West Virginia University music faculty member Michael Vercelli will present a world percussion recital, titled “Bridging the Past: Traditional Instruments in Contemporary Works,” Sunday, Jan. 29, at the Creative Arts Center.

The concert begins at 8:15 in Bloch Learning and Performance Hall (200A) and is free and open to the public.

The concert will feature African and Afro-Brazilian percussion in contemporary western settings.

Assisted by Quarteto-ENB and the WVU Brazilian ensemble, Dr. Vercelli will perform works by Dunn, Hemphill, Lepak, and Novotney.

Part II of this faculty recital will occur in late April and explore the historic repertoire of the Ghanaian xylophone tradition.

Vercelli is the director of the World Music Performance Center at WVU. He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Percussion Performance with a minor in Ethnomusicology from the University of Arizona.

While well versed in the classical percussion repertoire, his specialty lies in non-Western instruments. He has studied the traditional music of other countries and done fieldwork in Bali, Cuba, Brazil, and primarily, Ghana.

Vercelli has received many awards for both his performance and study of indigenous music such as being named a Fulbright Alternate and recipient of numerous grants including the prestigious Northern Trust/Piper Enrichment Scholarship, which enabled him to spend seven months in West Africa researching his dissertation project on Ghanaian xylophone.

For more information about the event , contact the College of Creative Arts at 304-293-4359.

-WVU-

CONTACT: Charlene Lattea, College of Creative Arts
304-293-4359, Charlene.Lattea@mail.wvu.edu

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