Institute Faculty
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Peter
Kogan, principal Timpani of the Minnesota Orchestra, began his orchestral
career when he was appointed by George Szell to the percussion section
of the Cleveland Orchestra. Three years later he became Principal Percussion
and Associate Principal Timpani of the Pittsburgh Symphony under William
Steinberg. In 1977 he left Pittsburgh to pursue a career in New York
City as a freelance drumset player and composer, performing rock, blues
and jazz. His work in New York received recognition in a short profile
that appeared in Modern Drummer magazine.In 1984 Kogan returned to the
classical scene with the Honolulu Symphony, playing both Principal Timpani
and Drumset. While there he performed Donald Erb's "Concerto for
Percussionist and Orchestra" with the Symphony. Kogan was appointed
Principal Timpani of the Minnesota Orchestra in 1986. He premiered "Speaking
in Drums - Concerto for Five Timpani and String Orchestra" by David
Schiff with Minnesota in 1995. He has recorded over 25 CD's with the
orchestra. In recent summers he has served as principal timpanist of
the Santa Fe Opera and the Grand Teton Music Festival.Kogan has published
a number of articles in "Percussive Notes" -- most recently
an interview with timpani scholar Dr. Edmund Bowles in the April 2005
issue. He teaches in his home studio in St. Paul and served as Teacher
of Percussion at the Oberlin Conservatory in 1971-72. Kogan began his
musical studies on the violin at age six. Serious percussion study began
at age eleven with Saul Goodman, with whom he continued studying through
high school and at Juilliard. He completed his studies at the Cleveland
Institute of Music where he studied with Cloyd Duff (MM 1972). He also
holds a "Certificat de Timbales " from the Conservatoire de
Geneve where he studied with Charles Peschier. Other teachers have included
George Gaber for three summers at the Aspen Music Festival, Elden "Buster" Bailey
and Fred Hinger.
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Anthony
Orlando is Associate Principal Percussionist with the Philadelphia
Orchestra, a position he has held since 1972 when he was appointed by
Eugene Ormandy. He began his percussion training at age 8 in his home
town of Reading, Pennsylvania where he studied with Leroy Breininger
and George Haller. In addition to percussion Mr. Orlando also studied
cello for several years. He holds a Bachelor of Music Degree from the
Philadelphia Musical Academy where he was a student of Michael Bookspan,
who was a percussionist with the Philadelphia Orchestra. Post graduate
study was with Fred. D. Hinger former timpanist with the Philadelphia
Orchestra and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. Prior to joining the
Philadelphia Orchestra Mr. Orlando was Principal Percussionist and timpanist
with the Pennsylvania Ballet Orchestra, the Opera Company of Philadelphia,
the Grand Teton Music Festival the Lancaster Symphony and the Trenton
Symphony in addition to being an Associate Fellow at the Bedrshire Music
Festival at Tanglewood. Formerly he was a faculty member at the University
of the Arts at Rowan University and presently teaches privately. Mr.
Orlando is in demand as a clinician and has done Masterclasses at many
conservatories and universities including the Curtis Institute and Temple
University. He is very active in the new music community in Philadelphia
and a member of the ensemble The Network for New Music. He lives in Gloucester
City, New Jersey with his wife and four children and enjoys skiing and
road bicycling in his spare time.
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Al
Otte came to the University of Cincinnati in 1977 with the
Blackearth Percussion Group which he co-founded in 1972; in 1979
he founded Percussion
Group Cincinnati. The three members of the Group are faculty and ensemble-in-residence
at the conservatory with an international touring schedule of concerts,
concerto appearances, masterclasses, and childrens programs. A large
body of new and often experimental music has been created specifically
for the Group throughout its history, which has included special relationships
with John Cage, Herbert Brun, John Luther Adams, and Qu Xiao-song. Otte
is professor of percussion, teaches eurhythmics, composition, various
literature seminars, and coaches and conducts traditional and contemporary
chamber music. He is a regular summer faculty member at Oberlin where
he has also done a course in traditional and creative music for Javanese
gamelan. With and without the Group he has concertized, recorded and
taught throughout North America, Europe, and in Asia, including solo
concerts and guest presentations in Shanghai, Saarbrucken, Aukland, and
at Tanglewood. As both percussionist and composer he works with soprano
Audrey Luna, poet Don Bogen, German composer/instrument builder Volker
Staub, and in computer music with Mara Helmuth; he has also worked in
Lucca, Italy with opera director Malcolm Fraser creating experimental
music theater pieces. The evening-length monodrama CLOTHO for percussionist,
soprano, and computer, based the life of Camille Claudel, was premiered
in 2001; music for Shakespeare’s The Tempest in ‘02. A CD
of 5 collaborative works with Mara Helmuth is available on EMS; Percussion
Group Cincinnati is recorded on Mode and their own label, ars moderno.
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Michael
Rosen is as at home with symphonic literature as he is with contemporary
music, having served as Principal Percussionist with the Milwaukee Symphony
from 1966 to 1972. He has performed with the Cleveland Orchestra as well
as the Grand Teton Music Festival. He is Professor of Percussion at Oberlin
Conservatory of Music where he teaches, conducts the Oberlin Percussion
Group and is director of the Oberlin Percussion Institute. A native of
Philadelphia, Mr. Rosen was a student of Charles Owen and received his
Masters' of Music from the University of Illinois. Rosen has concertized
and taught extensively in Europe, at the Jeunesses Musicales Internationale
Summerkurse in Weikersheim, Germany, at the Sweelinck Conservatory in
Amsterdam, Holland and at the Arturo Toscanini Foundation in Parma, Italy.
