Charlotte Mabrey, former principal percussionist of the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra and head of the University of North Florida percussion area, died on sept. 7, 2025.

Mabrey arrived in Jacksonville after she received her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from the University of Illinois in 1977. What was supposed to be a one-year position as the principal percussionist with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra turned into a 27-year career. Mabrey was a featured soloist with the orchestra as well. During her tenure, she performed Ney Rosauro’s “Marimba Concerto No.1,” John Mackey’s “Percussion Concerto,” and Robert Bennett’s “Percussion Concerto.” In addition, Mabrey worked with the JSO percussion section to showcase the world of percussion in several concerts for the JSO Educational concerts and Family Series. After serving as the principal for over 25 years, Mabrey stepped aside and played on an as-needed basis.

Mabrey was hired as the professor of percussion at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville in 1983, where she was tasked with developing the percussion curriculum. This included researching and developing all courses pertaining to the degree in percussion. Over the next few years, the university and state legislature approved the Bachelor of Music degree to replace the Bachelor of Arts degree. During this time, Mabrey created and taught all levels of applied percussion, percussion ensemble, percussion literature, percussion pedagogy, and percussion techniques. Mabrey also created a course on rhythm, which was open to all music majors and presented solutions to rhythmic problems faced by young performers.

While Mabrey taught at UNF she felt a strong desire to present an annual percussion-oriented recital. For the next 26 years she performed “An Evening of 20th Century Music” on the UNF campus. The concerts featured percussion works for all ages. As the audience grew, so did the performances. Area musicians were involved as well as UNF percussion students. Mabrey used these evenings to perform contemporary music, poetry, lighting, and movement. Students were drawn to these types of experiences and the UNF percussion studio grew from one major to over 16. 

In 1991, Mabrey was awarded the Undergraduate Teaching award from UNF. After being promoted to Full Professor, she received the Distinguished Professor Award in 2001. Then in 2016, Mabrey was named Professor Emerita of Music. Her positions of active performer and educator allowed Mabrey to grow and learn throughout her years with the JSO and UNF. It brought a certain relevance to her percussion studio, one that constantly brought together the world of playing and education.