John Willmarth
Biography
Born:
Country:
Studies: Bachelor of Music in Music Education (University of Kentucky) & Master of Art in Percussion Performance (University of Iowa)
Teachers: James Campbell & Dan Moore & James Dreier & John Rapson
Website:
John Willmarth is the Director of Steel Bands at Summerville High School. One of the largest high school groups of its kind, the program boasts 6 bands with over 130 students participating each year. In addition, he serves as an adjunct percussion instructor at Charleston Southern University and is a faculty member for GATEWAY, a Dorchester School District Two program that nurtures gifted and talented elementary and middle school students in the arts. He has previously served as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Kentucky, percussion instructor at Centre College, and as Director of Percussion at Summerville High School in Summerville, SC, McKinney High School in McKinney, TX and Lafayette High School in Lexington, KY. As a percussion consultant and clinician, he has worked with high school programs across the country as well as for Music for All (Bands of America), The Yamaha Corporation of America, and the Kentucky Governor’s School for the Arts.
An active performer, Mr. Willmarth is currently the drummer for the "Word and Table" contemporary worship services at Bethany United Methodist Church. He has extensive experience as a jazz musician, performing regularly in Charleston and having previously held the drumset chair in the Dimartino/Osland Jazz Orchestra, University of Kentucky Faculty Jazztet, and the Raleigh Dailey Trio. In addition, he performs as a steel pan soloist with backing tracks for private and corporate events. A former member of the Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps, he was a part of three Drum Corps International High Percussion trophies and two DCI World Championship titles.
An active composer, Mr. Willmarth's compositions have been performed at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC) and the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic. In 2006, he received 2nd place honors in the Percussive Arts Society Composition Contest for his solo timpani piece, Bushido: The Way of the Warrior. An experienced arranger, he has written marching percussion books for numerous high schools as well as The University of Kentucky, the University of Iowa, and Charleston Southern University. His percussion compositions and arrangements are published by Innovative Percussion, Row-Loff Productions, and Tapspace Publications. As an author, he has contributed articles to Percussive Notes and Bluegrass Music News. [1]
Works for Percussion
Vibraphone Solo
Snare Drum Solo
Timpani Solo
Multiple Percussion Solo
Ode to the One-armed Drummer
Rocktopus
Percussion Ensemble
Beware the Jabberwock
Now the Day is Over
On Thin Air
Release the Kraken
Rhythm Rocket
Tentacles (Willmarth)
Trinidad Tidings
Waves (Willmarth)
References