Percussive Arts Society’s Return To Indianapolis A Success
The Percussive Arts Society returned the Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC) to Indianapolis for a four-day celebration of everything percussion and drums. Over 5100 drummers and percussionists convened in Indianapolis and enjoyed over 120 sessions, reconnected with fellow percussionists and made new friends in the percussion world. Indianapolis also housed 115 exhibitors for the International Drum & Percussion Expo, the world’s premier event to see what is new within the drum and percussion industry.
Highlights from PASIC 2013 included many great competitions, concerts, clinics and an over-flowing Expo hall. Wednesday introduced the first ever PAS Technology Day, a day filled with performances, discussions and presentations about the use of electronics and technology within the percussion field. Thursday included a day of new music as the Focus Day concerts took top-billing with over 4 hours of percussion compositions featuring new music, performers and composers. Friday continued the success the PAS Marching Percussion Festival, which included a packed hall for the first ever PASIC DrumLine Battle, in conjunction with Drum Corps International. Eleven high school and collegiate drumlines battled in a head-to-head format to be crowned the 2013 PASIC DrumLine Battle champion. Congratulations to the University of North Alabama in becoming the inaugural champion as they triumphed over Ben Davis High School from Indianapolis, Indiana. Major highlights of Friday included clinics by Michael Spiro, Joby Burgess, Maria Finkelmeier and Robby Ameen. Saturday continued the festivities as the Cavaliers percussion section showcased the latest and greatest information for the marching world; Glenn Kotche and Dave Weckl each displayed drumset skills unrivaled by anyone; and multiple FUNdamentals sessions assisted young students, band directors and music teachers with the ins and outs of teaching percussion. PASIC 2013 certainly raised the bar for future iterations of the Greatest Four Days in Percussion, as attendees were introduced to so many amazing sessions. ??
During PASIC 2013, PAS and Rhythm! Discovery Center opened its most auspicious exhibit to date with DRUMset: Driving the Beat of American Music. This first-of-its-kind exhibit details the evolution of the drumset – a truly American instrument – from its meager beginnings in the late 19th Century, to the bombastic kits used in the music of today. Kits on display included those used in groups by Fletcher Henderson, Led Zeppelin, Rush, Michael Jackson, Kenny Rogers and Wilco. Over 1000 individuals descended upon Rhythm! Discovery Center during the first 4 days of the exhibit and were in awe of being so close to such important kits in the history of music and the percussion industry. DRUMset will run through November 2015 with the inclusion of new kits and addition mini-exhibits detailing certain aspects of the drum set through the next 2 years.
PAS inducted four worthy individuals to the 2013 class of the Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame Thursday night as Clifford Alexis, Harold Jones, Dr. Gary Olmstead, and Salvatore Rabbio all joined an impressive list of drummers and percussionists in the Hall. We thank these four gentlemen for all of their outstanding accomplishments and their continued work in the percussion world. On Friday, PAS awarded members, volunteers and chapters for their continued service to the Percussive Arts Society and the percussion world. Ryan Lassiter was given the Outstanding PAS Service Award, while the Outstanding PAS Supporter Award went to Eric C. Hughes. Steve Weiss was honored with the PAS President’s Industry Award and The PAS Illinois Chapter was recognized with the Outstanding PAS Chapter Award. The Percussive Art Society Lifetime Achievement Award in Education was given to Ruth Cahn for her contributions in the field of percussion education.
Jeff Hartsough, the Executive Director of the Percussive Arts Society and Rhythm! Discovery Center, stated “Returning to Indianapolis for PASIC 2013 brought a lot of excitement and anticipation. Not only with the grand opening of the new DRUMset exhibit at our very own Rhythm! Discovery Center, but additional events that we introduced including Technology Day and the new DrumLine Battle during the Marching Festival – all three events were a huge success. I was very pleased with the amount of exhibitors who returned to the Expo and the overall PASIC attendance stayed strong at 5100. Believe it or not, we are already hard at work planning PASIC 2014, which will once again be in Indianapolis. However, it will be a week later so mark your calendars now: November 19-22. Finally, thank you to ALL of the sponsors, exhibitors, artists, volunteers, attendees, and staff for making PASIC 2013 the success that it was…we couldn’t have done it without you.”
PASIC 2014 will be held in Indianapolis, Indiana from November 19 through November 22 at the Indiana Convention Center. Artist applications for PASIC 2014 are being accepting online at www.pas.org through December 15, 2013, and exhibitor packets will be available in February 2014.
About Percussive Arts Society?The Percussive Arts Society was established in 1961 as a non-profit music service organization. Its mission is to promote percussion education, research, performance and appreciation throughout the world. PAS is the world’s largest percussion organization with more than 7,000 members representing over 50 countries and serves as the central source for information and networking for drummers and percussionists of all ages. The Percussive Arts Society international headquarters is located in Indianapolis, Indiana.
For more information about the Percussive Arts Society, visit its website at www.pas.org or call 317.974.4488.