Other engagements have included concerts and clinics at conservatories
and music courses in Italy, Denmark, France, Holland, Germany, Finland,
Belgium, Spain, Hong Kong and Beijing, China.
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Dr. Larry Snider is Professor of Music and Director of Percussion Studies at The University of Akron in Akron, Ohio. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Illinois State University and The University of North Texas, respectively, as well as a Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in percussion performance from the University of Illinois.
Dr. Snider has built a strong Percussion Program whose graduates consistently achieve professional success as performers and educators throughout the world. The program’s most visible and widely acclaimed component is The University of Akron Steel Drum Band, which enables students to gain valuable experience in teaching and playing ethnic music and Latin accessory instruments. Founded in 1980 by Dr. Snider as one of the nation’s first and foremost collegiate panorama-style ensembles, the Steel Drum Band performs locally and throughout the United States. Proceeds from sales of the band’s two CDs benefit a scholarship fund for students studying percussion at The University of Akron. Also widely acclaimed is the program’s percussion ensemble devoted to new and experimental music.
Dr. Snider also leads the PATHS program in which students from The University of Akron (UA) teach “at-risk” youngsters how to play steel drums. This innovative program reaches traditionally under-served youngsters, helps UA students gain valuable teaching skills, showcases the community’s musical diversity, and enriches the connection between campus and community.
Dr. Snider received the first-ever Outstanding Arts Educator Award presented by the Akron Area Arts Alliance in fall 2001. Dr. Snider has served on the percussion faculty at the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan and the International Percussion Workshop in Zagan, Poland, and as an adjudicator at the International Marimba Competition in Warsaw, Poland. He is often invited to be the chief international adjudicator for World Steelband Festival competitions in Trinidad and the United States, which draw steel bands from around the world.
An accomplished performer, Dr. Snider is Principal Percussionist with the Akron Symphony Orchestra and has served as an adjunct percussionist with the Cleveland Orchestra.
Guest Performers
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Percussion Group Cincinnati was founded in 1979 and consists of members Allen Otte, James Culley, and Russell Burge, all of whom are faculty members and ensemble-in-residence at the College-Conservatory of Music of the University of Cincinnati. Their daily rehearsal schedule is supplemented with the teaching and coaching of young musicians, many of whom have gone on to professional careers in creative music, in teaching, and with major symphony orchestras. Appearances in their national and international touring schedule have included the major cities, festivals, concert halls and schools of America, Europe and Asia. In addition to community concerts, workshops, and masterclasses, the Group regularly appears as concerto soloists with symphony orchestras, and has presented their program "Music From Scratch" to hundreds of thousands of children across North America. Percussion Group Cincinnati is particularly respected for its knowledge of and experience with the entire range of the music of John Cage, having made tours and festival appearances with him on a number of occasions in Europe and in America, and having had pieces created by Cage especially for the Group. More recently, the Group has developed similar special relationships with John Luther Adams, Qu Xiao-Song, Russell Peck, and with Larry Austin on the Charles Ives Universe Symphony project. Recent performances include the Shanghai Inter- national Spring Music Festival, a tour of Japan, and the premiers of two new concertos for the group, in Hong Kong and in Singapore. Over the past 25 years, many young composers from the United States, Latin America, Europe, Africa and Asia have created a large body of new and often experimental music for the unique talents of Percussion Group Cincinnati. The group's work appears on various CDs, including their own ars moderno label; their recording of John Luther Adams’ evening-length “Strange and Sacred Noise” was released in surround-sound by Mode this year; they are currently at work on CD’s of the percussion music of Qu Xiao-Song, on their contribution to the series of Mode Records’ integrated set of the complete music of John Cage, and on a 25-year retrospective multi-disc set including performances from the group’s entire history.
James Culley was born in Hamilton, Ohio. His degrees include the bachelor's degree from Oberlin Conservatory, a Bachelor of Arts degree in classics from Oberlin and a master's degree from the Eastman School of Music.
Russell Burge, a native of Boulder, Colorado, received his bachelor's degree from the Eastman School of Music and his master's degree from CCM in Cincinnati. He was formerly principal percussionist of the West Virginia Symphony and timpanist with the Columbus Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra.
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Ross Karre has dedicated his artistic pursuit to contemporary music. Having worked with such a wide variety of performers and composers as Pierre Boulez, the Ensemble Intercontemporain, Harrison Birtwistle, Meredith Monk, Steve Schick, Jean Geoffroy, the Percussion Group Cincinnati, and Simon Rattle, Ross has discovered the value of a vast array of experimental music practices. He studied at the Interlochen Arts Academy with Amy Lynn Barber, the Oberlin Conservatory with Michael Rosen, and is currently pursuing his Masters of Contemporary Percussion Performance at UCSD with Steve Schick. He has attended the Lucerne Festival Academy in Switzerland and worked as the percussion coordinator for the Aspen Music Festival for four summers. Ross has played in the Masterclasses of Jean Geoffroy, Robert Van Sice, Samuel Favre, Michel Cerutti, and Steve Schick. He is a recipient of the Zildjian Scholarship and the Robert F. Baustien Orchestral Merit Award. Ross is currently fully supported by the Jacob K. Javits fellowship, a merit-based grant provided by the U.S. Department of Education. |
