ABOUT University of North Alabama Percussion Ensemble, director Tracy Wiggins

SESSION TITLE: New Literature for Percussion

The University of North Alabama Percussion Ensemble Program consists of three ensembles: Percussion Group; Percussion Ensemble; and the World Percussion Ensemble. The ensembles include students that are music majors as well as students in majors from many other degree programs around the UNA campus. The ensemble is dedicated to programming both historically significant percussion ensemble literature, as well as helping to foster and promote new works for percussion. The ensemble has performed at the Alabama Music Educators Association State Conference, The National Association for Music Education National Conference, and at the PASIC Chamber Ensemble Competition.

Tracy Wiggins is assistant director of bands and coordinator of the percussion program at The University of North Alabama. He has a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the HARTT School, University of Hartford. Dr. Wiggins holds a Masters Degree in Percussion Performance from the University of New Mexico and a bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Oklahoma State University. He has performed with the Huntsville Symphony, Tuscaloosa Symphony, Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra, Florence Symphony Orchestra, Carolina Philharmonic, and the Santa Fe Symphony. He has made solo appearances at universities throughout the United States and Jordan. Tracy has appeared 3 times on Focus Day at PASIC, presented clinics at PASIC, The National Conference on Percussion Pedagogy, and the Midwest Clinic, and co-hosted the 2018 PASIC Focus Day. He is the president of the Alabama PAS Chapter, has served as Vice-president and Treasurer of the Alabama PAS Chapter, and President and Vice-President of the North Carolina Chapter of PAS. He is a former member of the PAS Board of Advisors and has served on the University Pedagogy and New Music/Research Committees. He currently serves on the PAS Percussion Ensemble Committee. He is also an active adjudicator and arranger for marching percussion throughout the southeast. At UNA he oversees two percussion ensembles, the contemporary ensemble, the world percussion ensemble, and the marching band percussion section. 

His teachers have included Johnny Almendra, Tricia Bovenschen, Wayne Bovenschen, Michael Bump, Joe Galeota, Ralph Hardimon, Gregg Koyle, Alexander Lepak, Christopher Shultis, Ben Toth, Glen Velez and Nancy Zeltsman. 

He is an artist/endorser for Yamaha Percussion, Black Swamp Percussion, Innovative Percussion, Remo Drum Heads and Percussion, Beetle Percussion and Sabian Cymbals