Percussion
Faculty: Fred Buda, former Boston Pops | Frank Epstein, Chair, Brass and Percussion; BSO | Will Hudgins, BSO
Mikael Ringquist, Hand Drumming | Steve Wilkes, Electronic Percussion
Download PDF of complete NEC course descriptions
Download PDF of undergraduate program requirements
Download PDF of graduate program requirements
Download PDF of DMA requirements
NEC’s Percussion faculty includes two current members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Frank Epstein and Will Hudgins, as well as Fred Buda, a retired set drummer from the Boston Pops.
As a percussion student, you will attend private lessons with faculty, as well as perform in school ensembles such as NEC’s Percussion Ensemble, which commissioned and world premiered composer Joan Tower’s Percussion Quintet in 2003. You will also have the opportunity to attend specialized masterclasses, such as the 2002 workshop on North Indian tabla drumming.
Besides studio work and regular performance opportunities, course work in music history and theory will help give depth and understanding to your performance repertoire. The liberal arts curriculum is an opportunity to study major academic disciplines as well as other cultural, social, intellectual, and political contexts for music.
Frank Epstein and Will Hudgins of the percussion faculty are members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Find upcoming BSO concerts.