Percy Grainger and the Century of Percussion

Join Professor Chalon Ragsdale (University of Arkansas) as he illustrates how PERCY GRAINGER’s philosophy, and his practical applications of that philosophy, helped determine the directions of PERCUSSION WRITING AND PERFORMANCE IN THE 20TH AND 21ST CENTURIES. Using musical examples ranging from Bach and Grieg to Stravinsky, Bartok, GRAINGER AND GRAINGER’s pupils, composer Henry Cowell and Bernard Herrmann, Professor Ragsdale will trace the life and work of PERCY GRAINGER, the “Genius from AUSTRALIA.”Chalon Ragsdale is University Professor of Percussion at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas. His publishing concern, Aux Arcs Music, (www.auxarcsmusic.com) has focused on bringing editions of Percy Grainger’s music to the wind band medium, and he has presented on various Grainger topics in Japan (at the Japan Grainger Festival 2011), twice in programs for the Grainger Museum in Melbourne, Australia, and in the U.S., including the 2009 CBDNA National Convention in Austin, and the 2013 Midwest International Clinic. In 2003, Ragsdale was awarded the Grainger Medallion by the International Percy Grainger Society “in recognition of his work on behalf of the music of Percy Grainger.”