SOU’s percussion ensembles performed at the 2013 and 2014 Percussive Arts Society International Conventions (PASIC), and perform every year at the Northwest Percussion Festival. The SOU Percussion Ensemble has self-released two CDs, La Alma del Árbol – The Soul of the Tree, and Electric Rebel Poetry, and is featured on two Innova Recordings CDs of the music of Stanford University composer Mark Applebaum: 30 (2015) and Speed Dating (2018), as well on the Cantaloupe Music recording of Michael Gordon’s Natural History (2018) and the PBS documentary, Symphony for Nature (2018). The SOU Percussion Ensemble endorses Vic Firth Sticks and Mallets.

Left Edge Percussion

Left Edge Percussion is a contemporary percussion group in residence at the Oregon Center for the Arts at Southern Oregon University, led by artistic director Terry Longshore. The group tours and performs throughout the Northwest and actively collaborates on innovative projects with composers and artists of various media. The members of the group have been featured around the globe at prestigious festivals, competitions, conferences, and workshops and bring a diverse array of influences and collective energy to the ensemble.

The SOU Percussion Ensemble and Left Edge Percussion have commissioned, co-commissioned, or premiered works by Mark Applebaum, Joseph Bertolozzi, David Bithell, Jared Brown, Elliott Cole, David Crowell, Jodi French, Michael Gordon, Chris Burton Jácome, Bryan Jeffs, Mark Knippel, Terry Longshore, Colin Malloy, Jeff Richmond, Ivan Trevino, Stephen Truelove, Alejandro Viñao, and Drew Wright.

Other ensemble experiences for percussion students at SOU include the SOU Raider Band, Maraval Rd. Steel Band, SOU Wind Ensemble/Rogue Valley Symphonic Band, SOU Jazz Ensemble, Rogue Valley Symphony, and the Youth Symphony of Southern Oregon.

In addition, SOU has several videos featured on the Vic Firth YouTube Channel:
Erik Griswold’s Strings Attached
Michael Gordon’s Timber
Bryan Jeffs’ The Shady Lady and the Rebel Frog