WPG 2024 COACHES

Michael Burritt (USA)

Paul J. Burgett Distinguished Professorship, Professor of Percussion, Eastman School of Music Having performed in four continents and more than forty states, Michael Burritt is one of his generation's most accomplished percussionists. He is in frequent demand performing concert tours and master classes throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, Australia and Canada. Mr. Burritt has been soloist with the United States Air Force Band, Dallas Wind Symphony, Omaha Symphony, Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, Richmond Symphony Orchestra, Nexus, Third Coast Percussion, Ju Percussion Group (Taiwan), Percussion Art Quartet (Germany) and the Amores Percussion Group (Spain). Mr. Burritt has three solo as well as numerous chamber recordings. In 2018 he recorded his Home Trilogy with the world renown percussion group Nexus and is soon to release a new recording of solo and chamber works by Alejandro Viñao with the Grammy Award winning Third Coast Percussion. Burritt just recently premiered Fast Forward, a new chamber concerto written expressly for him by Pulitzer Prize winning Composer Joseph Schwantner.

He has been a featured artist at nine Percussive Arts Society International Conventions. In 1992 he presented his New York solo debut in Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall and in 1998 performed his London debut in the Purcell Room at Queen Elizabeth Hall. Mr. Burritt has extensive chamber and orchestral experience and has performed with the Chicago Chamber Musicians, The Chicago Symphony, Nexus, Third Coast Percussion and The Peninsula Music Festival Orchestra.

Mr. Burritt is also active as a composer, with three concertos to his credit as well as numerous solo and chamber works for marimba and percussion. His works for solo marimba have become standard repertoire for the instrument and are frequently required repertoire on international competitions. Commissions include The World Marimba Competition in Stuttgart Germany, The Paris International Marimba Competition, Nexus and Paris Percussion Group. Zildjian recently commissioned Burritt to compose a work in celebration of the company’s 400-years anniversary in 2023. Mr. Burritt is published with Keyboard Percussion Publications, C. Alan, Masters Music and Innovative Percussion. Burritt is also an artist/clinician and product design/consultant for Malletech, where he has developed his own line of marimba mallets and the MJB Signature Marimba. He is an artist/educational clinician with the Zildjian, Evans, and Yamaha Drums. Mr. Burritt is currently the President of Percussive Arts Society, was a member of the Board of Directors from 1996 – 2008. He was also a contributing editor for Percussive Notes Magazine from 1991 - 2006 and chairman of the PAS Keyboard Committee from 2004 – 2010.

Burritt currently holds the Paul J. Burgett Distinguished Professorship and is Professor of Percussion at The Eastman School of Music where he is only the third person in the history of the school to hold this position. Prior to his appointment at Eastman, Mr. Burritt was Professor of Percussion at Northwestern University from 1995-2008 where he developed a program of international distinction. Mr. Burritt received his Bachelor and Master of Music Degrees, as well as the prestigious Performers Certificate from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York.

Tim Palmer (United Kingdom) - WPG Artistic Director

Tim began his percussion studies at the Birmingham Conservatoire in 2000. He graduated with a 1st class BMus(Hons) and AdvPgdip with Distinction in 2006. Upon leaving the Conservatoire, he was awarded an Honorary Member of the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire (HonBC).

Tim is widely recognised for his activities as half of the Maraca2 Percussion Duo. Since it’s inception in 2003, the group have toured the globe and have headlined at many of the world's prestigious festivals. In 2006, the group opened and performed the opening ceremony of the European Indoor Athletics Championships in Birmingham. They have performed as an evening headline act as part of the PASIC (Percussive Arts Society International Convention) in Indianapolis, 2013 and have visited over 60 universities and conservatoires worldwide.

Maraca2 have recently become active as soloists with orchestras and have just performed their first Percussion Concerto with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, conducted by Gustavo Dudamel. They also appeared as soloists with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra conducted by Pascal Rophé in 2019.