Percussion Symposium

She-e Wu has appeared as a solo artist at the 25th, 27th, and 30th Percussive Arts Society International Convention; Journées de la Percussion, NancyPhony Festival, perKumania festival, and PercuPassion Festival in France; Bach Symposium/Bach Variation Festival in Lincoln Center; Taiwan Connection concert at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center; International Percussion Festival and InterAmerican Music and Arts Festival Orchestra in Puerto Rico; Festival Internacional de Percusion "Ritmo Vital 2001" and National Percussion Convention in Spain; Fukui Marimba Seminar in Japan; Giornate della Percussione in Italy; Percussion Festival in Greece; Taipei International Percussion Convention, and many other festivals. She has performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall and Symphony Center, Chicago Chamber Musicians, and the Philadelphia Orchestra Chamber Music Series in Pearlman Hall at the Kimmel Center. Ms. Wu has performed as guest recitalist and clinician at universities, colleges, and conservatories in France, Belgium, Italy, Sweden, Denmark, England, Scotland, Germany, Spain, Greece, Japan, and Korea, as well as American music institutions and numerous PAS Days of Percussion throughout the United States.

Ms. Wu's composition Blue Identity was written for Frederic Macarez and the Paris Conservatory CNR percussion ensemble. Blue Identity was premiered in Paris at the Journées de la Percussion festival, and the American premiere took place at the 27th Percussive Arts Society International Convention. K-PAX, a piece for marimba duo, was commissioned by the Taipei International Percussion Convention in 2002 and was premiered in Taiwan and Japan. UP!, for solo percussion and seven percussionists, received its premiere at the Midwest Clinic in Chicago in December 2009. The world premiere of Ms. Wu's latest composition, What the Sun Would Say to the Sky, for marimba quartet, was premiered at PASIC 2011 in Indianapolis.

Ms. Wu has commissioned and premiered numerous works by Eric Ewazen, Ronald Caltabiano, Robin Engleman, Gerald Chenoweth, and many others. Ms. Wu's recent commissions are pieces written by Lee Hyla, Paul Lansky, and Dafnis Prieto. The world premiere of the percussion concerto with wind ensemble written by Paul Lansky is scheduled for January 2015 with the Northwestern University Symphonic Wind Ensemble. Ms. Wu has served as a judge for the Paris International Marimba Competition, Greece International Competition, Italy International Competition, Atlanta Snare Drum Competition, PASIC Marimba Competition, P.A.S. Composition Competition (Large Percussion Ensemble), and International Percussion Ensemble Competition (College).

Ms. Wu's recordings include Marimba Concerto by Eric Ewazen with the International Sejong Soloists, solo marimba CD Snapshot, Suite for Marimba and Flute by Alec Wilder with flautist Bart Feller, A Set of Songs and Dances by Doug Hill featuring Gail Williams on horn, and a chamber music recording with the American Brass Quintet of music by David Sampson. Her recording of Nos. 1, 2, and 3 of the Six Suites for Solo Cello by J. S. Bach, with Baroque embellishments by George B. Stauffer, was released in fall of 2014.

Ms. Wu is a clinician and recitalist for the Majestic, Mapex, Innovative Percussion, and Evans and Zildgian companies. Her signature mallets with Innovative Percussion are available worldwide. She plays on a concert marimba of her design by Majestic. Ms. Wu is associate professor of music and the head of the percussion program at Northwestern University.

Paul Yancich teaches timpani at the Cleveland Institute of Music. He was principal timpanist of The Cleveland Orchestra from 1981 to 2023. He first appeared as soloist with the Orchestra in 1990, performing the world premiere of James Oliverio's Timpani Concerto #1. Mr. Yancich has given master classes and recitals in the United States, Europe, Asia and New Zealand. Awarded CIM's Distinguished Alumni Award in 2024, his timpani and percussion students perform in more than 40 orchestras in the United States and abroad.

