The Department of Music at the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences is hosting the National Conference on Percussion Pedagogy (NCPP) May 21-23 on the University of Arkansas campus.

The NCPP is an annual conference in its sixteenth year that attracts interested thinkers in percussion teaching from across the country. Most events will take place in the Epley Band Building, with concerts in the Jim and Joyce Faulkner Performing Arts Center and the Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall. There is a registration fee for the convention, but the three convention sponsored concerts are free and open to the public. Each of the concerts will last approximately one hour.

The first concert is Sunday, May 21 at 7 p.m. in the Faulkner Performing Arts Center (the FPAC). Featuring the world premiere of U of A faculty member Fernando Valencia's "Curcuma" for Afro-Cuban percussionist and percussion ensemble, and conducted by U of A Senior Wind Band Conducor W. Dale Warren, the concert also features Kelby Taylor, a graduate student, performing Eric Ewazen's "Concerto for Marimba" and U of A alumnus Mark Boseman performing Michael Burritt's "White Pines" for marimba and percussion ensemble. Other numbers include Alejandro Vinao's "Homage to Conlon Nancarrow," David Maslanka's "Hurtling Through Space… at an unbelievable speed" and a new setting for percussion ensemble of Percy Grainger's "Arrival Platform Humlet."

A select group of NCPP student and professional participants will also be performing in concerts on Monday, May 22. The Student Concert will be held in the Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall at 2:30 p.m., with the Professionals Concert in the FPAC at 7 p.m.

The conference is made possible with support from the Department of Music and the U of A Bands, and with a considerable investment of time and energy from the 24 percussion students in the Department of Music. The community of Northwest Arkansas is invited to these wonderful concerts, and to support the efforts of our U of A students, and our visitors from across the country.