Northwest Georgia Percussion Ensemble Festival

05/15/2022

Special thanks to Ryan Anderson from the Dalton Daily Citizen for covering our first ever Northwest Georgia Percussion Festival!! Click the link below to read an excellent article on the significance of this event, and the awesome performers/clinicians/presenters in attendance!!

Music, particularly marching bands, “has given me everything, and it’s everything I care about in a lot of ways,” said Nic Farris, a Dalton High School graduate who has played

05/01/2022

Appreciation Post #2

We would like to thank all of the Ensembles and their Directors for attending our event! We had a wonderful time watching everyone perform and getting to hang out with everyone ❤

04/27/2022

Who's excited for Saturday? We are! The DJHS and DHS Percussion students would like to thank Malletech for supporting Guest Artist Caitlin Jones and for sending some awesome stuff for Saturday!

04/17/2022

Here is is! The official schedule for the inaugural NWGA Percussion Ensemble Festival! We are just under 2 weeks away!!! Can't wait to see everyone!!

04/08/2022

Guess What?! Nic Farris will be with us at the Northwest Georgia Percussion Ensemble Festival, and we couldn't be more excited!

Nic will present a session on Marching Band's Life Lessons.

Read a little of his bio below ⬇️

Nic Farris, a Dalton Native, has just completed his 20th season of Competitive Marching Percussion. His marching resume includes 3 years with Spirit of Atlanta, 3 years with Bluecoats, and 4 years with Music City Mystique. Nic performed as the center marimba for each of these organizations during his final seasons. Outside of marching band, Nic has published academic research for Georgia Tech using machine learning to identify emotion within music and to teach a robot how to play marimba.

(He forgot to add that he was center marimba for the Dalton High School front ensemble way back in the day!) We are thrilled to have you back!

04/03/2022

We are SO EXCITED to have Alex Shive with us on April 30.

Mr. Shive will present a leadership/culture clinic titled:

Creating Culture from Within -
Establishing and Maintaining Positive Student Leadership in Band.

Bio below:

A native of Opelika, Alabama, Alex Shive is a graduate of Auburn University where he earned his Bachelors Degree in Instrumental Music Education. 

Since his undergrad, Mr. Shive has served as a band director in both Alabama and Georgia - Dalton Public Schools (Elementary music and beginning band), Phenix City School (Associate Director of Bands), Cartersville City Schools (Director of Bands), and now Cass High School. In addition to his band director responsibilities, Mr. Shive is also the Assistant Director and Ensemble Coordinator for Atlanta Quest’s Independent Indoor Drumline “Q2”, the Battery Instructor for the Macy’s Great American Marching Band in New York City, the Percussion Supervisor for Atlanta CV Drum and Bugle Corps, and an active percussion consultant/clinician for multiple schools and universities including Auburn University, Georgia Tech, and Point University.

Mr. Shive holds professional affiliations with the National Association for Music Education (NAFME), Georgia Music Educators Association (GMEA), Alabama Music Educators Association (AMEA), Percussive Arts Society (PAS), National Band Association (NBA), and is an Innovative Percussion educational artist.

03/22/2022

Artist Spotlight #3

Get excited! We can't wait to host Emrah Kotan at the NWGA Percussion Ensemble Festival!!

Emrah Kotan is a classically trained percussionist who came to the United States from his native Turkey and received a Master's degree in Jazz Studies from Georgia State University.

After playing some of the most renowned venues in the world such as the Istanbul Jazz Festival, Singapore Jazz Festival, Java Jazz Festival, Montreux Jazz Festival, and The Blue Note in New York, Emrah is one of the most sought after musicians in the Atlanta music scene. His unique musical ability transcends many genres and cultures. He is involved in various musical projects, including his own, and is the drummer/percussionist for Grammy award winning artist, India.Arie and Emmy Awards and Grammy Awards winning artist Jennifer Holliday.

Aside from performing, Emrah is an enthusiastic music educator who has conducted master classes and has taught many students over the years, some of which who have been awarded music scholarships by the colleges of their choice. Emrah teaches students of all ages privately and is the Director of the Jazz and World Percussion Ensembles at Agnes Scott College in Atlanta. Jazz Drum set, World Percussion instructor and Jazz Ensemble and Percussion Ensemble director at the Jacksonville State University in Alabama.

Emrah Kotan proudly endorses Pearl drums and percussion and he is a voting member of the Recording Academy.

03/17/2022

We are SUPER excited to host the JSU Steel Band - INFERNO from Jacksonville State University. The group is under the direction of Dr. Tony McCutchen, retired Distinguished Professor of Percussion and Music Department Head at Jacksonville State University/Professor Emeritus at The University of Georgia.

You're gonna want to be there for this! 4 PM, Dalton High School Auditorium!

03/14/2022

We are thrilled to have Dr. Caitlin Jones at the first Northwest Georgia Percussion Ensemble Festival. She will be delivering a performance and clinic on Saturday, April 30, Dalton High School, be there!