Six works written between 1992 - 2017 (and one improvised on-the-spot) will be performed by the Western Michigan University Percussion Ensemble at 7:30 pm on Tuesday, Nov 22 in the Dalton Center Recital Hall. Marja Kerney, a performer/educator who earned a DMA from the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Dance, took over the ensemble when professor emerita Judy Moonert retired.
In a conversation with Cara Lieurance about the program, Kerney says she wants to carry on Moonert's legacy while focusing her students on musicality as much as technique. They also talk about the role of percussion ensembles in modern music, the musical variety adapted to them, and how she loves to challenge her students by having them find creative ways to improvise.
