World-renowned marimba artist and Eastman School of Music Professor of Percussion Michael Burritt will be the guest artist for the third annual University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Percussion Ensemble Festival.
The festival, set for Tuesday, April 16, 2013, will include high school percussion ensemble performances starting at 9 a.m., with a concert scheduled for 7 p.m., all at UAB’s Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center, 1200 10th Ave. South. The festival is presented by the UAB Department of Music.
Oak Mountain, Shades Valley, Hueytown and Benjamin Russell high schools will perform during the day. Clinic sessions by Michael Burritt and UAB Assistant Professor of Percussion Gene Fambrough, D.M.A., also will be held during the day.
The UAB Percussion Ensemble will headline the evening concert which will include performances by the High School All-Star Percussion Ensemble, directed by Fambrough, as well as Michael Burritt, both solo and with the percussion ensemble. All events will be in the ASC’s Jemison Concert Hall and are free and open to the public.
Burritt has performed on four continents and in nearly 40 U. S. states. He has released three solo CDs of his original compositions, and he has his own line of mallets and a signature series of marimbas. His works for solo marimba have become standard repertoire for the instrument.
Advertisements in the festival program are available for purchase for $25-100. All ad sales will support the event. Anyone wishing to make a general contribution will have their name included in the program. Contact Fambrough at gfambro@uab.edu for more details or to purchase an ad.