Middle East Drum Specialist Joins UK Percussion Group
Duo 77 for two frame drums performered by Yousif Sheronick and guest artist Shane Shanahan.
DUE TO INCLEMENT WEATHER THIS CONCERT HAS BEEN CANCELED.
LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 2, 2015) — Yousif Sheronick, a popular global percussionist, will serve as guest artist with the UK Percussion Group (UKPG) in a concert of Middle East music. This concert, which is free and open to the public, will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 5, at the Singletary Center For the Arts Recital Hall.
Sheronick's concert will feature the artist with members of UKPG. These musicians are drawn from the UK Percussion Ensemble, internationally recognized for its excellence and innovative programming. UKPG, a smaller chamber group, performs demanding percussion literature written for economic forces.
Sheronick is a specialist on the frame drum, a drum that has a drumhead width greater than its depth. Frame drums are often constructed with a round, wooden frame. Metal rings or jingles may also be attached to the frame. The frame drum is one of the most ancient musical instruments; it is reputed to be the first drum to be invented and examples are found in cultures throughout the world.
Critics say Sheronick “is capable of creating hypnotic atmospheres” where he “transported the listener to another dimension.” Of Lebanese decent, he was born and raised in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. His first exposure to Arabic music came from his mother singing over the drone of the vacuum cleaner. As with many first generation Americans there was a separation between the house (Arabic) and the outside (American) world.
Sheronick has performed around the globe to critical acclaim, genre hopping with leading artists in the classical, world, jazz and rock music arenas. The New York Times hails him for his “dazzling improvisations” and his “wizardry on a range of humble frame drums.”
Influences on Sheronick's music are far reaching as he grew up playing a rock and roll drum set, studied classical percussion earning a master's degree at Yale University and went on to study music from Brazil, India, Africa and the Middle East. These combined influences propelled him into performances with Philip Glass, Yo-Yo Ma, Lark Quartet, Ethos Percussion Group, Branford Marsalis, Sonny Fortune, Cindy Blackman Santana, Glen Velez and Paul Winter.
The Yousif Sheronick concert is sponsored by the College of Fine Arts, the School of Music, the UK Percussion Studies Program, and the College of Arts and Sciences and their Passport to the World Series: Year of the Middle East.
For more information on the UK Percussion Group concert, contact James Campbell, director of Percussion Studies at UK School of Music, at (859) 257-8187.
MEDIA CONTACT: Whitney Hale, 859-257-8716; whitney.hale@uky.edu