Percussion

Chamber music is at the core of our percussion students’ education. Through the deep and focused study of chamber music we can develop the necessary skills to become total percussionists. 

The Mason Percussion ensemble practicing in the deLaski Performing Arts Building
The Mason Percussion Ensemble performing in the deLaski Performing Arts Building.

All students participate in one of two types of ensembles: 

  • Mason Percussion Group is the premiere performance ensemble of the percussion program. Comprised of the most accomplished graduate and undergraduate performers, the group regularly performs the highest caliber percussion chamber music. 
     
  • Mason Percussion Ensemble is comprised of all percussion majors and is open to members of the larger university community. Repertoire includes both large conducted works and smaller works of chamber music performed without a conductor. Qualified Master's of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts students participate in this group as ensemble coaches and conductors. 

The Mason Percussion Group has appeared at the Virginia Music Educators Conference, the Western International Band Conference, the College Music Society Mid Atlantic Conference, and the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The Group has toured Costa Rica and presented clinics and performances at the National Conservatory in San Jose. 

In addition, students can perform in a variety of mixed chamber groups, steel pan, and Afro-Cuban ensembles. 

The video features music students performing a variety of new and classic percussion chamber music with the students at the San Jose Music Conservatory in Costa Rica.

The percussion studies program at George Mason University provides aspiring students a comprehensive educational experience. All students study with a percussion faculty who possess impressive performance and educational credentials. Students are trained in virtually every aspect of percussion performance, including orchestral and solo percussion, chamber music, timpani, drumset, steel pan, afro cuban, and marching percussion. Students eventually rotate through every professor's studio, thus providing a complete and well-rounded educational experience. Major renovations and a substantial investment in new facilities and equipment offer ample instruments and practice facilities.

Our prime location, minutes from Washington D.C., allows students a chance to hear the very best of live music, from Blues Alley to the Kennedy Center, every day. 

Performance opportunities for percussion students include: 

MM and DMA students should contact Prof. Bisesi or Prof. Spirtas for audition material. 

Percussion students playing instruments in rehearsal room
The Mason Percussion Ensemble rehearsing Fractalia by Owen Clayton Condon.