Photo by Kathy F. Atkinson November 10, 2016
Leading percussionists perform, teach, speak at UD
Four accomplished and pioneering women percussionists wrapped up a week in residence at the University of Delaware with a concert showcasing their performances on Saturday, Nov. 5.
The event, part of the Master Players series, was directed and co-produced by faculty percussionist Harvey Price, associate professor of music, who organized the “Women in Rhythm” events. The concert was co-sponsored by the University’s Artist-in-Residence Program and the Department of Women and Gender Studies.
Throughout their week at UD, the visiting percussionists led workshops and master classes with students and took part in a panel discussion to talk about their careers.
With relatively few women percussionists working even today, they were among the first to achieve top positions in their fields.
Visiting UD were: Angela Zator Nelson, associate principal timpani and section percussion for the Philadelphia Orchestra whose specialty is in new music; Jeannine Remy, a steel-pan virtuoso who teaches at the University of the West Indies in Trinidad and conducts research on the roots of ethnic music; Valerie Naranjo, a 20-year veteran of the Saturday Night Live house band who is also known for her pioneering work in West African keyboard percussion music; and Ezgi Elkirmis, an acclaimed darbuka (known as a “goblet drum” because of its shape) player and vocalist from Turkey who has participated in the Play For Peace project, which brings together female musicians throughout the Mediterranean and Middle East.
Replies