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| Last Chance' for Iowa percussionists will be May 10 The spring semester "Last Chance" concert of Iowa Percussion, the performance arm of the percussion area of the University of Iowa School of Music, will begin at 8:02 p.m. Sunday, May 10, in E.C. Mabie Theatre on the UI campus. The performance will be free and open to the public. Iowa Percussion is directed by Dan Moore, UI professor of percussion. The group presents a "Last Chance" concert at the end of each semester as one final opportunity for percussion students to perform the solos and ensemble pieces they have been learning. Traditionally the "Last Chance" concert is also the last student performance of the semester in the School of Music. The program for the "Last Chance" concert is usually announced at the very last minute, as students decide which pieces will be ready for performance. Consequently the concert is usually filled with surprises for performers and audience alike. One of the most active performing groups at the UI School of Music, Iowa Percussion presents concerts and educational programs on campus and across Iowa. Each year the group performs for hundreds of Iowa school children through the UI Arts Share program. Formed in 1958 as the UI Percussion Ensemble, the organization performs musical styles ranging from ragtime and jazz to 20th century concert idioms and traditional musical styles from Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America and Asia. In addition to the standard percussion repertoire, the ensemble regularly performs the newest music written by both professional composers and students. With an extensive array of instruments - from traditional drums, xylophones and cymbals to just about anything that can be struck, scraped, shaken or smashed together - Iowa Percussion performances are known for their variety and fast-paced programming, presented with humor, drama and old-fashioned showmanship. An internationally known percussionist, composer and teacher, Moore has experience from concert to marching percussion, and from jazz to classical styles. Performing all aspects of percussion, including keyboard percussion, drum set, ethnic, multipercussion and electronic instruments, he is considered a "total percussionist." He joined the UI music faculty in 1996 as only the second full-time professor of percussion at the UI. write your comments about the article :: © 2009 Jazz News :: home page |