Rowan percussionists salute Bill Cahn

The Rowan Percussion Ensemble celebrates the work of Philadelphia native Bill Cahn and welcomes him to its concert on Monday April 27, 2009 at 8 pm in Pfleeger Concert Hall.

Under the direction of Dean Witten, “An Evening with Bill Cahn and His Music” presents the student ensemble and featured soloists performing compositions and arrangements by the noted percussionist. The program includes Cahn’s Time Traveler, Night Ride, Rosewood Dreaming and Kebjar Bali (with Cahn playing his own work), as well as his arrangements of Balalaika, La Negra and Xylophonia.

Born in Philadelphia in 1946, Cahn has performed with conductors, composers, ensembles and artists representing widely diverse musical styles, including Chet Atkins, Pierre Boulez, John Cage, Aaron Copland, Chuck Mangione, Mitch Miller, Seiji Ozawa, Steve Reich, Doc Severinsen, Leopold Stokowski, Igor Stravinsky, Edgar Varèse and Paul Winter. He has been a member of the NEXUS percussion quintet since 1971, and was the principal percussionist for the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra from 1968 to 1995. Cahn has produced eight CDs in addition to writing several books and articles about music and percussion and his compositions are widely performed. His most recent book, “Creative Music Making,” was published in 2005.  Since 2006, he has been an Associate Professor of Percussion at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York.  He is also a faculty artist-in-residence at the Showa Academy of the Arts in Japan and has served as a guest faculty artist at the Banff Centre for the Arts in Canada.

Among his many honors are a Grammy Award as part of the Paul Winter Consort, Mu Phi Epsilon’s Musician of the Year Award and, with NEXUS, the Toronto Arts Award in Music and the Banff Centre for the Arts National Award, in addition to induction into the Percussive Arts Society’s Hall Of Fame (1999).

Pfleeger Concert Hall is located in Wilson Hall on the campus of Rowan University, Route 322 in Glassboro. This event is free and open to the public. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. For directions or additional information, call the box office at (856) 256-4545 or visit www.rowan.edu/fpa.