SŌ Percussion

Summer Institute - Scholarships

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Each year, thanks to the generosity of our donors and sponsors, Sō Percussion awards partial scholarships through competitive application to attend the Sō Percussion Summer Institute.  

Congrats to the 2011 recipients!  If you'd be interested in endowing a scholarship of your own, please contact us on this website.

The Treuting Family Scholarship 

(special award for service) 

Peter Dodds

Peter Dodds received his BM in Percussion Performance from the University of Michigan where he studied with Michael Udow, Joseph Gramley, Brian Jones, and Ian Ding. He has been a percussion fellow at the Marrowstone, Idyllwild, Texas, and Aspen Music Festivals and has performed as a soloist and ensemble member across the United States and Europe. In addition to his orchestral experience, Peter is a strong advocate for new music and emerging composers and is actively involved in commissioning and premiering new works. Peter can be heard on the newly released recordings of Anthony Di Sanza’s Concerto for Darabukka and Percussion Ensemble, Gabriela Lena Frank’s Danza del Saqsampillo, William Bolcom’s Symphony No. 1 for Band, and Evan Chambers’ Kairos. In the fall, Peter will begin work on his Masters of Music at the New England Conservatory.

The Pearl/Adams Scholarships

Clara Warnaar

Clara Warnaar is a bi-coastal artist raised in a musical family in Los Angeles and currently residing in New York City. After a unique education an all French-speaking school in Los Angeles, she received a scholarship to attend the boarding high school, Interlochen Arts Academy, where she won the concerto competition and graduated with awards and high honors. Following graduation, and in her first year at the Manhattan School of Music, she won 2nd place in the Montreal Symphony Standard Life Competition and was awarded a music residency at the Banff Centre, where she gratefully worked with percussionist, Steve Schick and composer, John Adams. Her near future includes attending eighth blackbird's Music x Festival, the So Percussion Summer Institute, Banff's Roots and Rhizomes, and spending a semester abroad studying at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. Her additional interests include composition, film, accordion, Bikram yoga, and cooking (but mostly eating) great food.

Nathan Owen Davis

Senior music education major Nathan Davis attended Bradshaw Mountain High School in Prescott Valley, Arizona, and has studied percussion and composition at Northern Arizona University since 2007. With ardent enthusiasm, Davis has pursued the study of modern composers such as Iannis Xenakis and John Cage, recently attending two California exhibitions, Xenakis: Composer, Architect, Visionary- Persepolis L.A. (Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles) and the concert series presented by the CEAT with the same title. He has been a member of the Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra percussion section since 2009, is regular performer and composer in the new music concert series on campus and has served as a counselor and musician with the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp (Michigan) for the summers of 2008 and 2010, one of which included an international tour with performances in France, Germany, Belgium, and Austria. Recently, Davis had a work commissioned and premiered by the NAU Percussion Ensemble. Davis studies composition at NAU with Dr. Bruce Reiprich and plans to pursue graduate studies in music composition after completion of his undergraduate degree.

Andrew Bahle

Andrew Bahle is a sophomore percussion performance major at the University of Michigan where he studies with Joseph Gramley, Ian Ding and Neeraj Meehta. Andrew is also pursuing a degree in Brain Behavior and Cognitive Science. Andrew has preformed with the U of M Percussion Ensemble, World Percussion Ensemble, Concert Band, Vencedores Samba Batteria, Michigan Arab Orchestra and the Sun Radius Steel Pan Band.

Andrew is from Suttons Bay, Michigan and graduated from the Interlochen Arts Academy where he studied with John Alfieri. Other teachers include David Warne, Keith Aleo and Scott Stevens.

The Zildjian Scholarship 

Elliot Wallace 

Elliot Wallace is a percussionist based out of Akron, Ohio. He is currently pursuing a bachelors degree in Percussion Performance from the University of Akron studying under Dr. Larry Snider, and has attended both the Berklee Summer Percussion Festival and the So Percussion Summer Institute. During his studies at the University of Akron, Elliot has participated in most of the major ensembles, and also makes frequent professional appearances around Northeast Ohio. Elliot's awards include a scholarship granted by the Summit County Children's Concert Society, the Snider/Pardee grant, induction into the Pi Kappa Lamda honorary music society, and most recently the So Percussion Summer Institute scholarship provided by Zildjian Co.

The Sō Percussion Scholarships

Damon Kelley

Damon Kelley is a performance major at the University of North Texas. He is currently the principal percussionist of the UNT Symphony Orchestra.

Zach Smotherman

About me: I was born and raised outside of New Orleans and currently study with Brett William Dietz at Louisiana State University. I love music...to put it simply