A Yamaha Performing Artist, and an endorser of Latin Percussion and Innovative Percussion, Dr. Kenyon Williams is a Professor of Music and Chair of the School of Performing Arts at Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM). At MSUM, he directs the MSUM Percussion Ensemble, the Dragon Drumline, and the Fuego Tropical World Music and Percussion Ensemble, which performs music from Cuba, Brazil, Trinidad, Indonesia, West Africa, and the Middle East. These ensembles have performed numerous times with the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony Orchestra, as well as at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention, the MENC National Convention, and performing arts festivals throughout the Midwest. In addition to his duties at MSUM, each summer he teaches at the International Music Camp, and has also taught at Abilene Christian University, Transylvania University, and Hardin Simmons University.
He earned a Bachelor of Music Education from Abilene Christian University; a Master of Music from the Hartt School of Music; and a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Kentucky. Moreover, Dr. Williams scholarly pursuits have taken him abroad for extended periods in Ghana, where he has studied with Paschal Young and Emmanuel Agbeli; in Cuba with Roberto Vizcaino and José Eladio Amat; in Brazil with Tisza and Cabello Rolim; in Indonesia with Ade Suparman and Agus Efendi; and in Trinidad with Andy Narell and Ken Philmore. All of which has led him to create a study-abroad trip to Trinidad for his MSUM world music students on a biennial basis since 2015.
Dr. Williams has performed as a section member for such orchestras as: the Abilene Philharmonic, the Louisville Symphony, and the Lexington Philharmonic. Currently he serves as the Principal Percussionist for the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony Orchestra. Dr. Williams also performs with the Fargo-Moorhead based percussion ensemble: The Varying Degrees Trio, as well as performs in, and directs the Poco Fuego Steel Drum Quintet. In Trinidad, he has performed with the legendary Invaders, and Birdsong Steel Orchestras in the world-famous Panorama steel band competition. In the United States, he has established, arranged for, and performed in steel bands and Afro-Cuban salsa ensembles in Kentucky, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Texas.
In 2013 Dr. Williams released his solo CD, Homage, which featured newly commissioned works for percussion that was made possible by a Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative Grant. In 2016 he was selected to perform at the Minnesota Percussion Associations Day of Percussion; at the 2017 SEAMUS (Society for Electro-Acoustic Music) International Festival; at the 2017 and 2019 Percussive Arts Society International Conventions; and in 2018 as a soloist with the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony Orchestra.
Dr. Williams served a term as a member of the Board of Advisors of the Percussive Arts Society (PAS); two terms as Chair of the PAS World Percussion Committee; and has also served as the Treasurer and Vice-President of the Minnesota PAS Chapter. Furthermore, his numerous arrangements and compositions are published by Coyle Steel Drum Publications, and Tapspace Music.
When did you begin studying music?
I began studying piano with the proverbial little old lady down the street (literally walked or biked to my lessons) starting around the 2nd grade. I took semi-serious piano lessons until I started percussion in 6th grade, which was the age when my school district in Texas (Abilene Independent School District) started beginning band. After that, I dropped the piano so that I could focus on my two loves at the time: percussion and soccer.
What made you choose percussion?
My older brother! He played string bass in the orchestra at our high school when I was of age to pick an instrument. I remember him telling me,You should play drums! They get to play a cool feature at every pep rally (football pep rallies were. and still are a huge thing in Texas), and girls dig drummers. Sold!
Who were your primary teachers?
I was very fortunate to start taking lessons from day one with over-qualified instructors. My first teacher was Mrs. Victoria Daniel, then I studied with Mr. Mike Hooley. Both taught percussion at local universities. I was eventually blessed to start studying in high school with Dr. Allen Teel, Professor of Percussion at Abilene Christian University (ACU). I ended-up attending ACU where I earned my bachelor’s degree in music education. Dr. Teel’s total approach to percussion and the vibrant nature of that small, but powerful, music education program shaped my foundation, and allowed me to explore not only Western solo, chamber, and orchestral music, but I was also able to experience a wide variety of world percussion while having ample opportunities to explore marching percussion and drum set. I then completed my master’s degrees at the Hartt School with acclaimed chamber percussionist, Benjamin Toth. During that time, I was able to study frame drumming with Grammy winner Glen Velez, Afro-Cuban percussion with Johnny Alemendra, and timpani with the famed Al Lepak. After Hartt, I attended the University of Kentucky where I studied with the guru, James Campbell. His impact on my ultimate career and path in life cannot be overstated!
