糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock to Host Fall Percussion Concert Nov. 2

Six members of 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock's Trojan Steel Band playing instruments outdoors on campus.
Members of the Trojan Steel Band perform on campus in hopes of collecting donations for the Percussion Club. Photo by Benjamin Krain.

糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock鈥檚 Percussion Ensemble and Trojan Steel Band will host its Fall Percussion Concert on Thursday, November 2 at 7:30 p.m. in the Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall, located in the Fine Arts building on the 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock campus.

Both the Percussion Ensemble and the Trojan Steel Band are directed by Dr. Justin Bunting, the music program鈥檚 Director of Instrumental Activities in the School of Literary and Performing Arts.

鈥淭hese students have worked hard to prepare our largest program since my arrival in Fall 2019,鈥 Bunting said. 鈥淭he Percussion Ensemble portion of the concert consists of six pieces representing a wide variety of percussion repertoire. We are excited to showcase the diversity of the percussion ensemble genre, as well as the talents of our students.鈥

Works to be performed include 鈥淥pening Remarks,鈥 a marimba quartet by Jeffrey Dennis Smith, 鈥淒rums of Moria鈥 by Nathan Daughtrey, and 鈥渕emory鈥 by Evan Chapman for children鈥檚 desk bells (emulating a wind chime) and live, electronic accompaniment.

The program will also include 鈥淢asterplan鈥 and 鈥淔earless鈥 by Chris Thompson, also known as Master Christopher. These two pieces are a preview of the ensemble’s March 2024 concert where Thompson’s album “Music Desegregation” will be presented with Thompson on stage as both a guest artist and soloist.

The Trojan Steel Band will close the concert with a mix of tunes including “Mary Anne,鈥 a traditional soca tune by Roaring Lion, “Can’t Help Falling in Love” originally by Elvis Presley, and “Shut Up and Dance” by Walk the Moon.

鈥淲ho doesn鈥檛 like Steel Band music?鈥 Bunting said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 fun to listen to and, perhaps, even more fun to play. This group is musically challenging but also a way to put aside your stress and enjoy playing these beautiful instruments. You will see students rotating from one type of steel drum to another between tunes. This is because I want as diverse of a learning, and musical, experience as possible for them.鈥

Admission to the event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Dr. Bunting at [email protected].