University of Tennessee Percussion Festival

Annie Stevens

Praised for her “arresting spirit, tonal richness, and razor-sharp ensemble performance” by Fanfare Magazine, Annie Stevens is an active soloist, chamber player, and orchestral musician throughout the U.S. and internationally. Annie has performed and lectured at over 40 universities, numerous international conferences, and her most recent solo engagements include the UNLV Nextet Concert Series where she worked with composer-in-residence Christopher Cerrone, the Oberlin College Conservatory, and the Northwestern University Summer Percussion Symposium. As an educator, Annie’s students have won several awards and competitions, including acceptance into Carnegie Hall’s prestigious NYO2 and NYO touring orchestras, winning first place at the Percussive Arts Society Chamber Music Competition at PASIC, and being awarded full scholarships for graduate study after completing their degrees at Virginia Tech. Annie is frequently asked to adjudicate percussion events, with recent engagements including the Great Plains International Marimba Competition and several Percussive Arts Society solo and ensemble competitions.

As a member of the percussion duo, Escape Ten, Annie maintains an active performance calendar, with recent performances including the U.S. premiere of John Psathas’ double concerto, The All-Seeing Sky, with the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra. 2025-26 performance invitations include Northern Illinois University, The University of North Alabama, The Center for Mallet Percussion Research at Kutztown University, and the University of Tennessee. The duo has performed a keyboard showcase concert at the 2016 PASIC, the Leigh Howard Stevens Summer Marimba Festival, Atlanta’s coveted Spivey Hall, Orlando’s Steinmetz Hall, the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia, Jacksonville’s Cummer Museum, and appeared on numerous concert series. The duo has been featured on NPR’s “Performance Today” and they have released two albums, Colours of a Groove and Our Favorite Things. They worked alongside Leigh Stevens to develop their Escape Ten Signature Mallets through Malletech. Escape Ten is dedicated to commissioning new works for percussion duo, with several works published under the Escape X Series through Keyboard Percussion Publications. 

As an advocate for new percussion solos and chamber music, Annie has been a part of commissioning over 45 new works for percussion. She also performs in a mixed-instrument quartet, October Sky, whose mission is to actively commission, record, and perform works for tenor, violin, cello, and percussion. Their debut album, October Skies, was released on the MSR Label in 2023. 

As an orchestral percussionist, she is the Principal Timpanist of the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra where was recognized as “impeccably responsive” by the Roanoke Times. She has also performed with the festival orchestras of the Music Academy of the West, the National Orchestral Institute, the Aspen Music Festival, Ensemble Evolution with the International Contemporary Ensemble, the Metropolis Ensemble, and the Naples Philharmonic Orchestra (Florida). In 2023, she was awarded the Alumni Enterprise Award from the Music Academy of the West. 

Annie is the Associate Professor of Percussion at Virginia Tech where she has been a member of the faculty since 2013. In 2025 she was presented with the Award for Outreach Excellence by the College of Architecture, Arts, and Design. Her primary teachers include Michael Burritt, Alan Abel, Chip Ross, Bill Cahn, She-e Wu, and Tom McGowan, and she holds degrees from Northwestern University (B.M.), Rutgers University (M.M.) and The Eastman School of Music (D.M.A). Annie endorses Malletech, Remo, Blackswamp Percussion, and Dream Cymbals and Gongs, and she is the Chapter President for the Percussive Arts Society, Virginia/D.C. Region and serves on the PAS University Pedagogy Committee. She lives in Blacksburg, VA with her husband and violinist, John Irrera, and their two young daughters.