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The
Percussive Arts Society
A Brief History
During
the late 1950s, it became the custom for a small group of
percussionists and interested music directors to gather
informally and discuss percussion problems during the Mid-West
Band Clinic held each December at Chicago's Sherman House.
During the 1959 or 1960 Clinic (the latter is most likely),
Remo Belli, a member of the group and an exhibitor at the
convention, invited the others to dinner at the hotel's
restaurant, and during discussion, they developed the idea
of forming some sort of percussion organization.
When
Mr. Belli returned home to California, he enlisted the services
of Robert Winslow, a professional percussionist and a North
Hollywood high school band director, to carry out the details
of forming an organization. In early 1961, Mr. Winslow sent
a series of letters concerning membership to interested
parties. Among the stated goals of the organization were:
"to stimulate a greater interest in percussion performance
and teaching," and "to promote better teaching
of percussion instruments."
In
May of 1961, Mr. Winslow sent a letter proclaiming: "We
are underway. The Percussive Arts Society is open for business,"
and in September, the Society sent its first publication,
Percussive Arts Society Bulletin, printed on a mimeograph
machine donated by Mr. Belli, to the membership.
After
three Bulletins, a determination was made to transfer the
administrative and publication duties of the Society to
Professor Donald Canedy, who was the percussion instructor
and band director at Southern Illinois University. In April
of 1963, Mr. Canedy, with the advice of a distinguished
editorial board and an able group of contributing editors,
published the new PAS journal, Percussionist (in later years
called Percussive Notes Research Edition) in its familiar
booklet form. Mr. Canedy served as de facto president through
1964, when, at the December Percussive Arts Society meeting
in Chicago, a constitution was adopted and regular officers
were elected. Gordon Peters become the first President of
PAS; Jack McKenzie took the position of First Vice-President
and Mr. Canedy continued as Executive Secretary. Also elected
were a Board of Directors and an Editorial Board. With this
solid structure, the Society became increasingly influential,
expanding its committee activities to address important
percussion issues and making policy decisions that would
result in important contributions to all areas of percussion.
An
important expansion occurred in 1967 when James L. Moore's
already successful Percussive Notes became an official PAS
publication. Another milestone was achieved in 1969 when
the Society was incorporated in Indiana as the Percussive
Arts Society, Incorporated, a status it maintained until
1985 when it was reincorporated under the laws of Illinois.
Beginning
in 1971, performances and clinics called "Days of Percussion"
were held in conjunction with the yearly business meetings.
In 1974, the first Percussive Arts Society National Conference
(PASNC) was held in Anaheim and at California State University
at Northridge. It was hosted by then-California State Chapter
President Lloyd McCausland and Joel Leach of CSU/Northridge.
The PASNC evolved into the Percussive Arts Society International
Convention that we know today as PASIC. The first PASIC
was held in 1976 at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester,
NY, and was hosted by John Beck, the Eastman School and
the New York State Chapter.
It
is important to note two significant awards presented annually
by the Society. First, since 1972, PAS has inducted some
of the most important people in percussion into its Hall
of Fame. Secondly, since 1974, the Percussion Composition
Contest has encouraged the production of hundreds of new
works, many of which have become part of the standard percussion
repertoire.
Thus,
the Percussive Arts Society, which began in 1961 as a group
of fourteen concerned percussionists, has grown to more
than 8,000 members worldwide, with significant influence
on percussion performance, education, composition, publication,
and manufacturing. Today, the Percussive Arts Society is
headquartered in Lawton, Oklahoma, where the administrative
offices and its museum of rare and unusual percussion instruments
are located in the Society's new building in Elmer Thomas
Park. Construction of the new building was funded by PAS
members and by the McMahon Foundation in Lawton.
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