Sean Dowgray performs with Fairbanks Symphony Orchestra

Sean Dowgray, instructor of percussion in the UAF Music Department, will perform John Corgiliano’s percussion concerto, “Conjurer,” with the Fairbanks Symphony Orchestra this Sunday, Feb. 13. His performance is part of the Symphony Orchestra’s event, “Concerto Competition Winner’s Concert,” which will showcase the winners of the Concerto Competition that took place in January 2022. 

Tickets are still available, and audience members will be required to wear masks for the performance.

Last semester, Dowgray performed at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC). The conference, held last year in Indianapolis and online, is the largest percussive convention in the world and attracts percussionists, drummers, and other musicians from around the globe. 

At PASIC, Dowgray performed a perccussive solo entitled "Lengua Encubierto" (Covert Language) by Lewis Nielsen. The piece sets Roque Dalton’s poem, “Sobre Nuestra Moral Poética” (“Concerning Our Poetic Morality”) to a small arrangement of percussion instruments including triangles, almglocken, woodblocks, tin can, cooking pan, bongos, kick drum, and the autoharp. The program note from PASIC describes the piece as “an urgent rhythmic stuttering,” where “words are initially imperceptible as vocalizations of strangled consonants” and “blend with the sharp attacks, quick scrapes, and rubbing of the percussion instruments. Consonants form into words, and the text of Dalton's poem appears as fragmented melodies emerge. The autoharp, initially treated percussively via rubbing and scraping, transforms its material to that of pitch and harmony by way of plucking and strumming. Dalton's poem⏤at first veiled by a percussive nature⏤is revealed through the connection of melodic line, development of harmony, and outright song in the latter portion.)”

Dowgray’s performance was part of PASIC’s Focus Day, which spotlighted performers and compositions that blend percussion play with speaking, singing, and/or vocal sounds. "Lengua Encubierto" blends these exact elements together, and Dowgray says that it is rarely performed due to its technical sophistication: “In 'Lengua Encubierto,' both the instruments and the performer are pushed to their ostensible limits.” 

The Percussive Arts Society is the world's largest percussion organization and the central source for information and networking for percussionists and drummers of all ages. Their annual convention is also the world’s largest for the study and advancement of the percussive art form, and highlights some of the cutting edge efforts happening in percussive music today, of which both Dowgray and UAF music are at the forefront.

Outside of his performances, Dowgray will also be leading a two-day instructional event in March. The event, “Groove Method,” will be held on March 12-13, 2022, and offers students of all ages and backgrounds the opportunity to learn in-depth tips, tricks, practices, and approaches to drumming styles. Each day consists of three sessions, spanning genres including rock, pop, electronic, funk, jazz, latin, and more. Sessions run 2-7:30 p.m. both days. Students with All-Access or Day Passes will also receive a 30-minute, one-on-one lesson with Dowgray.

To register for “Groove Method,” students must contact Dowgray at sdowgray@alaska.edu, and include their name, age, musical experience, and enrollment type (all-access, day pass, individual session). For more information, contact Dowgray.