Blake Tyson is known as a teacher, performer, and composer. Since 2001, he has been a member of the faculty of the University of Central Arkansas. International performances have taken him to Europe, Africa, South America, and Asia. He has performed at PASIC, the Northwest Percussion Festival, the Leigh Howard Stevens Summer Marimba Seminar, and at numerous Days of Percussion. He is currently principal percussionist with the Conway Symphony Orchestra. He received a DMA from the Eastman School of Music and holds a MM from Kent State University and a BM from the University of Alabama. Blake has composed many works for percussion, including “Vertical River,” “Anubis,” “A cricket sang and set the sun,” “A Ceiling Full of Stars,” “Inside the Shining Stone,” and “Cloud Forest.” His teachers include John Beck, Michael Burritt, Halim El-Dabh, Larry Mathis, and Peggy Benkeser.

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