BIOGRAPHIES
Scott Herring currently holds the position of Professor of Percussion at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, South Carolina. At USC, Herring directs the Percussion Ensemble and the Palmetto Pans Steel Band. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree from East Carolina University and a Master’s degree and Doctor of Music degree from Northwestern University. Herring frequently appears as a guest artist with university percussion ensembles across the U.S. and has presented concerts and clinics at Percussive Arts Society International Conventions in 1996, 2002, 2006, 2011 and 2012. Herring also performs with USC Saxophone professor, Clifford Leaman, as the RoseWind Duo. This ensemble has performed throughout the U.S. and abroad and has two CD recordings on the Equillibirum label, Release and Devil’s Garden, Angel’s Landing. Currently, Herring serves as the Percussive Arts Society Keyboard Committee Chairman and formerly served as President of the Kansas Chapter of PAS, and Vice-President and President of the South Carolina chapter of PAS.
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With a specialty in fusing multiple styles and cultures, percussionist and composer Joseph Krygier wields his background in classical, world, commercial, and electronic music to forge a sound uniquely his own. As a composer, Krygier has produced a diverse body of music for solo and chamber settings, including contemporary dance, with each work defying categorization. His own company, Whirlygigs Collective, publishes his compositions. Krygier performs regularly as a member of the Sympatico Percussion Group and Pendulum Percussion Duo, appearing at festivals, universities, and Percussive Arts Society events nationwide and abroad. Within the greater Columbus region, he performs regularly with The Early Interval (medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque music) and the contemporary mixed chamber ensemble CODE, in addition to the Newark Granville Symphony, ProMusica Chamber Orchestra, and LULU & Co. Novelty Ragtime Band.
In the academic realm, he has served as a music lecturer and dance accompanist, holding positions at The Ohio State University School of Music, OSU Department of Dance, Ohio Wesleyan University, BalletMet Dance Academy, and Interlochen Center for the Arts Summer Camp. Additionally, he previously served as a member of the United States Air Force Academy Band in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Krygier received his undergraduate degree in percussion performance from the Eastman School of Music and his Master’s degree from Northwestern University. Krygier is proud to be an educational endorser for Zildjian Cymbals, Yamaha Percussion, Vic Firth, Grover Pro Percussion, and the Remo Drumhead Co.
Juan (Johnny) Mendoza currently serves as Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Percussion Studies at McMurry University. He has performed with orchestras and chamber groups throughout the country. When not teaching at McMurry or out performing, he frequently presents masterclasses and clinics at universities and high schools on topics related to commissioning new music, implementing musicianship, multi-disciplined collaborations, effective practice techniques, and community engagement through music. He has received grants and awards for his research in the contemporary percussion repertoire and his research on muscle memory consolidation for percussionists. Mendoza has also founded various chamber ensembles, and currently serves on the Percussive Arts Society Composition Committee. Some of his teachers include Susan Powell, Joseph Krygier, Christopher Norton, and Sherry Rubins. Mendoza received his doctorate and master’s degrees from The Ohio State University and Belmont University, and his bachelor’s degree in percussion performance from the University of Texas-San Antonio.
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Christopher Norton is Professor of Music and Director of Percussion at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. Prior to joining the Belmont faculty in 2001 he taught at Western Kentucky University for fourteen years. His degrees are from the Eastman School of Music and Louisiana State University. Norton frequently performs as a percussionist with Nashville Symphony, Sympatico Percussion Group, Peninsula Music Festival Orchestra, and in a horn-percussion duo with his wife Leslie. Former affiliations included concertizing and recording as marimbist with the Bob Becker Ensemble, timpanist with Nashville Chamber Orchestra, multi-percussionist with Alias Chamber Ensemble, xylophone soloist with the Jack Daniel’s Silver Cornet Band, vibist with Belmont Faculty Jazz Quartet, and orchestral percussionist with ensembles such as Alabama Symphony and New Orleans Symphony. Norton’s solo marimba CD is entitled Christopher Norton: Creston Concertino, and his duo CD is This Road We’re On. Norton has given clinics and recitals in Europe and across the United States, most notably at Percussive Arts Society events. Also an active orchestral conductor, he is Music Director of the Nashville Philharmonic and periodically guest conducts the Nashville Symphony.
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Susan Powell is Professor and Director of Percussion Studies at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. Powell is well known as a mallet keyboard specialist and considered one of the foremost ragtime soloists of her generation. Having a particular interest in increasing the repertoire and visibility of the xylophone as a featured musical voice, Powell has commissioned and composed multiple works for the instrument in this setting. She is the founder and director of LULU & Co. Novelty Ragtime Band, where she is featured as a xylophone soloist, arranger, and composer. She has presented showcase sessions and clinics at the Percussive Arts Society International Conventions, the Midwest Clinic, and multiple OMEA (Ohio Music Educators Association) conferences.
An active chamber performer, she often appears with the Pendulum Duo and Sympatico Percussion Group at festivals, universities, and Percussive Arts Society events across the country. She has performed as a solo and chamber musician across the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Brazil, and Europe. She has received the OSU Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching and the School of Music Distinguished Teacher Award. She currently serves as Secretary for the Ohio Chapter of the Percussive Arts Society, and her compositions are published by Keyboard Percussion Publications, Musicon Publications, and Whirlygigs Collective.
Powell holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music (BM) and Northwestern University (MM, DM) and is an artist/ educational endorser for Malletech, where her signature line of xylophone mallets will be available in the spring of 2024. Additional endorsements include Zildjian Cymbals, Remo Percussion, and Grover Pro Percussion.
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