Grammy Award–winning percussionist Christopher Lamb has been hailed as a dynamic and versatile performer. Having joined the New York Philharmonic as Principal Percussionist in 1985, The Constance R. Hoguet Friends of the Philharmonic Chair, he subsequently made his solo debut with the Orchestra in the World Premiere of Joseph Schwantner’s Percussion Concerto, one of several commissions celebrating the Philharmonic’s 150th anniversary. He has since performed the work to critical acclaim with orchestras throughout the United States and in 2011 won a Grammy for Best Classical Instrumental Soloist for his recording of Schwantner’s Percussion Concerto with the Nashville Symphony. Lamb also gave the World Premiere of Tan Dun’s Concerto for Water Percussion, a second work commissioned for him by the New York Philharmonic, and has performed it to rave reviews on the Philharmonic’s tour to South America, as well as in Asia and Europe with such notable orchestras as the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw, Leipzig’s Gewandhaus Orchestra, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra. In the United States, he has performed the work with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony, and the Pacific Symphony. New York Philharmonic Music Director Emeritus Kurt Masur selected Lamb’s performance of Tan Dun’s Concerto for Water Percussion for release in the Orchestra’s collection of recordings highlighting his tenure as Music Director. The third commission for Lamb by the New York Philharmonic, Susan Botti’s Echo Tempo for Soprano, Percussion, and Orchestra, was given its World Premiere by Ms. Botti, Lamb, and the New York Philharmonic under the baton of Masur.

A faculty member of the Manhattan School of Music since 1989, Christopher Lamb has led clinics and master classes throughout the United States and on almost every continent. In 1999 he was the recipient of a Fulbright Scholars Award to lecture and conduct research in Australia. During his five-month residency at the Victorian College of the Arts in Melbourne, he presented master classes and seminars titled “A Comprehensive Examination of Orchestral Percussion,” which has grown into a model for the art of teaching percussion. In 2010 Lamb was invited to join the faculty of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland as an international fellow.

Lamb has recorded chamber works on the New World, Cala, and CRI labels, and his Grammy Award–winning performance of Schwantner’s Percussion Concerto is available on the Naxos label. Christopher Lamb is a former member of The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Buffalo Philharmonic and a graduate of the Eastman School of Music.

Marc Damoulakis joined The Cleveland Orchestra in August 2006 and was appointed to the principal percussion chair in 2014. He made his solo debut with the Orchestra in 2021, performing John Corigliano’s Conjurer, which was hailed as “a fabulously vigorous” performance. Damoulakis is also currently co-chair of the percussion department at the Cleveland Institute of Music.

Throughout his career, Damoulakis has performed and recorded as a guest artist, including engagements with the New York Philharmonic, Atlanta Symphony, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Houston Symphony, Sarasota Orchestra, and the Hong Kong Philharmonic. He performed and recorded with the National Brass Ensemble at Skywalker Ranch and Orchestra Hall in Chicago in 2015. An active chamber musician, Damoulakis plays regularly with the Strings Music Festival, ChamberFest Cleveland, and the Sun Valley Summer Symphony “In Focus” Series, where he is also the principal percussionist. He has performed with Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Gilmore Festival, New Music Consort, and the Pulse Percussion Ensemble. In addition, Damoulakis is a founding member of the Time Table Percussion Quartet.

As a teacher, Damoulakis has students holding positions in major symphony orchestras throughout the world and has led masterclasses and clinics throughout North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. He is committed to a biannual week-long teaching residency at the University of Colorado at Boulder, and is a regular participant in the North Western Percussion Symposium, and the National Youth Orchestra USA. In addition, he serves as a judge of the annual Modern Snare Drum Competition. In addition to his current work at CIM, he taught for seven years as a faculty member at DePaul University. As a collaborative three-year project, he developed the K Symphonic line of cymbals with the Zildjian Company, instruments that are an important part of his sound collection with The Cleveland orchestra.

Prior to coming to Cleveland, Mr. Damoulakis lived and worked in New York, where he performed and recorded with the New York Philharmonic (2003–06), served as principal timpani of the Long Island Philharmonic (1998–2006), and held the position of assistant principal percussion of the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra (2003–06). He also performed as an active freelancer in New York, including playing in the orchestra for Phantom of the Opera on Broadway.

