PERCUSSION
The Percussion Studies area at the University of Tennessee is devoted to producing multi-faceted percussionists who advance percussion performance, education, research, and appreciation. The unique curriculum holds students to a universal standard while offering them highly individual attention, allowing them to become complete musicians who can appreciate the percussive arts’ cultural diversity and historical background. The percussion studio works toward acting as a resource to the region and fosters learning in the university community by regularly hosting percussive events on campus. This page will provide information regarding a variety of information surrounding the UT Percussion Studies area, including important prospective student information, details regarding upcoming events and festivals, and resources for area educators and performers.
Feel free to contact us at anytime and thank you for your interest in our programs. Furthermore to stay up-to-date with our latest events and information, please find us on Facebook and Instagram.
About the Percussion Program
The UT Percussion Studies area provides a focused program of study in solo, chamber, and large ensemble performance. The program is complimented with a full-scale jazz studies degree program and all of the curricular / ensemble offerings that come with it, as well as a variety of authentic world music performance outlets. All students have the opportunity to perform in the large ensembles including the Wind Ensemble, UT Orchestra, Contemporary Music Ensemble, and the University of Tennessee Percussion Ensembles.
Meet Our Faculty
Professor Andrew M. Bliss
Associate Professor of Percussion, Director of Percussion Studies | abliss1@utk.edu
Andy Bliss is a solo artist, conductor, curator, and educator who maintains a dynamic career of musical collaboration. Residing in Knoxville, TN, his performances have been heard locally at the Tennessee Theatre and the Square Room, and abroad in locations such as the Darmstadt Summer Course for New Music (Germany), the Banff Centre for the Arts (Canada), the Patagonia Percussion Festival (Argentina), the LiveWire Festival in Baltimore, and Stanford’s Cantor Center for Visual Arts.
His repertoire ranges from 20th-century masterworks by John Cage, Iannis Xenakis, and Steve Reich, to the performance and advocacy of contemporary composers such as John Luther Adams, David Lang, and Mark Applebaum. His passion for new music has propelled Andy to collaborate on new works with a wide range of today’s leading composers and musicians such as Christopher Adler, Christopher Burns, Evan Chapman, David Crowell, Nicholas Deyoe, Marc Mellits, Lewis Nielson, and Anna Thorvaldsdottir, among many others.
Professor Keith Brown
Distinguished Lecturer of Percussion | kbrown15@utk.edu
Keith Brown is a Distinguished Lecturer at the University of Tennessee where in addition to teaching applied drum set, he is the Director of Jazz Bands and coordinator of small Jazz Ensembles. He is an active performer playing regularly with several groups including Mark Boling’s Trio Life, and the Knoxville Jazz Orchestra where he has performed with (among others) Monty Alexander, Mulgrew Miller, Hank Jones, John Clayton, Maceo Parker, Wycliffe Gordon, James Moody, Jimmy Heath, Terrel Stafford, Stefon Harris, Karrin Allyson, Gregory Porter, Ingrid Jensen, John Pizzarelli, Ken Peplowski, Eric Reed, James Morrison, Warren Wolf, Cecile McLorin Salvant, and Christian McBride.
Professor Kevin Zetina
Lecturer of Percussion | kzetina@utk.edu
Kevin Zetina is a passionate performer, composer, and arranger of all things contemporary whether it be performing seminal works of the last century, premiering or writing brand new works, or arranging popular music for contemporary classical ensembles. As a percussionist, he has performed with members of Eighth Blackbird, Ensemble Signal, the JACK Quartet, and the Bang on a Can All-Stars. Having grown up as a guitarist playing various sorts of death metal, Kevin has always been drawn to music that is experimental in nature. In this effort to push musical experimentation, Kevin started the first student-run new music ensemble at the Yale School of Music: Versicolor. The group champions composers who would otherwise be underrepresented and provides a space for contemporary music at Yale. Kevin has played frequently with the Austin based contemporary chamber music group, Density 512 and has served as the Production Director for the Nief-Norf Summer Festival.
Ensembles
The University of Tennessee Percussion Studies division offers dynamic and collaborative performance opportunities for UT students, regardless of their major. Percussion-specific ensembles include Ensemble Knox, our professional-grade collaborative chamber ensemble; the UT Chamber Percussion Ensemble; and the UT African Diasporic Percussion Ensemble, which houses the UT Steelband.
Artist Certificate in Music – Concentration in Percussion Performance
The graduate Artist Certificate program is a full-time graduate performance program designed to prepare the most talented and outstanding performers for careers as professional performing musicians.
Students accepted into the program must demonstrate the ability to perform advanced repertoire with technical and artistic mastery and have the potential for success at major competitions or auditions for major performing entities, or want to begin a professional career. Students in this program will take courses that build the repertoire, artistry, and performance skills necessary for a professional performer.
| COURSES | CREDITS |
| Private Instruction | 8 |
| Music EnsembleAny MUEN (2)Chamber Music (2) | 4 |
| Area Literature | 3 |
| Music Electives (2) | 4 |
| Graduate Recital (2) | 4 |
| TOTAL | 23 |
1) Ensemble participation is required during each semester of residence.
2) Classes chosen to fulfill the music electives requirements may include a maximum of 2 credit hours of MUEN courses.
3) Percussion Pedagogy and Literature will be fulfilled through MUSC 521 (Special Topics)
