Northwest Percussion Ensemble to perform March 2

The Percussion Ensemble is pictured during a concert last year. (Photo by Chloe Timmons/Northwest Missouri State University)

Northwest Missouri State University’s Percussion Ensemble will perform its first of two spring concerts on Sunday, March 2.

The concert begins at 2 p.m. in the Charles Johnson Theater at the Olive DeLuce Fine Arts Building. It is free and open to the public.

The concert will feature a variety of music and percussion combinations, including a cymbal duet, marimba duet, multi-percussion duet, snare drum duet, a xylophone solo with a marimba ensemble accompaniment, a traditional Brazilian ensemble and a unique performance using only gestures and movements.

“This concert spans a variety of styles from ragtime to Brazilian Samba that audience members will enjoy,” Shelby Shelton, the conductor of the Percussion Ensemble, said.

The Northwest Percussion Ensemble is comprised of eight students ranging from first-year freshmen to fifth-year seniors.

Shelton joined Northwest last fall as a music lecturer in the Department of Fine and Performing Arts. An active performer, composer and educator, she previously served as assistant director of athletic bands at Cumberland University in Tennessee and has worked with the Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps’ percussion section for the past five seasons.

She also has instructed numerous bands and ensembles, including the Sacramento Mandarins, Madison Scouts, George Mason Indoor Percussion, Music City Drum Corps and James Madison Marching Royal Dukes. She performed for three seasons as a member of the Tennessee Titans Blue Crew drumline.

She has a master’s degree in music performance with an emphasis in percussion and a post-baccalaureate degree in music education from Middle Tennessee State University with bachelor’s degrees in music performance and English literature from Lindenwood University. She is pursuing a doctoral degree in percussion performance from James Madison University in Virginia.

The Percussion Ensemble will perform its second spring concert at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 23, in the Charles Johnson Theater.

For more information about musical ensembles at Northwest, visit 4w36.delicious-drop.com/finearts/music/.