July 20, 2005 , Maraca2 - Percussion Duo , 5:55 pm

Maraca2 are a young percussion duo who have been making waves in the music scene. They met whilst both studying on the Undergraduate percussion course at the Birmingham Conservatoire for which they both achieved 1st class honours degrees and won many of the college prizes, both individually and as a duo. Maraca2 have already performed at the many of the country’s finest concert halls and recital venues including Symphony Hall, National Indoor Arena, Fairfield hall, Warwick Arts Centre, the Barber Institute, Artsfest, the International Convention Centre, Leeds University and the Birmingham Conservatoire at the Annual Convention of European Conservatoires. They are also winners of the 2005 Birmingham Music Classical Awards for contribution to music in the region. Maraca2 are an extremely versatile group and can perform in a variety of unusual settings. To date, in addition to the more traditional recital venue, they have provided music on cruise ships, fashion shows and dance clubs to name but a few! Maraca2 are committed to perform new works not already heard in the UK and have performed many UK and World Premier’s. Last February they performed the English premier of the ‘Goldrush’ double percussion concerto with the Birmingham Conservatoire Symphony Orchestra conducted by Lionel Friend. Jacob ter Veldhuis, the composer, attended the performance which was described it as “one of the best ever!”. The duo is heavily involved in music education and frequently performs in schools, colleges and other institutes of learning in addition to working regularly with the Southern Sinfonia Orchestra as part of their excellent education projects. They recently visited the Royal Northern College of Music to perform and work with composer Stephen Whibley’s on his new piece “Blue Motion”. Maraca2 endorse ‘Innovative Percussion’ sticks and mallets, Sabian Cymbals and ‘Marimba One’ Marimbas. We would like to thank these companies for their continued support.

, Tim Palmer - Biography , 5:53 pm

At an early age Tim progressed through the ensembles of the Northamptonshire County Music Service performing in a wide variety of groups such as Percussion ensembles, Orchestras, Wind Bands and Brass bands. Tim was granted a place to further his Percussion studies at Birmingham Conservatoire in September 2000. Since then he has performed in Master classes with Arthur Lipner, Jim Chapin, Colin Currie, Nebojsa Zivkovic, David Friedman and Ney Rosauro. Tim has had much success in competitions in and around Birmingham. He was awarded first prize of the Birmingham Conservatoire percussion prize. He then went on to win the Doris Newton music club prize for the most outstanding instrumentalist of 2002. Also Tim is a prize winner of the John Ludlow Philharmonic Concerto competition for his performance of Joseph Schwantner’s percussion concerto. For this competition he was granted permission by Schott Publications and Joseph Schwantner to commission an arrangement of the concerto for two pianos and solo percussion which received its World Premiere on February 24th 2003. Over the past few years Tim has played an active role in music around Birmingham. He has performed with both the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group. Tim is also involved in music education around Northamptonshire and is employed by the ‘Northamptonshire Performing Arts Service’. In June 2004, Tim gained his Bachelor of Music degree with first class honours and was awarded the BMus prize for outstanding achievment. He has also just completed his AdvPgDip (Advanced Postgraduate Diploma in Performance) with distinction at Birmingham Conservatoire where he now holds a visiting tutor position, teaching mallet / solo percussion. In November of 2006, Tim launched his new percussion website www.percussionmusiconline.com which is dedicated to the research and classification of percussion music. The website now has over 1500 members and is supported by many organisations including the Missouri PAS chapter, USA.

, Jason Huxtable – Biography , 5:51 pm

Jason started playing percussion aged sixteen and gained a place at the Birmingham Conservatoire two years later to study on the undergraduate percussion degree course from which he graduated in 2004 with a first class honours degree classification. He then went on to study towards the successful completion of the Advanced Postgraduate Diploma of Performance for which he passed with distinction in 2006. During his time at the Conservatoire he won many of the college competitions including the College Percussion Prize, the Rollason Award for outstanding musicianship and the Sylvia Cleaver chamber music prize. He also participated in the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition where he reached the national semi finals. As a freelance percussionist Jason has played with many of Midlands’ most established ensembles including the City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Shakespeare theatre. He likes to perform in a variety of different genres outside of the classical environment and performs with a number of groups that vary in genre from heavy rock to bhangra. He has performed with different bands at some of the biggest festivals including Glastonbury Festival, the Glasgow international Jazz festival, Bloodstock heavy-metal fest, Klapedia International Jazz Fetival, Geneva – Carnival du Monde, and the Henley Festival of Arts to name but a few. In addition to his performing commitments Jason regularly works as an educator of drums and percussion. Regular freelance workshop sessions compliment his regular teaching posts which he currently holds at Coventry University, Birmingham Conservatoire, Kingshurst Technology College and Edgbaston High School for Girls. Jason is an examiner for the ‘Rockschool’ instrumental examination board and has written academic resources and examinations for the Birmingham Conservatoire BMus undergraduate degree programs. He continues his studies at the Conservatoire towards the PhD award, his area of research being the ‘The perception, communication and education of pulse and rhythm’.

, Whibley , 5:30 pm

Blue Motion for tuned percussion and a variety of drums. (Brand new commission by Maraca2 and Tapspace Percussion Publications, USA).

, Miki , 5:29 pm

Marimba Spiritual II for Marimba and Percussion accompaniment.

, ter Veldhuis , 5:29 pm

Goldrush for Tuned Percussion and a variety of Drums.

, Siegel , 5:28 pm

42nd Street Rondo for bongos, cowbells and toms.

, Pape , 5:28 pm

Cadance 42 for Two Drum Kits played standing up.

, Westlake , 5:27 pm

Omphalo Centric Lecture for Two Marimbas, Drums and recorded Backing Track.

, Hanani , 5:27 pm

Metalmorphosis for Two Vibraphones and Metallic Instruments.