When did you decide to pursue a career in music?
I actually began college as an Engineering Physics major. I had bought completely into the STEM lie that is so sadly prevalent today, but was just emerging at the time in our public schools that you had to be a scientist or engineer or you were wasting your time. I had studied and played percussion diligently in high school. I had played in the Texas All-State Band and Orchestra in high school for three years, but I didn’t think music was really my destiny. However, since I was at ACU, I was still able to study percussion with Dr. Teel where I continued lessons and played in the band, percussion ensemble, and drumline. Half-way through my first semester as a freshman, I realized that I could easily spend hours in the practice room and forget to look at the clock. But 30 minutes of Calculus II and Pre-Engineering Physics was enough to make me bang my head against the desk. I decided I was in the wrong major and switched to music ed!
Did you have a specific goal?
My goal at the time was to be what I knew: a West Texas band director. The idea of being a percussion specialist at the larger high schools in the state was just starting to emerge as a fairly novel concept. I did a senior honors research paper about this newly forming career path in which I interviewed many of the top high school percussion specialists of the day (Brian Youngblood, Kennan Wylie, Mark Wessels, etc.). You can still find a published version of it in the PAS archives entitled, The Role of the Public School Percussion Educator. I figured I would jump on this newly cresting wave and see where it went, but my future ended up taking a detour.
Do you focus on a specific area of percussion, if so, did you always?
When I was in high school, I focused almost exclusively on classical Western percussion and drumline (e.g. marching percussion, orchestral snare drum, timpani, and marimba). When I arrived at ACU I was immediately exposed to non-Western percussion through exploring Trinidadian steel pan (as well as some West African Ghanaian drumming) and jazz drum set due to the needs and the directions of the music department and percussion studio. As I completed my graduate studies, I found myself more and more drawn to explore non-Western forms of music such as Afro-Cuban, West African, Middle Eastern, Afro-Brazilian, and eventually Javanese percussive art forms. I was so fortunate to be a part of programs that either allowed me to study with master educators in these fields or provided the support of travel grants so that I could gain first-hand cultural learning experiences, and then, upon returning, form my own experimental ensembles to put my skills to use. While I was doing all of this, I was also playing in chamber groups and performing regularly with orchestras including the Abilene Philharmonic, the Louisville Symphony, the Lexington Philharmonic, and performing as much solo marimba literature as my schedule allowed. So, to sum up, I’ve always focused on whatever area was in front of me at the time. When it comes to percussion, I’m very ADHD. There’s just so much to learn!
Who impacted your musical growth the most?
Dr. Allen Teel, my professor at Abilene Christian University, really set me on a firm musical and technical foundation, and showed me worlds of music beyond the West Texas high school marching band paradigm I’d grown up with in high school. His encouragement over the years has truly been one of the primary supports of my career. I also have to acknowledge the incredible mentorship I experienced with Jim Campbell. He is rightfully known as the teacher’s teacher, and taught me so much about not only how to push myself, but to do the same with my students in a fun-loving, supportive environment that builds on each student’s strengths and interests rather than what merely what I, as the all knowing teacher think is crucial. One of my favorite quotes from Jim is: I don’t teach a curriculum. I teach students. I’ve tried to model that in my own teaching throughout my career.
What teaching positions have you held?
