Grupo PIAP Brings Brazilian Percussion to UK

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Jan. 26, 2010) − The Brazilian Sao Paulo State University Percussion Ensemble, Grupo PIAP, will bring their country's percussion sound to the Bluegrass at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 29, at the University of Kentucky Singletary Center for the Arts Recital Hall. The concert is free and open to the public.

Grupo PIAP was created by John Boudler in 1978 as a means of academic and artistic training. Made up of the bachelor's degree students in percussion from the university, the group occasionally invites guest artists to provide additional chamber music experience while promoting the percussion repertoire in Brazil. 

Grupo PIAP has become a permanent fixture of the Brazilian musical scene through concerts, recordings and radio and television appearances. During its 2010 North American tour, the group will perform only Brazilian works by composers who have a special connection to the ensemble's history, such as colleagues, friends, alumni, collaborators and/or historically prominent musical figures. 

To see video of Grupo PIAP performing "Septeto" by Artur Rinaldi, visit YouTube at www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjPxdWs50Kk.

For more information on the Grupo PIAP concert, contact James Campbell, director of Percussion Studies at UK School of Music, at (859) 257-8187 or j.b.campbell@uky.edu.