Join us for this years DAY OF DRUMLINE with Dr. Jason Baker!
Open to all high school students
Saturday, February 22nd, 2025 9am-5pm
The Percussion Studio
The Percussion Studio at Huntingdon College is made up of music and non-music majors, all of whom receive $16,500 scholarships (per year) to perform in the Marching Scarlet and Grey Drumline.
Additionally, the Huntingdon College Percussion Ensemble is a primary focus for percussionists who major in music, as well as several non-music-majors. The percussion ensemble focuses on chamber music (small groups of 4-6), and typically consists of a group of 12-16 members. Each piece rehearses 1-2 times per week in preparation for percussion ensemble concerts, tours, and various performance opportunities throughout the school year.
Music Majors: The Huntingdon College percussion program takes a comprehensive approach to developing a well-rounded musician. Throughout the four-year degree plan, percussionists who are majoring in music will receive weekly one-on-one, one-hour lessons with Mr. Mooney. The four-year degree plan includes study in marimba, snare drum, timpani, accessories, world percussion, and drum set.
Read more about Huntingdon Bands and Honor Bands.
2025 Music Major Audition Requirements for Percusionists - Join the Family!
- Snare Drum Solo (required)
- Marimba Solo (required)
- Optional/encouraged: 4-mallets, timpani, drumset
Schedule your audition with Mr. Mooney: bmooney@hawks.tou18.com
Meet The Director
Originally from Saskatchewan, Canada, Brandon Mooney is the associate director of bands/percussion studies at Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama. Having taught, written, and performed music across the United States, Canada, Germany, and Austria, Mr. Mooney brings his diverse background in percussion performance and education into the classroom for his students. Mr. Mooney holds a bachelor’s degree in music (education) from the University of Western Ontario, a master’s degree in performance from the University of Texas at Austin, and is completing his doctorate degree at the University of Alabama.
Brandon Mooney
Associate Director of Bands/Percussion Studies
bmooney@hawks.tou18.com
(334) 300-6526
Personal website: www.brandonmooneypercussion.com
Guest Artist Performance with Dr. Corey Robinson
October 29th, 2024 @ 7pm
Smith Hall, Huntingdon College
Open to the public
Corey Robinson is a Wichita Falls, Texas based percussionist, educator, and composer. He currently serves as Assistant Professor of Percussion and Associate Director of Bands at Midwestern State University. Previous appointments at the University of Texas at Tyler, Texas Woman’s University, the University of North Texas, Abilene Christian University (TX) Flower Mound High School (TX), Argyle High School (TX), and Coppell High School (TX) allowed Dr. Robinson the opportunity to work with hundreds of percussionists of all ages and ability levels. Many of Dr. Robinson’s recent performances have been as part of a percussion/saxophone duo with his wife, Amy.
They have premiered numerous commissions and many of his own works at saxophone conferences around the world including the World Saxophone Conference and eight North American Saxophone Alliance Conferences. Dr. Robinson has also performed at Percussive Arts Society International Conventions, International Clarinet Association ClarinetFest Conferences, and College Music Society Conferences across the United States.
Dr. Robinson’s latest recording project Resplendence: An album of works for solo percussion was released on Spotify and Apple Music in the spring of 2024. In addition, his percussion methods textbook and video series, Methods for Teaching Percussion (Murphy Music Press) was published in the fall of 2022 and is currently being used in a number of university Percussion Methods classrooms.
Dr. Robinson received his Bachelor of Music Education from Slippery Rock University in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania, his Master of Music in Percussion Performance from Indiana University, Bloomington, and his DMA at the University of North Texas. His percussion teachers include Mark Ford, Christopher Deane, Paul Rennick, Ed Soph, Poovalur Sriji, Stockton Helbing, José Aponte, Ed Smith, John Tafoya, Kevin Bobo, Michael Spiro, and Dr. David Glover. Dr. Robinson is currently an endorsing artist for Marimba One instruments, Innovative Percussion sticks and mallets and Remo drumheads. His compositions are available through Murphy Music Press and Musicon Publishing. He resides in Wichita Falls, Texas with his wife and two children, Noelle and Theo.
Day of Drumline - Dr. Jason Baker
Jason Baker serves as Professor of Percussion Studies at Mississippi State University, arranger/coordinator for the MSU Drumline, and Recruiting Coordinator for the Department of Music. He holds degrees from the University of North Texas, New England Conservatory of Music, and University of Connecticut. His current performance interests focus on commissioning solo percussion music by emerging composers from the American South.
Jason has commercially released four solo albums, three etude books, and over 30 arrangements and compositions – many of which are included on solo and ensemble music lists throughout the United States. His works have been performed at the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Snare Drum Competition, Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic, Kaohsiung Band Festival in Taiwan, and the Percussive Arts Society International Convention.
Jason is timpanist of the North Mississippi Symphony Orchestra, Tuscaloosa Symphony Orchestra, and Starkville Symphony Orchestra. He has also performed with the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra, Meridian (MS) Symphony Orchestra, and the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra. He has been a clinician and/or performer at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention, New York City Day of Percussion, Encontro Percussivo Festival in Brazil, College Music Society National Conference, Texas Music Educators Association Convention, All-West Tennessee Music Educators Convention, Mississippi Bandmasters Association Convention, and universities throughout the United States. Jason also performs with the Brooklyn Composers’ Syndicate and served as a faculty member at the Sam Houston Summer Percussion Academy.
Jason is Associate Editor of New Literature Reviews for Percussive Notes and previously served as chair of the College Pedagogy Committee and president of the Mississippi Chapter of the Percussive Arts Society. He was a performing member with the Glassmen, Boston Crusaders, and Connecticut Hurricanes Drum and Bugle Corps and later served on the instructional staff of the Boston Crusaders. Jason is proud to be an artist for the Yamaha Corporation of America, Innovative Percussion, Remo, Sabian, and Grover Pro Percussion.
Jason is an avid long-distance runner and lives in Starkville, Mississippi with his wife and two children. He received a Master of Business Administration degree from MSU, where he was inducted into the Beta Gamma Sigma honor fraternity.
Meet the Huntingdon Percussion Family
Recent/Current Student Highlights
Jalyn Lewis
former Huntingdon percussionist, graduated from Huntingdon College in 2024, currently studying a Masters Degree in Film and TV Composition at Cambria College in Chicago
Juantez Robinson
senior percussionist, 2024 tour dates as drummer with Willy Banks Jr. and the Messengers
Kalon Glover
sophomore percussionist, 2024 tour dates with Asher, winner of THE VOICE
Cameron Nicely
former Huntingdon percussionist, graduated from Huntingdon College in 2022, currently Director of Bands at Highland Home High School.
