This article discusses a panel at PASIC 2026 focused on engaging non-music majors in percussion education. It highlights challenges in higher education music programs related to enrollment and retention, and presents participatory percussion as an accessible entry point for students without prior musical experience. The panel explores practical, adaptable strategies for incorporating percussion courses and ensembles that fit within existing institutional structures and general education curricula. Examples include multi-credit global music offerings, community drumming, and wellness-oriented models. The discussion aims to support recruitment, retention, and resource justification across diverse institutions like research universities, community colleges, and HBCUs. Panelists bring varied expertise to share concrete methods and advocacy language for promoting the pedagogical and institutional value of participatory percussion.

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What if your next percussion student isn’t a percussionist—or even a music major?

Music programs across higher education continue to face challenges related to enrollment, student retention beyond declared majors, and the need to sustain instructional resources in increasingly constrained budget environments. At many institutions, percussion ensembles thrive, yet they often remain inaccessible to non-majors because of scheduling constraints, credit structures, or a limited connection to general education pathways. Students who might otherwise engage in participatory music-making never find their way into the music department, not because they lack interest, but because there is no clear entry point into music study that fits their academic plans.

This PASIC 2026 panel brings together educators whose experience spans an SEC Research 1 university, the California community college system, an HBCU, and a public regional university. Drawing on successful teaching and program development in each of these settings, the discussion will examine practical ways percussion offerings can invite non-majors into music departments while preserving existing ensemble models and curricular boundaries. Rather than proposing new core curricula, the panel will focus on approaches that work within existing institutional structures and complement the important role of traditional percussion ensembles.

Participatory percussion is especially well suited to this work because students can make music together from the first day of class, regardless of prior musical experience. These courses combine active music-making with cultural, historical, and musical study. They also fit naturally within many general education curricula while introducing students to the broader work of the music department. For many students, these classes become their first sustained musical experience in higher education.

Examples will include multi-credit performance and global music offerings that engage non-majors through participatory, in-class percussion playing, along with Latin, African, and Asian percussion ensembles, community drumming initiatives, and wellness-oriented percussion models. Although each panelist represents a different institutional context, the emphasis will remain on adaptable strategies rather than one-size-fits-all solutions. Panelists will discuss how these courses and ensembles can serve as entry points into music programs while supporting recruitment, student retention, general education goals, credit-hour production, and long-term resource justification. The panelists represent a broad range of institutional perspectives and will share ideas that attendees can adapt to their own campuses.

Faculty members, administrators, and graduate students will leave with concrete strategies for developing or strengthening participatory percussion offerings, along with language for communicating their pedagogical value and institutional impact. The discussion will also consider how percussion faculty can articulate the value of these offerings to department chairs, deans, and other campus leaders. The ideas presented are intended to be adaptable across research universities, community colleges, regional universities, HBCUs, and liberal arts colleges. 

PANELISTS 
(subject to change)

Erin Walker Bliss (Moderator) is Senior Lecturer in Ethnomusicology at the University of Kentucky, where she has taught courses in global music, rock, jazz, and music appreciation. She holds a DMA in Percussion Performance and a PhD in Musicology/Ethnomusicology from the University of Kentucky. Her research on Scottish drumming traditions, participatory music-making, community drumming, and the teaching of non-music majors has been presented at PAS conferences, the Society for Ethnomusicology (SEM), the College Music Society (CMS), the International Association for the Study of Popular Music (IASPM), and the Berklee City Music Network. Outside academia, Erin serves as Executive Director of the Central Music Academy (CMA), a nonprofit that provides tuition-free music instruction to youth who would otherwise not have access. She has served as a grant reviewer for the National Endowment for the Arts, South Arts, and Lexington-Fayette County, and has consulted on philanthropy and leadership for the Martin School of Public Policy, Eastern Kentucky University, UNC Greensboro, Texas Tech University, and numerous regional arts organizations.

Kassandra Kocoshis is Assistant Professor of Music at Los Angeles City College, where she directs the Popular Music and World Music programs, including Latin percussion and world music ensembles. A Los Angeles-based percussionist specializing in flamenco, she holds degrees from DePaul University and the California Institute of the Arts, where she earned an MFA in World Percussion.

Julie Hill is Co-Founder and Executive Director of Global Citizen Adventure Corps. Previously, she served as Professor of Percussion and Chair of the Department of Music at the University of Tennessee at Martin. A Past President of PAS, Dr. Hill is an internationally recognized performer, educator, and scholar whose work focuses on global music, service learning, and arts education.

Lamon Lawhorn is Assistant Professor of Music and Coordinator of Percussion Studies at Virginia State University. An active performer, educator, clinician, and composer, Dr. Lawhorn’s work spans concert percussion, marching percussion, gospel drumming, and music education. He currently serves as PAS President-Elect.