I had the odd luck to begin teaching in the Abilene, Texas public schools while a student at ACU! I taught beginning (6th grade) percussion classes and percussion ensembles at its middle and high schools for three years while completing my music education degree. Eventually, I was appointed as an Adjunct Professor at Transylvania University, while I was also a Graduate Teaching Assistant at the University of Kentucky. I then taught for a year as a sabbatical replacement for Dr. Teel at ACU; did some adjunct teaching at Hardin Simmons University (TX), and then, miraculously, landed the position that I’ve held here at Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM) for the past 21 years. During that time, I was able to play in some fantastic semi-professional and professional orchestras, and I am currently the Principal Percussionist with the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony. My interest in chamber and world music has also led me to found and work with a wide of variety of smaller professional chamber groups, including the Varying Degrees Trio (MN), the Blue Steel Steel Band (KY), Poco Fuego Steel Band (MN), the Pandemonium Steel Band (CT), and the Soulsa de Fargo salsa ensemble (MN).
What percussionists have inspired you the most?
I’ve always admired a variety of great percussionists in a variety of genres. Frame drummer Shane Shanahan, whom I’ve been fortunate to bring to MSUM twice, always knocks me off my feet with the sheer amount of colors and moods he can coax from one simple drum. His ingenuity and creativity is astounding. One thing that has always been more interesting to me than just chops is the ability to communicate and teach. In our day and age, when one can go on Youtube and find a 12 year old of the week performing on every percussion instrument imaginable at a miraculous level, it’s easy to become jaded. As a teacher, I do want my students to be inspired by seeing flights of virtuosity, but in our modern age, that just isn’t enough anymore. Yes, anyone can do incredible things. But can you teach me, or better yet, my students, to do incredible things? That’s why I’ve always held in greatest esteem: the people who can both perform and teach. I’ve never been to a John Riley drum set clinic without learning something new (and having my socks blown-off in the process). I’ve seen Michael Burritt perform incredible music at the highest levels of musicianship, and then turn-around and teach high school students how to do the same. These levels of mastery are, to me, the most inspiring.
Is there a specific genre you enjoy performing most?
I love playing the Trinidadian pan. Dr. Teel introduced me to the art form, Ben Toth encouraged me to form my first professional band, and Jim Campbell helped me locate a grant that allowed me to complete my doctoral research by traveling to Trinidad and performing in my first Panorama. The energy of those large steel bands, the tight community atmosphere within the bands, and the pulse-pounding nature of the music is something you just have to experience at least once in your life. Since that first trip, I’ve traveled back to Trinidad a total of six times, and four of those times I took students from MSUM to study abroad in a world music survey course. The people, the culture, the music, the food – it’s amazing. As they say in Trinidad, I got de pan jumbie!
What composers do you identify with?
That’s a tough one. I’ve always leaned towards composers that were more interested in the heart than the intellect. So much of the music in our idiom, especially the music that came out of the 1950s to early 80s is, to me, unlistenable. I can appreciate what they were trying to do, and I can appreciate their desire to create new sounds and stretch boundaries. But in all honesty, who really goes out of their way to listen to that music except other percussionists? Who can hum back a few bars for me? In the orchestral realm, I can’t help but get excited by the massive sonic textures of Mahler and Prokofiev that leave the listener gasping for breath. To me, the best composers combine intellect with emotion. That said, the intellectual rigor of David Lang can move me as much as the static sheets of sound conjured by John Luther Adams, or the insanely inventive post-modern sonic textures of Andy Akiho. It’s such a great time to be alive as a musician. There are so many great composers moving in so many different directions. One thing I used to love to do was to listen to old albums found in university archives that highlighted new composition collections of multiple (often student) composers. They were a snapshot of compositional development over the decades. Throughout much of the past 300 years, a 10-track, best of collection representing the music of one particular year and one particular university, region, or country would often demonstrate music that was, to my ears, fairly indistinguishable from track to track. Of course year-to-year would be different, but listen to enough of these collections and you can begin to sense the underlying tectonic shifts in compositional output from decade to decade. Listening to such a collection of modern composers today is vastly different. Every track seems to be moving in an opposite compositional direction. Many modern composers no longer feel the need to demonstrate their IQ through their music. Many are interested in creating works that are designed to last beyond the premiere, and to do that, you have to be willing to create music that appeals to someone in the room other than yourself.
Do you get nervous before you play?
