BYU Music Students Elevate Their Performance Techniques and Gain Insight From Visiting Ensemble Third Coast Percussion
Four BYU music students — Ben Willis, Clay Battles, Josh Purvis and Bailey Minnich — had the unique opportunity to perform for and receive musical critiques from members of Third Coast Percussion in an intimate masterclass.
The Grammy Award-winning ensemble has become known for their innovative musical collaboration and was part of this season’s BRAVO! Professional Performing Arts Series lineup. They began the masterclass with students by acknowledging both the limitations and remarkable musical capabilities of percussive instruments.
“With so many of the instruments of percussion, we're limited in many ways, but the one thing that we can do better than any other instrument out there is manipulate our dynamic spectrum,” said Third Coast Percussion member Peter Martin. “We can play really intricate material at a whisper, quiet, dynamic level.”
Percussion performance student Ben Willis performed a snare drum solo and was instructed on how he could bring out musical motives in his piece and consider the intent of the composer.
“When you're playing a solo snare drum piece as a solo concert piece, you have to really show the audience what the motive and point of the piece are, more than other instruments,” said Third Coast Percussion member Sean Connors. Connors helped Willis in identifying the musical motives in his piece and making sure that they came across to the audience, as well as shifting Willis’ perspective from what he knew about the music to honing in on the intent of the composer.
“The most impactful part of my experience with Third Coast Percussion was shifting my perspective from the music I had learned to focusing more on the composer’s intent,” said Willis. “They opened my eyes to new ways I can make my music expressive and speak through the movement of my hands,” said Willis. “They were also extremely friendly and articulate, and their creative chemistry and ability to get along with each other were strongly evident throughout the masterclass.”
Music education student Clay Battles worked with Third Coast Percussion to refine his dynamic phrasing on his timpani piece. He was impressed by the way that they collaborated with each other in critiquing the performers, answering questions from students and in their own performances.
“There is a lot of information on this one page, and there’s a balance between wanting to play the ink and also making sure that the audience walks away from this piece with an understanding of the musical motives,” said Martin.
Robert Dillon urged Battles to commit to his dynamic choices with even more gusto and invited others attending the class to weigh in on what they took from the piece as an audience. “Try to commit to that phrasing three times as dramatic as what you just did and as a room, we can decide if it was subtle, clear or ridiculously over the top,” Dillon told Battles.
Beyond performance techniques, students also gained insight on the intricacies, challenges and thrills of a professional music career in a Q&A with Third Coast Percussion after Willis, Battles, Minnich and Purvis performed. Topics discussed included how the musicians transitioned from being part-time to full-time with the ensemble, juggling other teaching jobs with performing, the logistics of traveling with percussion instruments, creative collaboration and work/life balance.
“They were very knowledgeable in their field but were extremely humble and kind in every interaction,” said Battles. “It was a great experience to work with Third Coast Percussion and learn about their experiences in the professional world.”