Percussive Horizons

William Brown is a marimbist, percussionist, educator, arranger, and drummer in the Washington, D.C. metro area. William’s musical experience is dynamic, from releasing an album of Stravinsky for marimba and piano to playing stadiums with The Who, premiering works from Stuart Saunders Smith to recording with the Cincinnati Symphony. He’s spent whole seasons in theatre pits for beloved musicals and operas, and has performed with iconic vocalists like Kristin Chenoweth and Johnny Mathis. He currently holds a Graduate Assistantship at the University of Maryland for a DMA in Percussion Performance.

Souvenir

Hailed by Percussive Notes as “bursting with character, delicacy, and rhythmic energy,” experience Igor Stravinsky’s Petrushka ballet and Samuel Barber’s Souvenirs suite, as arranged for piano and marimba duet by William Brown.

sonder

the blog of William Brown Percussion

Something out of Nothing | sonder 020

This November, Stuart Saunders Smith is  being posthumously inducted into the Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame, survived and accompanied by his wife Sylvia Smith. The Smith's collective contribution to the percussive arts through pedagogy, composition, publishing,...

Gradual pt. 2

November 26th, 2024, 12:30 PM I have lunch with Robert McCormick, who suggests for the thousandth time that I should return to school and pursue a Doctor of Musical Arts, both to open up a pathway to collegiate teaching and develop a new collection of artistic...

Clouds | Sonder 018

I. KTPA 020753Z 02008KT 10SM BKN250 12/06 A3023 RMK AO2 SLP235 T01220056 $ Humor me. Draft a new text message and send it to 358782 (standard message and data rates may apply) The body should be the letter m, followed by a space, followed by your local airport code....

Performance Psychology | Sonder 017

A Sonder post in video format! A deep dive into performance psychology during a clinic I gave in Vigo, Spain during my last tour with the World Percussion Group.

Feedbach

Try phrasing towards the bass notes in mm. 6-10. You have to push the register in mm. 14-20, make it sing. Look how the fragmented countersubject tumbles over itself in mm. 14-20, it needs rhythm, no don’t rush, no accents, make it land on each downbeat, watch the agogic accents.