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Florida State / College of Music / Areas of Study / Performance / Percussion / Meet the Studio
Meet the Studio
The Florida State University Percussion Studio is comprised of 22 percussion majors (performance and music education) at the Doctoral, Master's, and undergraduate levels, and is capped at that number to provide equal performance and learning opportunities for students of all levels and specialties. The 2009-10 studio includes four graduate assistants (one DM students and four MM students), who are in charge of Instrument Storage, select applied lessons, percussion ensemble/chamber ensemble coaching, the Marching Chiefs Big 8 Drum Line, and teaching the Percussion Methods class for the non-percussion music education majors. We also have four additional graduate students in residence for this school year, for a total of eight.
Dr. Parks teaches the freshman, sophomore, junior, senior, and graduate-level percussionists with team-teaching of sophomores and juniors (augmented by weekly applied Teaching Assistant instruction). This ensures that all percussion majors at FSU receive direct attention from Dr. Parks and have equal ensemble opportunities in our symphonic and percussion ensembles. Dr. Parks directs the top FSU Percussion Ensemble, supervises graduate assistants, and runs the once-infamous 7am studio class (now meeting on Wednesdays at 2:30, thank goodness).
Admission to the program is highly competitive at both the graduate and undergraduate levels, and opportunities for performance with our nationally-acclaimed symphonic, jazz, and world music ensembles are open to all through auditions at the beginning of each semester (auditions for symphonic ensembles are blind). Additional performance opportunities exist with the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra through an annual audition held in the Fall.
Numerous guest artists are on-campus each year for lectures, master classes, and solo performances; please check our guest artists link for more information on visiting percussionists, as well as special masterclasses from our own FSU Faculty Percussionists.
We are fortunate at FSU to have incredible performance and rehearsal facilities, as well as equipment and newly-refurbished practice rooms (to see pictures, click on the link to go to our media page). Our arsenal includes four full sections of battery and mallet instruments, featuring four sets of completely refurbished Walter Light timpani, four five-octave marimbas for practice and performance, and an ever-increasing number of new and refurbished vintage instruments to ensure your training takes place on the best instruments available. Our four designated concert halls and recital facilities, including Ruby Diamond Auditorium and Opperman Music Hall, are amongst the most versatile and beautiful in the country.