A native of Boston, Damoulakis was exposed to music at a young age by his parents, who were both educators and musicians, in piano and tuba respectively. He later spent four summers at Tanglewood, in addition attending the Spoleto Festival and Pacific Music Festival. Marc Damoulakis holds a bachelor’s degree in percussion performance from the Manhattan School of Music, where he studied under Christopher Lamb (New York Philharmonic), Duncan Patton (Metropolitan Opera Orchestra), and James Preiss (Steve Reich and Musicians). He continued his studies for four years with the New World Symphony under Michael Tilson Thomas (1999–2003).

Vadim Karpinos was appointed to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 2001 by Maestro Daniel Barenboim. He was born in Kiev, Ukraine and began showing an interest in percussion at a very early age. He and his family moved to New York in 1991, and he attended the Manhattan School of Music where he studied with Christopher Lamb, Duncan Patton and Don Liuzzi.

Karpinos was a Tanglewood fellow and has performed with numerous orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, New Jersey Symphony, the New York City Opera, Grant Park Symphony and the Rhode Island Philharmonic.

He has appeared as a soloist with numerous orchestras including the Chicago Symphony and at Roosevelt University, where he has been an adjunct faculty member since 2005. Karpinos is also on the board of advisors to The New Music School in Chicago, and he gives percussion clinics worldwide.

Karpinos has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Louis Smadbeck Scholarship, the Dr. Randolph Goodman award, the Morton Gould Memorial Award, the ASCAP Leiber and Stoeler Scholarship, first prize winner of the Soviet Union’s Young Virtuoso competition and several other concerto competitions. He is an active chamber musician and has made many recordings with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Karpinos endorses Zildjian and Innovative Percussion.

Ed Harrison is Principal Timpanist of the Lyric Opera of Chicago and Artist Faculty and Head of Percussion at the Chicago College of Performing Arts, Roosevelt University. He is considered the leading exponent of contemporary maraca playing in the United States and Europe. While in Venezuela as Principal Timpanist of the Caracas Philharmonic, he studied with the great Joropo virtuoso Maximo B. Teppa. Upon returning to the U.S., he adapted the techniques for use in a wide variety of styles. In 1999, the world’s first concerto for maraca soloist with symphony orchestra was written for him and premiered at Chicago’s Orchestra Hall. Chicago Tribune music critic John Von Rhein referred to “Harrison’s remarkable mastery as a solo performer” and Sun Times critic Wynne Delacoma referred to his “finely honed tone and agile, lightening fast rhythm.” In addition, she compared Harrison’s maraca playing to standard maraca playing as “the difference between a prima ballerina and an elephant.” Mr. Harrison subsequently performed the piece at Dvorak Hall in Prague to an outstanding reception and recorded it with the Czech National Orchestra for Albany Records.

Ed Harrison has performed with a wide variety of artists ranging from Leonard Bernstein and Sir George Solti to McCoy Tyner and Paquito D’Rivera. Ed has recorded for Deutsche Grammaphon, London/Decca, Pro Arte/Fanfare, Delmark, Albany, Cedille Records and others. He was a founding member of the Gershwin/Bernstein Ensemble of the Chicago Symphony Ensembles program and performs frequently with the Chicago Symphony at the Ravinia Festival. He has done radio and television performances for Nova (Public Broadcasting Systems), Metromedia, National Public Radio, WFMT Chicago, WGBH Boston. Ed has performed on commercial soundtracks (jingles) for McDonalds, Kraft Foods, Sears, Kellogg, Ameritech, Illinois Tourism and others.

Mr. Harrison has a Master of Music degree from the New England Conservatory where he studied with Vic Firth. He attended the Tanglewood Music Center on a Leonard Bernstein Fellowship in 1983 and returned the following year by invitation of the Artistic Directors. He has served on the faculties of DePaul, Northwestern, and Concordia Universities. Ed is a Zildjian Orchestral Artist and a member of the Vic Firth Education Team.

Alan Stewart joined the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra in December 2017 as Associate Principal Percussionist. Prior to this appointment, he was an avid freelance percussionist, performing with orchestras throughout the US, including the SLSO and the New York Philharmonic.

