AMEA 2011 Clinicians and Performers


Dr. Jefferson Grant currently serves as the Associate Director of Bands and Director of Percussion at Prattville High School in Prattville, Alabama. Dr. Grant holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts degree in performance and music theory from The University of Southern Mississippi as well as a Bachelor of Music andMaster ofMusic degree fromColumbus StateUniversity and theUniversity of Louisville respectively.Dr. Grant has served as a marching percussion consultant at many schools including Bands ofAmerica St. Louis Regional ChampionMale High School (KY), 2005 ClassAIndiana State Champion Paoli High School (IN), and on the university level at Auburn University, The University of Louisville, and The University of Tennessee, and in 2005with theMemphis SoundDrumand Bugle Corps. Most recently, both of the Prattville indoor percussion ensembles won Gold Medals at the 2010 SCGC Championships under his direction. Dr. Grant is an active arranger, adjudicator, and clinician. His articles have appeared in Percussive Notes, and he has presented clinics at the University of Louisville Percussion Symposium, Northwest Missouri State


University music camps, National Conference of Percussion Pedagogy and the Mississippi Bandmasters State Convention. Dr. Grant is also the co-founder of the Southeastern Percussion Festival (SEPF). He is a member of Delta Chi, Phi MuAlpha, Kappa Kappa Psi, Tau Beta Sigma, The PercussiveArts Society,MENC, and BMI. Dr. Grant would like to thank Innovative Percussion sticks and mallets, Sabian cymbals, and Yamaha drums for their continued support of music education and this clinic.


TheDepartment ofMusic atUAB boasts several percussion ensembles, each serving a unique purpose and programming its own unique type of literature. Each ensemble is open to majors of all disciplines, utilizing students from very diverse backgrounds and allowing themthe freedomto performinmany different settings. The UAB Steel Band is part of the percussion ensemble class and performs a wide variety of literature, from traditional upbeat calypso marches and popular dance music to transcriptions of rock and classical pieces. The group typically meets during the spring semester and presents a separate campus concert each year. Summer Steel is a smaller outreach group that performs locally during the summer months, including performances at the ContemporaryArt Festival (sponsored byMagic CityArt Connection) andmany country clubs and retirement communities in the Birminghamarea. In both 2009 and 2010 the group traveled to Sandestin, Florida (by invitation) for the U.S. Foodservices annual “Fun in the Sun” corporate retreat at the Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort Spa.


Michael Sammons currently serves as theDirector of Percussion Studies at theUniversity of SouthAlabama, Director and Arranger for the USA Jag' Drumline, and percussionist with the Mobile Symphony. He has performed with orchestras in Florida,Arizona, andAlabama and has appeared as guest soloist throughout the region. He is a founding member of Zumbumba, an active percussion trio specializing in music from around the world. Zumbumba has performed as part of multiple Percussive Arts Society International Conventions and in 2007, presented an original composition, Foforo Twene, for timpani andAfrican percussion as part of the "Focus Day” events. An active educator and clinician, Dr. Sammons served as Lecturer in Music at Clemson University in 2007-2008. He currently serves as director and co-founder of the Treasure Coast Percussion Camp held inVero Beach, Florida since 2005. He is amember of the PercussiveArts Society and is a contributing author to Percussive Notes. He has served as a clinician and adjudicator nationally and has presented and performed at conventions including Percussive Arts Society, Alabama Music Educators


Association andMusic Educators National Convention. In 2006,Mr. Sammons presented a session entitled "NewMusic for Steel Band" at PASIC inAustin, Texas with the University ofArizona and released the third CD, Panstraction, by the UASteel Band. Dr. Sammons received hisDoctorate ofMusicalArts degree in Percussion Performance fromtheUniversity ofArizona,where he served asGraduate TeachingAssistant andDirector of theUASteel Band Programfrom2003-2007.He received the 2007 Outstanding Graduate TeachingAssistant award for the UACollege of FineArts. He earned theMaster ofMusic degree in Percussion Performance fromtheUniversity ofArizona in 2005 and the Bachelor ofMusic degree inMusic Education,with a Performer¹s Certificate, fromtheUniversity of Florida in 2002.His travels abroad include Trinidad and Ghana, where he conducted research on the traditionalmusic and dance of these cultures.


Chris Crockerall and Chris Brooks, RowLoff Productions 40 October 2010


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