Schwob Percussion Ensemble

Biography

The Schwob Percussion Ensemble of Columbus State University is directed by Schwob School of Music faculty artist Dr. Paul Vaillancourt. Year after year the ensemble continues to perform at the highest artistic level, dazzling audiences with their subtlety, precision, and remarkable communication.

It has collaborated on several occasions with the Columbus Ballet and performed regularly at the Coca-Cola Space Science Center as part of the Music Under The Dome series. The ensemble has been invited to perform several times at Spivey Hall in Atlanta as part of their Young Persons' Concert Series.

In addition to the list of works premiered—by composers Juan Trigos, John Liberatore, James M. David, Matthew Welch, Eric Moe, John Parcell, Brian Cherney and Nico Muhly—the group performs and records music from the traditional percussion ensemble repertory, including works by Higdon, Davidovsky, Varèse, Jolivet, Cage, and Reich. The ensemble’s performances have been released on NAXOS, ALBANY RECORDS, John Zorn’s TZADIK label in NYC, and most recently Matthew Welch’s concerto for Scottish bagpipes and percussion ensemble entitled The Favrile Opalescence on KOTEKAN Records. The ensemble will soon release its second disc featuring premiere recordings of new works commissioned for the group by composers Dan Trueman (Princeton Univ.) Fred Cohen (San Jose State Univ.), Sergio Assad (World renowned performer/composer, Grammy award-winner), James David (Univ. of Colorado) and Pulitzer prize recipient Wayne Peterson.