As Associate Principal Percussionist of the SLSO, Stewart performs numerous concerts behind a drum set and has collaborated with a diverse group of artists that include Terence Blanchard, Sutton Foster, Bebe Winans, and Denzal Sinclaire.

As an educator, Stewart has taught masterclasses throughout the country, including classes at the Manhattan School of Music, Cleveland Institute of Music, Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, and Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music.

Stewart attended the Manhattan School of Music and Northwestern University. His primary teachers were Chris Lamb and Michael Werner.

When not performing, he spends most of his free time with his wife and two children. Stewart is a proud endorser of Zildjian Cymbals, Remo Drumheads, and Dragonfly Percussion.

A native of Edmond, Oklahoma, Chris joined the Milwaukee Symphony in 2017.  After performing with the New World Symphony from 2012-2015, Chris began freelancing with orchestras including the Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, National Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, Kansas City Symphony, Fort Worth Symphony, and Hawaii Symphony.  Summer engagements have brought Chris to the Britt Festival, AIMS Festival, and Sun Valley Summer Symphony.

As an educator, Chris has held positions at Northwestern University and Sam Houston State University as Drumline Instructor and Adjunct Percussion Professor, respectively.  In addition to teaching applied lessons and percussion ensemble, he has taught on topics including percussion methods, percussion composition and arranging, music therapy, and percussion’s role in the orchestra.

Chris holds a Masters degree in Percussion Performance and Literature from Northwestern University and has degrees in Percussion Performance and Philosophy from the University of Oklahoma.  His principal teachers were Lance Drege, Michael Burritt, She-e Wu, and James Ross.

Outside of performing, Chris enjoys meditation and likes to get to the mountains any chance he gets.​

Born in Bialystok, Poland, Marcelina Suchocka is the Principal Percussionist for Sarasota Orchestra and the Britt Festival Orchestra. Marcelina enjoys a diverse career spanning orchestral, chamber, new music, and solo playing. She was a fellow at the New World Symphony in Miami Beach and has performed as an extra/substitute percussionist with the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Boston Symphony, Chicago Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Kansas City Symphony, Florida Orchestra, and the Utah Symphony.

Marcelina has spent summers as a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center, Pacific Music Festival, the Music Academy of the West, National Repertory Orchestra, and Spoleto Festival.

Marcelina has performed as a concerto soloist with the Chicago Symphony performing the Koppel Marimba Concerto. She is a founding member of Excelsis Percussion Quartet and Pathos Trio, and performs locally with ensemblenewSRQ.

Rex Martin is professor emeritus of tuba and euphonium at the Northwestern Bienen School of Music. He received his Master of Music degree from Northwestern in 1983 and began teaching at the School of Music in 1988. He has given master classes throughout North America, Europe, and the Far East. As a studio musician, he has performed for 3,000 television and radio commercials and has also played on more than 70 recordings with the Chicago and St. Louis Symphony Orchestras. In 2008, he released a solo CD, Rex Martin Live in Japan. He has performed with several prestigious orchestras and ensembles and with artists such as Tony Bennett, Dave Brubeck, Ray Charles, Luciano Pavarotti, Frank Sinatra, Mel Tormé, Sarah Vaughan, and Earth, Wind & Fire.

Martin has also taught at DePaul University, Illinois State University, the University of Illinois, the University of Notre Dame, and the Oberlin Conservatory. His former teacher, Arnold Jacobs, taught at Northwestern from 1956 until his death in 1998. Between the two of them, Martin and Jacobs taught at Northwestern for a more than 60-year span.

Jon Deitemyer has established himself as a unique and versatile voice in modern jazz drumming. After graduating from the esteemed University of North Texas where he studied with Ed Soph and Lynn Seaton, Jon settled in Chicago and quickly became a fixture in the city’s expansive creative music community.

Jon has been a member of Greenleaf artist Matt Ulery‘s various ensembles since 2006, and currently performs with ArtistShare recording artist Patricia Barber. In addition, Jon has performed and recorded with Zach Brock, Phil Markowitz, Ben Paterson (MaxJazz), Grazyna Auguscik (EMI), Renee Fleming, Lynne Arriale, and American Public Media’s “Prairie Home Companion”.