Almost everyone I’ve ever met gets nervous before doing something rare or new. The secret is exposure and repetition. The more you perform, the less likely the nerves will impact you. For example: I’m almost never nervous performing with the Symphony since I’ve done so many performances over the years. Same with teaching a masterclass or giving a lecture because I’ve done so many, that I just don’t have a fear of public speaking or leading a group in a performance, rehearsal, or critical review. Solo recitals? Those, by nature, tend to be much more stressful because my current position doesn’t prioritize solo performances as much. So to prepare, I record practice recitals with my phone the closer I get to my performance to simulate that one shot feeling you get when you walk on stage. Building the immunity that comes with multiple performances of the material is invaluable to me.
Do you ever make a mistake while performing?
All the time! We’re human and it’s impossible to be at your peak 24/7/365. Michael Jordan once scored 69 points in a game vs. the Cavaliers. He also had multiple games where scored four points or less. You have to do your best to shake it off, and remember you’re human; and remember that the sun will still rise and set tomorrow no matter how well or how poorly you perform today. Easier said than done, right?
Has your practice regimen changed from when you were a student?
I tend to structure my practice around whatever is most pressing in my life at the moment. This is something that I learned as a student in graduate school since it is all about making choices: specialize in this or that; work on this skill or that one. The way I try to keep my abilities moving forward is to program music that forces me to practice a particular skill or instrument. For example: I formed a professional salsa band, Soulsa de Fargo, because I wanted to get better at playing latin percussion. I love the music, I love the culture, but my primary motivation was very selfish, and it worked! In the same way, I’ll often program my faculty recitals around instruments that I feel I need to improve on. Without the pressure to perform, I have a very hard time getting motivated to practice, and at this point in my life, I’ve simply accepted the fact that there’s only so much I can master as a musician without pursuing even more important goals of being a better spouse, father, or even a human being.
How do you define a good musician and a good teacher?
I used to think that a good musician was a master of everything: all techniques, all instruments, all genres, all knowledge, etc. associated with his/her instrument. As I developed, I quickly came to realize that the greatest musicians tend to be specialists rather than generalists. They are amazing because they have devoted all (or at least most) of their creativity to one instrument or one genre or one skillset. This applies to drummers, conductors, saxophonists, etc. Yes, there is the occasional gifted freak who seems to master multiple areas, but rarely is there someone who masters them all (beyond, say, Leonard Bernstein…but then again, there’s a reason Lennie didn’t go out of his way to play late night jazz gigs in the Village with Miles Davis. He knew his limits). That said, I’ve known ridiculously talented generalists who are also outstanding musicians. Their skill sets in multiple areas reinforce one another. But if you look closely, you’ll often find those areas weren’t that far apart to begin with. For example: a drumset artist who can lay down the deepest, funkiest pocket imaginable isn’t that far removed from playing a wicked mambo which in turn feeds into timbale chops. On the other hand, it’s pretty darn rare to find a world-class tabla player who can also handle the snare book for last year’s Blue Devils show.
Regarding teachers, I’ve often found that the best tend to be generalists precisely because they’ve struggled. When you’re expected to be able to demonstrate or play a little bit of everything, you’ll never be the best at anything. As a result, many generalists have mastered the art of: 1. Being frustrated because they remember how it feels to not be good at something because they, themselves, are constantly in that state in at least one or more areas in which they teach or perform; and 2. Efficiency. When you don’t have all the time in the world to focus on only one instrument or genre, you learn how to maximize your practice time and how to get the best results in the fastest manner possible. This, in turn, makes them outstanding teachers for students that are also trying to balance classes, lessons, ensembles, multiple instruments, etc. However, that may not make them the best teacher for students who have decided that they are ready to dedicate their life to one thing. So, from my experience, most of us need a great teacher who is also a great generalist, but at some point, if possible, everyone should take the opportunity to study with a true master, a true specialist. That’s where the genius really lies, but only when you’re ready for it, and can truly appreciate it.
Do you think that performing and teaching are intrinsically intertwined?
