Marching and Concert Percussion: Common Techniques for Performance Success

- Our clinic will focus on the technical and musical percussion skills required for a quality performance in both marching and concert percussion applications. This clinic will demonstrate universal musical concepts on percussion that can be applied to either area (marching or concert) with success. Excerpts from wind ensemble literature, percussion solos, and marching percussion music will be performed.
- Mark Ford (mark.ford@unt.edu)
- 12/21/2017 01:00 PM - 02:00 PM
- Meeting Room W187
- Mark Ford is the coordinator of percussion activities at The University of North Texas in Denton, Texas and a Past-President of the Percussive Arts Society. He is a marimba specialist and the coordinator of one of the largest percussion programs in the United States at UNT. Ford is an active performer on the marimba and he has been featured throughout the United States at universities and music conferences. He also regularly performs at International Music Festivals, and he serves as the Artistic Director for the Polish International Marimba and Vibraphone Competition held annually at Drum Fest in Opole, Poland.
As a composer Mark’s percussion compositions are considered staples in percussion repertoire and performed throughout the world. His marimba concerto, Stubernic Fantasy, was premiered at the Mid-West Band and Orchestra Convention and has been performed on tour by the US Navy Band and Air Force Band. In 2016 Mark’s orchestral fanfare Przebudzenie (The Awakening) was premiered by the Opole Philharmonic Orchestra in Poland, and the wind ensemble version was premiered in 2017 by the University of Texas at El Paso Wind Ensemble under the direction of Brad Genevro. Ford is also the author of Marimba: Technique Through Music, a four-mallet marimba method book.
Ford has been recognized as a leading percussion educator. His former students are professional performers, educators and university professors throughout the United States. Under his direction the UNT Percussion Ensemble has toured in Poland, Croatia, France and Belgium and also won the PAS International Percussion Ensemble Competition. Mark Ford proudly represents Dynasty Percussion, Bergerault, Zildjian, Evans Drum Heads, Meinl and Innovative Percussion Inc. as performing artist and clinician.