The President’s Message for the Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC) 2026 highlights the event’s vibrant energy and diverse offerings, taking place November 11–14 in Indianapolis. Marking the momentum beyond the 50th convention, PASIC showcases percussionists mastering their craft while embracing new technology, wellness, and versatile careers. Attendees can expect a rich mix of performances, clinics, and global traditions, alongside candid discussions on student well-being and community drumming. The message emphasizes the invaluable human connections formed, from friendships to spontaneous jams, made possible by the dedicated efforts of staff and volunteers. Overall, it’s an invitation to immerse fully in this expansive percussion world.

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There’s an undeniable charge of energy that arrives each year with this issue of Percussive Notes. It signals that the Percussive Arts Society International Convention is just around the corner. This issue is your first inside look at the artistry, scholarship, and pedagogy waiting for you there. Consider it the appetizer before four days packed with more music and inspiration than any one person could possibly take in.

Last year, we gathered in record numbers to celebrate our 50th convention. Fifty years, it turns out, wasn’t a finish line. PASIC 2026 picks up right from there. Across every hall and stage this November 11–14 in Indianapolis, you’ll see the contemporary percussionist redefined in real time: artists who are mastering their craft while embracing new technology, pioneering holistic approaches to wellness, and building careers far more versatile and sustainable than a single job title could describe. What happens over these four days is a direct expression of how restless and expansive our members’ curiosity really is.

Ask anyone who has walked the concourses of the Indiana Convention Center, and they will tell you PASIC is less a schedule and more an entire world you step into. The exhibit hall will be packed with gear to test before you buy, while down the hall a marching battery warms up, an orchestral timpanist dials in an excerpt, a drumset clinician commands a room, and just around the corner you encounter a tradition you’ve never heard before. That’s an ordinary hour at PASIC.

This preview issue gives you a running head start. You’ll find drumset insights from Matt Garstka, Jim Riley, and Mike Packer, and a look at where live looping is headed with Andrew Toy. The global reach runs deep, from Costa Rican and Mexican marimba traditions to Spanish castanet technique, masterclass-level writing on orchestral nuance, front ensemble mechanics, and the evolution of rudimental drumming through the U.S. Army’s Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps. Crucially, you’ll also find candid conversations about student well-being, performance anxiety, and the role participatory community drumming plays across our field. That’s a fraction of what’s inside, and an even smaller fraction of what’s waiting in Indianapolis.

While the packed lineup of concerts and clinics will keep you inspired from morning until night, never forget the element no article can fully capture: the human connection. It lives in the friends you bump into in the lobby, the students who introduce themselves after a session, the impromptu jam sessions, and the spark of ideas that only happens when our worldwide percussion family shares the same space.

None of this happens without a great deal of quiet work behind the scenes. My deepest thanks go to Executive Director Joshua Simonds, the PAS staff, our Board of Directors and Board of Advisors, the Past Presidents who still show up to lend a hand, and the Chapter officers, Committee Chairs, and volunteers whose efforts shape this gathering long before the hall lights ever come up. Their vision and tireless advocacy are what make it possible for our community to gather and flourish every year.

Whether Indianapolis is a familiar second home or the site of your very first PASIC, come ready to listen, learn, and immerse yourself in everything this art form has to offer. I look forward to seeing you there this November!

Thad Anderson
President, Percussive Arts Society