I believe a great teacher is someone who is also performing regularly in some capacity. Especially in the field of percussion—where the core repertoire and fundamental techniques of our instrument(s) are still being codified. It is vital for an educator to stay in the mix so as to understand the challenges our students face. If I’m still teaching the same repertoire the same way I was taught, I’m doing my students a disservice. For a violinist or trumpet player, that’s fine. They’ve had centuries to establish what it takes to mold a great musician on their instruments and have established tried and true paths to mastering the core repertoire of their instruments. But what we do is still so brand new, still developing! Let’s face it, we’re a much more fluid, and to me, exciting area than any other in modern music, except electronic music composition. As Cage put it so well, we are the all-sound music of the future. I went to a great drum set clinic session a year or two ago at PASIC where the presenter just called out so many people in the room. He basically stated (to paraphrase), if you’re still teaching drum set from the same three tired drum method texts you grew up with, you’re not doing your students any favors. Ouch, but true…and yes, I’ve fallen into that trap, as well. Which is why I believe that performing is so key to teaching. I have to stay on top of what my students need to know now to make it, not what they needed to know in 1956 or 1996; and that means staying abreast of the latest repertoire as well as the latest method texts, recordings, etc.
Has teaching made you a better musician?
Without a doubt. I’m forced to codify and defend my approaches to technique, musicality, and goal-setting on a daily basis as an educator. The danger of do as I say, not as I do is very real at the university level, and I try very hard to model what I say for my students in my own performances, rehearsals, and daily routines. The constant reminder that my students are watching, and are learning from how I handle something as big as a concerto performance, to as small as putting back instruments in their proper places in the studio, forces me to be the best I can as both an educator and an artist. As a professor, you can have up to 25 students watching your every move. It’s sobering.
What motivates you to compose?
I compose primarily out of necessity. I first began exploring composition when I started playing in the Abilene Christian University Steel Drum Band as an undergrad. This was back in the day when there were no published steelband arrangements and no internet. Everything we played was either arranged by our director (Dr. Allen Teel) or was a photocopy, of a photocopy, of a photocopy from some other steel band director’s arrangements. So, I received permission from Dr. Teel to start writing arrangements and even original compositions for the ensemble. This carried on through graduate school at both Hartt and UK. As a side note, I can’t help but think about how it is the best of times and the worst of times for aspiring young composers today. Anyone can write anything and post, share, and sell it on the internet. That’s great! But there’s very little reason for your average ensemble director to ever ask an unqualified student to hey, go write us something. The power of the internet is so incredible, and with it the easy availability of so many great published materials. There’s no room for trial, error, and growth anymore unless an ensemble director is willing to take a chance. Back in the day, it was practically a necessity to have your students composing (ala a young Warren Benson). But today, it’s almost an annoyance because there’s so much easy access to so much great material by tried and true composers. I have to constantly remind myself to encourage my students to take those risks and then I have to be willing to live with the consequences if they’re going to grow, just like I did. Today, I have over 150+ original arrangements and compositions for everything ranging from steelbands, to salsa ensembles, to drumlines, to percussion ensembles sitting on my laptop that I use with my students when the need arises. I’m not someone who goes out of their way to compose, but I’m more than happy to boot-up Finale when needed in order to fill in a gap in my students’ growth and development.
Would you change anything about how you prepared for your career?
That’s a difficult question to answer. I wish in many ways that I’d spent more time on certain instruments, but that would have meant less time on others that have gotten me to where I am today. All I know is, I was very fortunate to have some incredible mentors along the way who gave me great advice, and with people like that in your corner, it’s hard to go wrong.
What words of wisdom would you share with students?
Don’t be afraid to take a chance. Take every opportunity you can to try something new: be it attending a masterclass, going to a concert, or asking to take a few side lessons with an artist you admire. So much of my career has been due to what I’ve heard called self-created luck. I was in the right place, at the right time, with the right tool set, and I had the ability and willingness to say yes. I’m constantly amazed at how many students refuse to take chances. To end on another great quote from the master, Jim Campbell: It’s a teacher’s job to create opportunities. It’s a student’s job to recognize them.
