(Posted November 15, 2010)

HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- Playing percussive permutations of popular compositions ranging from music inspired by Asian influences to African polyrhythms, the Juniata College Percussion Ensemble and the Jazz Ensemble will perform in concert at 3 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 21, in Rosenberger Auditorium in the Halbritter Center for the Performing Arts.

Admission to the concert is $3 for adults. Juniata students with I.D. and those under 18 are admitted free.

The performance will open with "African Welcome Piece." The Stone Church of the Brethren Choir will accompany the group on this polyrhythmic composition.

The performance will open with "African Welcome Piece." The Stone Church of the Brethren Choir will accompany the group on this polyrhythmic composition. The next selection will be "Mosaics for Percussion," a four-part composition from a musician who composed the music for the closing ceremonies at the 1980 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid.

The ensemble will then transition to "Block-Head Quickstep," and will end its performance by playing "The Swords of Moda-Ling," an Asian-flavored composition by Gordon Peters, featuring Terry Murray, a former member of the music faculty at Juniata, on piano.

A less conventional percussion ensemble, Steely Pan and the PVCs, will play a few selections on the college's unique instruments made of 3-inch and 4-inch PVC plastic plumbing pipe. The selections will include: "Trepac," from "The Nutcracker," and "Christmas Medley," arranged by Caroline White, a sophomore from Chambersburg, Pa. Other tunes include "Jump in the Line," "Cha Cha Sandwich," and "Limbo."

A Keyboard Percussion Group (specializing in the marimba) will perform "Duet." In addition, the college's World Percussion Group will perform a demonstration of Afro-Cuban percussion patterns and group soloing techniques.

The concert will close with several jazz classics performed by Juniata's Jazz Ensemble. Directed by Dan Yoder, a noted saxophonist and a lecturer in music at Juniata, the group will open with "Birdland." The jazz fusion classic, written by pianist Joe Zawinul, was a pop hit for the group Weather Report.

The next selection is "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?" a composition made famous by Louis Armstrong and recorded by many others. The ensemble will explore bebop with the classic "Sandu," written by trumpeter Clifford Brown.

Caribbean and calypso rhythms will be in full display in the ensemble's take on "St. Thomas," a jazz classic written by legendary saxophonist Sonny Rollins. The concert will close with "Also Sprach Zarathustra," the classic Richard Strauss composition most memorable for its use as the theme in the film "2001: A Space Odyssey."

The Percussion Ensemble personnel is as follows: Ashley Bauer, a senior from Slatington, Pa.; Matt Begley, a junior from Hollidaysburg, Pa.; Maggie Burkett, a freshman from Granville, Ohio; Andrea Burton, a senior from McLean, Va.; Jason Cox, a sophomore from Bethlehem, Pa.; Amanda Durofchalk, a sophomore from Wernersville, Pa.; Stephen Estright, a freshman from Hollidaysburg, Pa.; Nicole Kiss, a freshman from Huntingdon, Pa.; Sergio Lopez, a senior from Edison, N.J.; John Lugg, a sophomore from Lock Haven, Pa.; Katya Rebman, a freshman from Elizabethtown, Pa.; Amanda Schlosberg, a junior from Baldwin, N.Y.; Jacqueline Swain, a freshman from Hampstead, Md.; Jessica Toot, a sophomore from New Oxford, Pa.; and Caroline White, a sophomore from Chambersburg, Pa.


The Juniata Jazz Ensemble personnel are as follows:


Alto Saxophone: Colin Brislawn, a freshman from Tumwater, Wash.; Dominic Doganiero, a freshman from Wellsboro, Pa.; Briana Maddelena, a freshman from Buffalo Mills, Pa.; and Kate Riotte, a freshman from Durham, Conn.

Tenor Saxophone: Brennan Cornelius, a sophomore from Huntingdon, Pa.; Aaron Womer, a freshman from Shermans Dale, Pa.; and Kelli Yingling, a junior from Three Springs, Pa.

Baritone Saxophone: Roman Acri, a freshman from Harrisburg, Pa.

Trumpet: Nate Fischer, a freshman from Ringwood, N.J.; Alex Sickler, a freshman from Edwardsville, Pa; and Doug Wennick, a community member.

Trombone: Maggie Burkett, a freshman from Granville, Ohio, and Paul Leevan, a freshman from Harrisburg, Pa.

Drums: Jason Cox, a sophomore from Bethlehem, Pa., and John Lugg, a sophomore from Lock Haven, Pa.

Bass: Aric Koestler, a freshman from Palmyra, Pa.

Guitar: Sam Hulse, a junior from Baltimore, Md., and Rich Schur, a freshman from Huntingdon, Pa.

Piano: Julie Glass, a junior from Harleysville, Pa., and Ben Tansi, a freshman from Wrentham, Mass.

Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.