For Immediate Release: January 10, 2006

The Percussive Arts Society recently announced that it will move its headquarters, museum and library from Lawton, Okla., to Indianapolis in 2007. PAS will also host its international convention, PASIC, in the city seven out of 10 years starting in 2009.

Indianapolis was chosen from an initial list of 96 candidate cities. Finalists included Nashville, Atlanta and Columbus, Ohio. The PAS Board of Directors voted on the Indianapolis relocation at its annual meeting in November.

The decision to move stems from the society’s growth and desire to have its administrative operations, museum and library in a city that has the facilities and services required to host a convention of PASIC’s size. PASIC annually draws more than 6,000 attendees from across North America and around the world. The convention alone will have a local economic impact of more than $5 million annually.

The new headquarters and museum will occupy 15,000 square feet of space in downtown Indianapolis. This new location will be more accessible to a larger concentration of PAS members and to music scholars and researchers who visit the PAS library to study rare percussion instruments, scores and literature. It will also allow more people to visit the museum and gain a larger awareness of and appreciation for the world of drums and percussion.

Museum visitors will enjoy a combined experience of history, culture and music through interactive exhibits with broad-based appeal. They will also get to experiment with rhythmic structure and play a variety of instruments.

“This move gives PAS a wide range of new possibilities that will benefit our members, the general public and the percussion industry,” says PAS Executive Director Michael Kenyon. “The opportunity to develop new community programming, hold regional events and partner with other organizations already established in the area will allow PAS to expand its impact on a national and international level.”

Other music organizations located in Indianapolis include Bands of America, the American Pianists Association and the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis.

“Indianapolis is the right city at the right time,” Kenyon says. “It has everything we are looking for to allow the Percussive Arts Society to pursue its potential.”