This 4-hour immersive session is designed for both those new to teaching percussion and those looking for a basic level refresher, offering essential information, tools, and resources to effectively teach snare drum and mallets. Whether you're just starting out or looking to refine your pedagogical skills, this session will cover the foundational principles of percussion playing and teaching, including instrument position, grip, stroke variations, and music reading. Participants will rotate between snare drum and mallets, culminating in a combined percussion session within a typical band setting.
This Pre-conference event will take place at McCormick Place West in Chicago, IL on Tuesday, December 16 from 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM CT.
Attendees will be able to add registration for this event at the end of their Midwest Clinic Conference Registration. Due to limited seating, only Professional and College Student registrants are eligible to attend. Conference registration opens August 1st.
Registration Fees:
- Directors $100
- College Students $50
Tentative Schedule
- Session 1: 75 minutes in either Snare Drum or Mallet Breakout Sessions.
- Session 2: 75 minutes in the opposite placement of Session 1.
- Session 3: 60 minutes in combined session.
Clinicians
Peggy Jo Bonner is known in Central Illinois for her exemplary and versatile percussion skills. Currently, she teaches percussion at Bradley University where her duties include: private lessons, percussion ensemble, and percussion methods class. In addition, she directs the Central Illinois Youth Symphony Percussion Ensemble and maintains a large private studio. Peggy is a long-standing professional musician and has been principal percussionist with the Peoria Symphony Orchestra for the past three decades where she has an endowed chair in her name. She also is the principal percussionist with the Knox Galesburg Symphony for the past 30 years. She has performed dutifully with the Peoria Municipal Band, Prairie Wind Ensemble (charter member), Opera Illinois, St. Mary Cathedral Choir/Orchestra, Peoria Players Theatre, Cornstock Theatre, Eastlight Theatre, and countless others when called upon.
Peggy is the first call percussionist when national touring musicals perform at the Peoria Civic Center. She has played professionally for Wicked, Hair Spray, Mary Poppins, and many others.
Peggy graduated from Bradley University and served as band director in Central Illinois, serving Peoria Public Schools. While at Rolling Acres Middle School and Roosevelt Arts Magnet School her concert and marching bands consistently earned top ratings at both district and state levels. In the summers Bonner led the Peoria Park District Summer Band program, a traveling award-winning program she participated in as a teen under the direction of long-time director/mentor Fred Huber.
Brandon Estes, Co-Director of Bands at Naperville Central High School, is an active educator, clinician, and adjudicator throughout Illinois and Texas. His responsibilities include Director of the Marching Redhawks, Co-teaching 3 curricular concert bands, Co-Director of the NCHS Drumshow Percussion Ensemble, Jazz 2 jazz ensemble, instructor for Music Theory I and Music Production classes.
A native of Houston, Texas, Mr. Estes holds a B.M. in Music Education from Texas State University-San Marcos where he studied percussion under Genaro Gonzalez, Tony Edwards, and John Lopez. He earned his M.M. in Music Performance from Northern Illinois University, where he was Graduate Percussion Assistant to Professor Robert Chappell and Dr. Gregory Beyer with further studies under Richard Holly, Liam Teague, Clifford Alexis, and Dr. Thomas Bough.
Mr. Estes' extensive drum corps performance experience includes membership with Pioneer and the Madison Scouts drum corps between 1998 and 2002. In 2005, he served as Co-Arranger and Percussion Caption Head of the Blue Stars Drum and Bugle Corps. As a rudimental performer, Brandon was a founding member of the Chicago Bulls Stampede Drumline (2007-2014) and is a former member of the Chicago Bears Drumline (2008 - 2022), in which he served as Director since 2011. In recent years, he continues to perform with Chicago’s-own Rhythm Messengers Drumline with performance highlights including Kygo and Two Friends at Madison Square Garden. Mr. Estes is a proud educational endorser of Promark and Evans under the D’Addario brand.
Adam D. Hill is a music educator and performer worldwide. He received a B.A. in Music Education from VanderCook College of Music . At Romeoville High School in Romeoville, Illinois, Hill is the director of percussion, assistant band director, and teaches jazz band, music technology, music theory, and guitar. Adam is also a member of the music faculty at University of St. Francis in the Music Technology program. He founded and is the Executive director of Pí Percussion Inc. an independent marching percussion ensemble and has lead the ensemble to multiple WGI medals and finals placement as their Executive Director. As well as 11+ years in the Drum Corps International activity performing, teaching and designing. Hill has 25 combined seasons performing and directing NFL and NBA drumlines. Performing in EDM musical festivals and events such as Lollapalooza, Madison Square Garden, London, Bonnaroo and Denmark, to name a few. He has won several educational awards and is an Emmy nominated artist. He is also a clinician, and percussion adjudicator. Adam is Owner of ADH Experience Entertainment and Co-founder of Rhythm Messengers. Hill performed on Americas Got Talent “Fanatasy League” placing runner-up with the Pack Drumline. He proudly endorses Innovative Percussion, Evans, TAMA Drums, Bergerault Keyboards, Sabian cymbals, and Gon Bops Percussion.
Justin Koszarek is the Band Director at Propel Northside and Propel Hazelwood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He started the band program at Propel Hazelwood and has grown both programs to nearly 50% of eligible band students in grades 4-8. Since moving to Pittsburgh, he worked for two years with the Peters High School marching band restarting the program post-COVID and winning awards at the 2022 Peach Bowl and 2022 Pittsburgh St. Patrick’s Day parade.
Before moving to Pittsburgh, Mr. Koszarek spent 12 years at Plainfield East High School working with all levels of the band including leading the Marching Band, the Percussion Ensemble, and the Pep Band. Mr. Koszarek has led or been part of multiple curriculum committees including AP Music Theory, Commerical Music Production, America’s Musical Landscape, and Band. He has also composed and arranged works for a variety of mediums including Wind Band, Marching Band, Pep Band, Jazz Band, Symphonic and Concert Orchestra, Choir, Percussion Ensemble, and other Small Ensembles.
Mr. Koszarek received his Principal Certificate from Point Park University, Master’s in Education Leadership from the University of St. Francis, Master’s in Music Education from Northern Illinois University, and Bachelor’s of Music in Composition from Bradley University.
Mr. Koszarek has compositions published with Alfred Music and is an Innovative Percussion Educational Artist
Dr. James Yakas joined VanderCook College of Music in 2015 as the Director of Percussion Studies, and recently completed a Doctorate of Musical Arts in percussion performance from the University of North Texas, where he also earned his bachelor’s degree in music education. After earning his master’s degree in percussion performance and pedagogy from Northern Illinois University, he spent 12 summers in the Madison Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps, eventually becoming their percussion coordinator and arranger in 2003. Yakas has performed at festivals in Trinidad/Tobago and Seoul, South Korea. He studied Afro-Cuban drumming with Orlando Cotto, and accompanied ethnomusicologist Dr. Steven Friedson for tribal drumming studies in Ghana. Yakas has been a member of the Percussive Arts Society Education Committee as well as the previous Vice President of the Illinois Chapter of PAS. He endorses Yamaha Percussion, Vic Firth Sticks and Mallets, Remo Drumheads and World Percussion Instruments and Zildjian Cymbals.
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