Mount Lebanon Percussion - Ensembles

Ensembles

• Senior Concert Ensemble - Comprising students grades 10-12, the concert ensemble is the nucleus of both the fall and spring concert series. The ensemble is under the direction of Richard T. Minnotte, and assisted by Thomas A. Earley and Subha Das. Performances include the Holiday Bells, Mallets and Drums concert series, the "Evening of Percussion" concert series, and other performances throughout the city of Pittsburgh. In addition, the ensemble travels to performance sites across America to compete in various competitions and adjudications. The concert ensemble has received first place and superior ratings in such competitions.
• Drumline - Directed by Jason Miller and Thomas Earley, the Drumline is part of the Mount Lebanon Marching Band. The instrumentation for the Drumline consists of 5-8 snare drums, 4-5 tenor drums, 5 bass drums and 5-8 cymbals. As of 2006, staff includes: Thomas Earley - Drumline director; Jason Miller - Drumline director and snare drum tech; Rick Laus - bass drum tech; Alan Phear - tenor drum tech; Jeremy DeLuca - cymbal tech. Performances with the Marching Band includes football games, band festivals and parades. As a solo unit, the drumline performs their cadence set, an approximately five-minute song comprising several short drum cadences, at Friday night home football games and other community events. The cadence set is known for the Drumline's use of visuals, most notably a stick toss across the snare line. In 2000, for one performance only, two members of the cymbal line did a cymbal toss to compliment the snare line stick toss.
• Percussion Front - Nicknamed "the pit", the percussion front is another facet of the Mount Lebanon Marching Band. The percussion front is directed by Jeremy DeLuca and consists of multiple keyboards (marimbas, xylophones, vibraphone, glockenspiel), a wide variety of drums including bass drum, concert toms, snare drum, congas, bongos and various percussion accessory instruments. Performance opportunities include Marching Band events, acting as the honor guard for parades. Additionally, the percussion front performs in conjunction with the Drumline for a percussion feature presented at several football games and other public venues. The feature for the 2011-2012 year was Starfish.
• Freshmen Ensemble - Created in 2002, the Freshmen Ensemble (formally known as the Training Ensemble) gives students in grade 9, as well as first year players, the opportunity to play lead parts in an environment conducive to learning. Directed by Associate Director Subha Das, the Freshmen Ensemble exclusively performs at the Evening of Percussion and "Holiday Bells, Mallets and Drums" concert series. The ensemble practices multiple selections and performs them at each of the multitude of concerts.
• Brazilian Ensemble - Under the direction of Subha Das, the Brazilian Ensemble is one of four specialty ensembles that perform during the Evening of Percussion concert series. The ensemble gives students an opportunity to practice and perform music styled from Brazil, a country rich in distinct rhythm and melodies. Instrumentation includes the normal keyboard percussion, along with traditional Brazilian accessories such as the surdo, pandeiro, tamborim and repenique. The ensemble was created in 2002 and has played selections from Ney Rosauro, a famous Brazilian percussionist and composer out of the University of Miami. More recently, the group began playing rhythms influenced by Marcus Santos, a distinguished Brazilian percussionist and friend of Subha Das.
• African Ensemble - Premiered in 1998, the African Ensemble has been under the direction of Rick Laus (1998–2005) and Dan Muenier (2005–Present). Students learn the traditional West African techniques, rhythms, styles and teaching methods in the African Ensemble, particularly from the country of Guinea. The African Ensemble's instruments consist of djembes, dununs and voice. About 10-12 students each year participate in the African Ensemble, and performance opportunities include the Evening of Percussion concerts as part of the series, as well as several community events as a solo unit.
• Drumset Ensemble - A facet of the Spring Percussion Ensemble, the Drumset Ensemble performs only at the Evening of Percussion concert series in May. The staff selects 4-6 students in the ensemble's February auditions. The Drumset Ensemble rehearses for a performance which includes choreographed lights, a smoke machine and solos by each of the groups members.
• Keyboard Ensemble - The Keyboard Ensemble comprises the 4-6 best mallet percussion players in the program. They are invited to joined based on their departmental audition and staff recommendation. Under the guidance of Subha Das, the ensemble is a self-directed group. Performances include the winter and spring concert series and several solo events, such as the introductory group for the Pittsburgh Symphony's Holiday Pop's concert.
• 8th Grade Ensemble - Including students from grade 8, the 8th Grade Ensemble gives students an opportunity to play in the percussion ensemble setting before entering the senior ensemble.
• Middle School Honors Ensemble - This ensemble gives students in grades 6-7 the experience of playing in percussion ensemble.
• Elementary School Honors Ensemble - The Elementary Honors Ensemble introduces percussion ensemble to elementary students.