Local audiences can hear a world-class percussionist for free when the West Chester University Percussion Ensemble is joined by the Philadelphia Orchestra’s associate principal timpanist and section percussionist, Angela Zator Nelson, for a concert on Tuesday, Nov. 19 at 8:15 PM.
The concert will be held in the Madeleine Wing Adler Theatre in the Swope Music Building and Performing Arts Center, located at 817 South High Street. The concert is free and open to the public.
“At the Wells School of Music, we strive to give our students the invaluable experience of working alongside world-class artists,” said Ralph Sorrentino, interim chair of Instrumental Music and director of the WCU Percussion Ensemble. “It will be an inspiration for our students to perform with such an accomplished percussionist.”
Zator Nelson joined the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1999 as the first female percussionist ever hired by the orchestra. A native of the Chicago area, she graduated from Northwestern University’s School of Music and was principal percussion of the Civic Orchestra for three years. She obtained a master’s degree in music performance from Temple University in 2001.
Zator Nelson is an active chamber musician with a forte in new music. She has premiered and recorded the first five of George Crumb’s American Songbooks written for Orchestra 2001. The premieres took place at the Salzburg Music Festival, in Carnegie Hall, and in the Perelman Theater at The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts.
She and her husband, percussionist David Nelson, enjoy working as a percussion duo performing recitals and educational concerts for both children and adults. They are also part of the Bob Beach Trio, performing blues, folk, and rock in local coffeehouses and regularly at Philadelphia’s World Café Live. The trio most recently recorded a demo album entitled Baby, Please Don’t Go.
The WCU Percussion Ensemble is comprised of percussion majors from the Wells School of Music. Their repertoire ranges from standard percussion ensemble compositions to important new works written by emerging composers. Two public concerts are performed on campus each season, with at least one concert featuring a notable guest artist. Past guest soloists have included Steven Wight, Cynthia Yeh, and Christopher Rose, among others.