Jon is also an active educator, with positions at Northwestern University and Loyola University.

In 2016 Jon debuted the full-length album Tall Tales on ears&eyes Records. Jon is a proud partner of Canopus Drums.

Keith A. Aleo is associate director of music at Interlochen Center for the Arts. He has a multifaceted career as a performer, educator, and administrator. A graduate of the Eastman School of Music and the University of Miami, Aleo has served on the percussion faculty of the Boston Conservatory, the University of Connecticut, and the University of Miami. He is also a consultant for the Zildjian and Vic Firth Companies. Aleo has presented recitals, master classes, and workshops at throughout the world, including the Percussive Arts Society International Conventions, Europe and Asia. Aleo's playing credits include the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, and the London Symphony Orchestra. He was a member of the percussion section of the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra from 1987-2003 and the Director of Education and Orchestral Activities for the Zildjian Company from 2003-2015. He has published percussion method and étude books that have received international acclaim.

Julie Davila is renowned percussionist, performer, music educator and clinician specializing in concert and marching percussion. She was inducted in to the WGI Percussion Hall of Fame in 2014, in recognition of over 25 years contributing to the marching arts activity as a leader, teacher, designer and adjudicator. Julie is a member of the chamber percussion ensemble the CAIXA TRIO, winner of a 2011 “Drummie” award by Drum Magazine. In addition to her membership in the CAIXA TRIO, she currently serves as President-Elect for the Percussive Arts Society. She is the arranger and instructor for the Middle Tennessee State University Band of Blue Drumline, and additionally an adjunct professor of percussion at MTSU. Prior to her work at MTSU, she was the percussion specialist at several high schools in Nashville, Tennessee. Many of her groups have medaled in all divisions of the WGI activity and the John Overton High School Indoor drum line, under her direction won a National Championship. Julie is a member of the WGI and DCI nationally recognized adjudication teams. As an active clinician specializing in contemporary and marching percussion, she has performed in Poland, China, Peru, South Korea, Paris, France, Netherlands, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Brazil and extensively throughout the United States. Julie is a proud alumni of the University of North Texas. She is the author of the Modern Multi-Tenor Techniques and Solos, Impressions on Wood and Inspirations 4 Mallets and is a co-author of Aptitude an innovative solo snare book published by Row-Loff Productions. Julie is an endorser and clinician for the Pearl Corporation, Innovative Percussion, the Avedis Zildjian Company, Grover Pro Percussion, and Evans Drum Heads.

Lalo is currently Professor of Music and Director of Percussion Studies at Middle Tennessee State University. He received his Bachelor of Music degree from Texas A & M Corpus Christi and a Master of Music from the University of North Texas. Lalo has extensive experience both as an educator, composer, author, and performer. Lalo was named Nashville’s Top Five 1998 Percussionist of the Year Award and “Nashville Scene’s” 2012 “ Best Latin Jazz Musician. Lalo has toured with many artists including the "Take 6" Summer 1996 tour of Japan. Other performances include; the Corpus Christi Symphony Orchestra, the Nashville Symphony, the Nashville Jazz Orchestra, the Nashville Chamber Orchestra, the Nashville Chamber Chorus, the Nashville Ballet, Six Pence and None The Richer, Clay Walker, Allen Vizzutti, Arturo Sandoval, and Sherry Lewis to name a few. Mr. Davila can also be heard on Kirk Whalum's Grammy-nominated CD “Hymns In The Garden”. Currently, Lalo performs with several Latin groups including his own band "Lalo Davila and Friends".  Most recently, Lalo’s voice and playing can be heard (as Jafar) in Disney’s Dual Language Series “Aladdin”, “So You Think You Can Dance”, “Curb Your Enthusiasm”, The movies “People Like Us”, “The Amazing Burt Wonderstone”, “McFarland USA”, and “The Equalizer”, 2012 PlayStation game “Thieves in Time”, “Star Wars”, Black Ops III, “Knights of the Republic”, and America’s Funniest 2010 Commercials. Lalo has also composed music for the television shows, “Drop Dead Diva”, “Prison Break”, “The Bridge”, and “Burn Notice”.