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Florida State / College of Music / Areas of Study / Performance / Percussion / Alumni Accomplishments
Alumni Accomplishments
The list of FSU percussion graduates is very extensive; Professor Emeritus Gary Werdesheim graduated students such as Chris Deviney (Principal Percussionist with the Philadelphia Orchestra), Kiyomi Kikuchi (Percussion/Asst. Timpani with the Malaysia Philharmonic), John Shaw (Principal Percussionist with the Florida Orchestra), Chris Martin (Percussionist with the Air Force Ceremonial Band in Washington DC), Matt Coe (Coe Percussion), Laurie Lyons (very successful south Florida freelancer), Alex Jimenez (Director of Orchestras at FSU), Steve Hemphill (Professor of Percussion at Northern Arizona University), David Collier (Director of Percussion Studies at Illinois State University), Darren Duerden (Associate Professor of Music at BYU-Hawaii), and numerous others that continue to influence our art form on a national and international level as teachers and performers.
A partial list of recent graduates (since Dr. Parks began teaching at FSU in 2003) and their activities are listed below, as well as some current student achievements!
MOST RECENT STUDENT ACHIEVEMENTS! (updated 4/24/09) |
| Joel Boss (BM 2009) will be attending The University of Michigan in Fall of 2009 to begin work on a Master of Music/Percussion Performance degree. He was offered and accepted a full fellowship for study at UM. |
| Brandon Wood (MM 2009) will be studying with James Campbell at the University of Kentucky for the DMA in Percussion Performance degree, and earned a teaching assistantship at UK. |
| Dan Shelkofsky (BM 2009) will be pursuing a Master's degree in Contemporary Music Performance with William Winant (Mills College, CA) with a fellowship. |
| Justin Alexander (DM in progress) will be attending the Aspen Music Festival this summer (2009), and DJ Palmire (BM 2010) and Adam Groh (MM 2010) will be attending the Texas Music Festival in Houston. |
| Eric Hopkins (BM 2011) won the 2009 BIG ARTS scholarship worth $2500. The process included applications, recordings, references, and an interview with an eight-person committee. The BIG ARTS organization (located in Sanibel, FL) supports music, dance, fine arts, film, and theater. |
| Sidonie Wade (BM 2011) will be in Australia during Summer of 2009 participating in a Professional Recording Arts internship. |
| Dan Davis (BM 2006) recently performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Pierre Boulez in Carnegie Hall (playing Ionisation)! Dan graduated in Spring of 2008 from Northwestern University; he also won the PAS Armand Zildjian Scholarship, 2005 and 2006 PASIC keyboard individuals. Most recently he won the Principal Percussion position with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago (Spring 2007). |
| Ryan Lewis (MM 2003) just won the Ouachita Baptist University Assistant Professor of Percussion search! Congrats! Ryan also just finished his DMA at the University of South Carolina with Dr. Scott Herring. |
| Omar Carmenates (DM in progress) began teaching in Fall of 08 as the new Assistant Professor of Percussion at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina. He is also the Percussion Caption Head of the Boston Crusaders Drum and Bugle Corps, and served as the Graduate Assistant instructor of the FSU Marching Chiefs Big 8 Drum Line from 2006-2008. He also performed with Dr. P on the Carnegie Hall tour April 27th-May 4th, 2007. |
| Steve Versaevel (DM in progress) was named the new Assistant Professor of Percussion at Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana in Spring of 08. He previously taught at MSU on two concurrent one-year appointments, during which he won the University-wide Award for Excellence in Teaching. Prior to taking the MSU position, he won the U.S. Air Force Ceremonial Band audition in Spring of 2006. |
| DJ Palmire (BM 2010) was advanced to the finals of the U.S. Navy Band auditions in Washington DC in February. Brandon Wood (MM 2009) and Eric Hopkins (BM 2011) both advanced in the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Modern Snare Drum Competition, and Eric made it to the final round. Incoming freshman Stephen Kehner took second place in the High School division. MJ Stinson (MM 2009) attended the Round Top Music Festival in Texas during Summer of 2008, and Adam Groh (MM 2010) attended the Chautauqua Music Festival in upstate New York. |
| Eric Peterson (BM 2008) began work on his MM degree in Percussion Performance at the University of Texas-Austin in Fall of 08. In Summer of 2007 he was accepted to the Eastern Music Festival. |
| Sean Barna (BA 07) is a freelancing percussionist in New York City, having recently appeared with The American Symphony Orchestra at Avery Fisher Hall, and just off tour as the drummer/percussionist on the international tour of The Producers, which took him to eighty-three cities in thirty-four states. Sean was accepted to the prestigious Aspen Music Festival for summer of 2006, and also performed on Mark Ford's master class at PASIC in Columbus, Ohio. He most recently was the recipient of the 2006 PAS James A. Sewrey scholarship. Sean is a Bosphorus Cymbals artist. For news and other updates, visit his website: www.seanbarna.com. Check it out! |
| Chris Jones (BM 07) began study at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, after finishing his first year of MM study with Michael Burritt at Northwestern University. Congrats! Chris also performed with Dr. P on the Carnegie Hall tour April 29-May 4th, 2007. |
| Anthony Cananzi (MM 07) began teaching at Tapp Middle School and McEachern High School of the prestigious Marietta/Cobb County district in Fall of 2007. This particular district was recently named in the top 100 arts school districts in the United States. Anthony performed with Dr. P on the Carnegie Hall tour April 29-May 4th, 2007. He was also recently added as an Innovative Percussion educator. |
| Wes Parker (DM in progress) began teaching at Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas in Fall of 2007, as well as instructing area high school drum lines and percussion programs. Wes was also recently added as an Innovative Percussion educator. |
| Jesse Campbell (BM 07) began teaching as the percussion specialist at reknown Tate High School in Pensacola in Fall of 2007 and has recently been added to the Vic Firth education team. |
| Keith Lloyd (DM in progress) won the Instructor of Music/Percussion position at McMurry University (Abilene, TX), and also won the Principal Percussion position with the Abilene Philharmonic Orchestra. In Summer of 2006 he served as Principal Percussionist for the Aegean Verdi Festival in Lesvos, Greece. |
| Zack Frank (BM 05) won the Principal Percussion position with the Mansfield Symphony Orchestra (Mansfield, OH), and recently completed his Master's degree with Tom Freer (Cleveland Orchestra, Duff Masterclass) at Cleveland State University. He now resides in Orlando where he maintains an active freelance schedule, including performances with the New World Symphony in Miami. |
***BY THE WAY, If you are an FSU percussion alum and happen to read this page, email us and let us know how/what you are doing!
