Extreme Percussion Night Stuns Audience

By Michelle Allen

April 23, 2010 No Comments

For the eighth year in a row, the Percussion Society has put on their annual “Extreme Percussion.” Extreme Percussion took place April 16 and 17 in Potter Hall. An event of this magnitude takes dedication and hard work. President of the Percussion Society Joshua Colley knows this all too well. “We’ve been planning for this event all semester,” Colley said. “We really care about people and we just want to entertain them with our music and set a good atmosphere.”

After 31 years Dr. Dennis Rogers, director of percussion at Missouri still feels like it’s worthwhile. “This is where we turn theory into practice,” Rogers said. Rogers feels that the “Extreme Percussion” experience is a great opportunity for his music majors.

“This actively builds positive and professional attitudes,” Rogers said. “We deliver academic excellence with personable compassion administrators, staff and professors.”

Music major Kayla Riaski agrees with Rogers after attending “Extreme Percussion.”

“Whoever didn’t come definitely missed out,” Riaski said. Riaski enjoyed her first extreme experience.

“I really enjoyed the black light performance; you could tell they put a lot of work into what they were doing,” Riaski said. “I just really loved how they got the audience involved.”

Not even an hour drive can put a damper on audience member Laraine Jones’ parade. Jones was traveling with a friend to see her son perform in the “Extreme Percussion.”

“I just loved the sill drums and the drum line,” Jones said.

Kandus Jacobs, a friend of Jones’s, felt it was worth the drive as well.

“I loved “Base in Your Face,” it was very unique, very creative,” Jacobs said. “It’s just amazing that students wrote most of these pieces.”

There is no need to fret; there is always next year for those of you who missed out on this Extreme experience. There is a small admissions fee of four dollars for students and six dollars for non students. For those of you who want to love music and want to be a part of making the crowd go wild there is hope for you too. The Percussion Society is not only for those who are music majors or in the arts department. Please feel free to contact Dr. Rogers for more information on how to become a part of the Percussion Society and their meeting times.

So even if you don’t think that you have the God given talent of rhythm, maybe you do have rhythm and want to show your stuff. Either way the Percussion Society or the programs they put on are worth the time and the effort to starting a new and successful career in music and networking period.

So the next time you think there is nothing to do on campus open up your mind to new and extreme things that can change your world and your mood and attend “Extreme Percussion.”