Ensembles

The TCU Percussion Ensemble, under the direction of Dr. Brian A. West, is dedicated to furthering percussion education and performance by commissioning new works, performing a variety of literature on and off campus, and producing high-quality recordings. The Ensemble is honored to have won both the 2008 and 2005 Percussive Arts Society International Percussion Ensemble Competitions. They enjoyed performing Showcase Concerts at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention in Austin, TX (2008) and in Columbus, OH (2005). Both programs included new pieces commissioned by the ensemble. In 2005 the Ensemble performed at the Texas Music Educators Association Convention and released its first CD entitled The Palace of Nine Perfections. Currently there are several composers commissioned to write new pieces for the Ensemble and work is underway for another CD.

TCU has also developed a successful Steel Band program with performances at the 2005 TMEA Convention and many local venues. The marching percussion programs at TCU (Marching Band Drumline, Indoor Drumline, and summer camps) have thrived in recent years. In 2006 the TCU Indoor Drumline placed first at the PAS Marching Percussion Festival winning every caption award they were eligible for.

In order to give students as much performing experience as possible, TCU currently offers two percussion ensembles, two steel bands, two drumlines (marching band and indoor drumline), and many chamber percussion ensembles.

PASIC 2008 program (PDF - requires Adobe Reader)

TCU Percussion Ensembles Repertoire List (PDF - requires Adobe Reader)

Steel Band

We were pleased to announce the addition of a Steel Drum Band to our list of ensembles in Spring 2004, housed in the new Music Building South. This full steel band is comprised of 10 sets of pans, and includes drumset and many Latin percussion instruments.

Yamaha Advertisement features TCU Drumline

Yamaha released an advertisement that featured the TCU drumline! The ad was included in the February '08 issue of Southwestern Musician and other magazines. Click here for a JPEG image of the ad, or click here to download the full-length PDF version.