The NMU Percussion Ensemble, under the direction of Professor James A. Strain, will present
its annual fall semester concert on Sunday, November 6, 2022 at 3:00 p.m., live at Reynolds
Recital Hall, with the concert also virtually streamed via subscription through the School of
Music, Theater and Dance Broadcast Network. The concert will be performed on standard
percussion instruments such as drums, cymbals, gongs, marimbas, xylophones, bells,
vibraphones, chimes and timpani, as well as a few unusual instruments, such as air raid sirens, a
lion’s roar, and anvils. The music will include a variety of musical styles, including one of the
first compositions written for percussion ensemble, Ionisation, by Edgard Varese. Other
compositions include an arrangement of the ever-popular Fiddle Faddle by Leroy Anderson, an
African Xylophone improvisation, and a medley of video game themes performed on
Boomwhackers. In addition to the ensemble music, several students will also be performing
solos on marimba or xylophone and a duet for flute and marimba.