Fourteen band students from Brownwood High School participated in the Howard Payne University Percussion Festival on Friday, April 24, 2026. They performed two ensemble pieces and three solo pieces. The ensembles, “Re: Disaster” by Susan K. Powell and “Dance Macabre” by Camille Saint-Saens were performed in Mims Auditorium in the morning session. The group then participated in a workshop with Sandi Rennick, who is Adjunct Faculty for Instrumental Studies and Percussion at the University of North Texas (UNT). She worked with individual students and then the group to improve musical technique and capability. Rennick is a percussionist and marimba soloist who is currently a percussion arranger for the Santa Clara Vanguard Drum and Bugle Corps, and the Troopers Drum and Bugle Corps. In the afternoon session, students Jermiah Chacon, Cooper Morgan, and Madeleine Musgrove performed solo percussion pieces and participated in workshops with Mark Ford. Mark Ford is a marimba artist and the Coordinator of Percussion at UNT. Ford has over four decades of musical experience, involving the publication of popular compositions for solo marimba and percussion ensembles, performing in concerts across the globe, and coordinating students in one of the largest percussion programs in the world at UNT.

As a result of the festival, students earned trophies and medals for solo performances, along with personalized, handwritten notes on their performances from both Rennick and Ford, to help improve their skills. “The HPU Percussion Festival provides a much-needed opportunity for students to play through percussion chamber music and to receive insight on their instruments from the best instructors, composers, and performers that the field of Percussion Pedagogy has to offer,” said Nathan Lacy, the Percussion Band Director at Brownwood High School. “Chamber music for percussion is an important part of our playing, as it allows students to explore the full depth of percussion that they may not see in concert or marching band. In a typical school year, the only opportunities to perform these pieces would be at Region Solo and Ensemble in late February and State Solo and Ensemble in late May (however the state qualifications are extremely strict and limiting, so only a select few go). This festival works to bridge the gap between these performances.” The students have been working on the ensembles and solos since marching season ended in November; they will be playing these pieces at the State Solo and Ensemble competition in May 2026. This feedback will help them improve their performance and build confidence for that event. At State Solo and Ensemble contest, each student solo or group performance is critically judged and given a score from 1 (being best) to 4. “This festival is a wonderful opportunity for any students that participate,” Lacy said. “These clinicians are like celebrities in percussion, so many of our students not only got to interact with them, but now have notes made specially for them. My favorite part of this festival every year is watching our students find musical maturity beyond what they thought possible through the guidance of clinicians they are star-struck by.” Lacy’s students utilize the books Ford has written in their daily education, as well as mallets that Ford has designed for marimba use. Working with an industry expert allows the students a unique learning experience and creates professional connections among participants.

Approximately 100 students attended the festival from six schools throughout Texas, ranging from 2A to 6A in size. All students who attended are percussion students, who play a variety of instruments ranging from commonly known instruments such as the xylophone, marimba, timpani, snare drum, toms, chimes, and vibraphone, as well as the ability to make music from everyday items such as a milk bottle or bowl, and more. “Music is one of the few subjects that can help a student develop and understand the hippocampus of their brain,” Lacy said. “Percussion combines the emotional complexity of a piece of music with a nature of physicality. This connects the emotional center of their brains with physical action and tends to help students gain more emotional maturity than they would otherwise.” Allowing students the opportunity to connect with each other and work with skilled clinicians creates a steady growth for these musicians. It also fosters a community of artistry through the collaborative effort. “I am so very thankful for Dr. Jon Kraemer, Director of Bands and HPU, for his partnership in making this a reality, and to our clinicians Mark Ford and Sanndi Rennick for the fantastic teaching and encouragement they brought to our students,” Lacy said. “This event would be impossible without the help of the HPU music students, and my wife, Laurel Lacy, to whom I owe much.”

While this second year of the percussion festival proves to have been successful, each student takes away invaluable advice on technique and performance to improve their skills as percussionists. This allows for better musicians in the heart of Texas and beyond. Trophies and medals create pathways for students who bring music and art to the other daily tasks of student life. “The students have many hats to juggle as they also prepare for other major events, such as UIL Concert and Sight Reading, so the process of performing a well-rehearsed chamber piece tends to be a slow but consistently improving one,” Lacy said. The process of slow but consistent improvement serves every student, especially the music student. As Mark Ford wrote, “Trust your instincts, follow your hearts, and never shy away from taking risks. If you can envision your dreams becoming reality, you have the power to bring them to life… a life immersed in beauty and music.”

(Article by Sara Musgrove)