Known
for his innovative blend of performance, teaching and research, Michael Schutz is currently Director of Percussion Studies at Longwood University where
he organizes all aspects of the percussion program and performs frequently
with the Charlottesville Symphony. Michael earned the MM in Percussion Performance and Music Technology from
Northwestern University and the BMA in Percussion Performance along with a BS in Computer Science from
Penn State University. Ensemble performances include concerts with the Roanoke Symphony, Opera on the James,
Lynchburg Symphony, Altoona Symphony, Virginia Consort, Oratorio Society of Charlottesville-Albemarle,
Waynesboro Symphony, Pennsylvania Centre Chamber Orchestra, Marvin Hamlish, and the Nittany Valley Symphony.
Solo performances include a guest appearances at the University of Virginia
and Penn State University,
clinics at the Virginia/DC Day of Percussion and an invited performance at the 2006 Alvin Lucier Festival.
Active in the promotion of new music, Michael recently co-commissioned “Time To Burn” from internationally renowned composer Judith Shatin, giving the premier in Austin, TX at PASIC 2006 along with percussionist I-Jen Fang and oboist Scott Perry. Other world premiers include Peter Traub’s innovative “Groundloops: for Percussion and Internet” and Gordon Ring’s “Magnificat,” as well as chamber works by Brett Dietz, Mekara Chaipruk, Rob Reinhart and Peter Buck. Additional efforts to contribute to the percussion canon include arrangements of orchestral pieces for percussion ensemble as well as marimba transcriptions of solo works for the guitar, violin, and piano. These efforts to include transcriptions in the college curriculum led to his clinic titled Musical Perspective at the 2005 Virginia/DC Day of Percussion.
A
prize-winning researcher, he has published on topics ranging
from the role of visual information in music perception to the
computer aided analysis of post-tonal music. In addition to
presentations at major scientific and educational conferences in Illinois, Florida,
Missouri, Pennsylvania, and Utah, Michael was invited to present at the
International Conference on Music and Gesture hosted by the
Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, UK and the
International Conference on Music Perception and Cognition
in Bologna, Italy. His articles have appeared in both Percussive Notes
and Percussive News, reporting on a variety of topics including CrossTalk,
the University of Arizona’s cutting edge electronic percussion ensemble.
Since
his appointment to the faculty of Longwood University in 2004,
the percussion department has enjoyed tremendous growth in both
size and quality. Under his direction, the percussion
ensemble has developed into one of the premier ensembles at the
university, performing four on-campus concerts each year in
addition to their annual spring tour bringing percussion
ensemble literature to high school programs in the central
Virginia area.
In demand as an educator, Michael regularly gives clinics and
performances at festivals, to high school percussion
departments, and for youth music programs across the state.
In recognition of his contributions to the
Percussive Arts Society, he was recently appointed Chair of the
Music Technology Committee, on which
he served from from 2003-2007.
Previous positions include a faculty appointment at Blue Lake Fine
Arts Camp in Twin Lake, Michigan (2003 & 2004) percussion coach for the McHenry County Youth Orchestra
(2002-2003), and assisting with instruction of pit/drumline at
Lake Braddock Secondary School (1997-2002).
Michael is grateful for the support provided by Sabian, whose
products he is proud to endorse. His teachers include marimba
virtuoso Michael Burritt, Dan Armstrong, Gifford Howarth, Ken Harbison,
and Randy Eyles.
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