Yamaha to partner with LCC for percussion camp

High school percussionists can march to the beat of a different drum this summer as Laredo Community College offers its fourth annual Summer Percussion Camp from June 1-3.

Campers will meet from 2 to 9 p.m. at LCC's Fort McIntosh Campus' Guadalupe and Lilia Martinez Fine Arts Center.

The three-day camp will offer a chance to gain valuable knowledge and skills in all areas of marching percussion from noted masters.

Interested students are encouraged to register early as space is limited.

Camp enrollment continues through Friday, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Registration also will be made available on Saturday, May 29, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Students can register at the Llaguno Music Building, room 102, located near the entrance to the Fort McIntosh Campus.

The camp fee is $50 and includes meals throughout the three-day summer camp. Scholarships to the camp will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis.

This year, the LCC Percussion Summer Camp has teamed up with Yamaha Sounds of Summer, an intense, nationwide program featuring top percussionists.

"Yamaha's Sounds of Summer camps are the perfect way to kick off the marching season," Matthew Adams, LCC percussion instructor and camp coordinator, said. "The level of instruction students will get this summer will be phenomenal."

The camp will feature daily instructional sessions led by experts in different areas of percussion.

"This camp will be highly interactive," Adams added. "Students will be able to apply the concepts they learn in camp as they rehearse and perform in sectionals and full ensembles throughout the camp session."

This year's percussion camp faculty will include Adams and world-renowned percussionist, Brian Fronzaglia.

Brian Fronzaglia, who is this year's special guest, is a current instructor of percussion at Penn State University who has performed on many international stages and has been seen throughout the United States and Europe.

Fronzaglia is a regular on the summer camp circuit, including the Yamaha Sounds of Summer Percussion Camp, and has served as a consultant and arranger for several high schools nationwide.

Fronzaglia is a founding member of the National Football League's "Battering Rams" drumline and also has directed and arranged selections for the Major League Baseball's Kansas City Royals.

Matthew Adams is the head of the percussion division at LCC. He joined the college in August 2005 and is currently the principal percussionist/timpanist with the Laredo Philharmonic Orchestra and an artist/endorser for Sabian Cymbals. He performs all areas of percussion and has performed in a variety of musical settings. Adams is credited for establishing several successful programs at LCC, including the popular indoor drumline, The Laredo Grenadiers, and the LCC Classical Percussion Ensemble.

The summer camp fee also includes a Sounds of Summer T-shirt, a marching essentials book, a Yamaha lanyard with a laminated name badge, and a Yamaha percussion rudiment poster.

In addition, each camper will receive a Yamaha Sounds of Summer Certificate of Completion at the end of the summer percussion camp.

Company sponsors of the LCC Summer Percussion Camp include Sabian, Yamaha Corporation, Innovative, Remo and Hillje Music.

For more information, contact Matthew Adams at 721-5332.