Dr. Glenn Schaft is Director of Percussion Studies and Associate Professor at Youngstown State University where he has served since 1996. He directs the YSU Percussion Ensemble, teaches private and group lessons, performs with the Faculty Jazz Group, serves as faculty advisor for the Youngstown Percussion Collective, and is founder of the SMARTS RHYTHMS Drum Circle Educational Outreach Program. He is an educational endorser with Zildjian, Remo, ProMark, and Black Swamp Percussion. His professional performance and teaching career began in 1975 and includes myriad idioms such as classical, new music, jazz, blues, rock, Brazilian, West African, and Afro-Cuban.
Glenn completed a sabbatical leave (spring 2008) to begin writing a drumset book. He produced and performed on the recent recording Dark Wood featuring the YSU Percussion Ensemble and the Youngstown Percussion Collective. While at YSU, Glenn has studied drumset with John Hollenbeck, John Riley, Lewis Nash, and drum circle facilitation with Christine Stevens at the Remo Health Rhythms Workshop. As a drumset artist Glenn performs with area musicians Teddy Pantelas, Cliff Barnes, Nathan Douds, Howie Smith, Wilber Krebs, Dave Kana, Dave Morgan, Kent Engelhardt, Dan Murphy, Jeff Grubbs, Joe Augustine, Frank Castellano, Steve Cipriano, John Reese, and many others. Glenn hosted the 2006 Percussive Arts Society Ohio Day of Percussion and three Afro-Cuban Arts Festivals at YSU.
Glenn assisted the Youngstown Percussion Collective in commissioning composer/percussionist John Hollenbeck to write Ziggurat (exterior) for saxophones and percussion. YPC presented the world premiere in 2007 at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City and Glenn produced the recording of it for the critically acclaimed 2008 John Hollenbeck release Rainbow Jimmies. Glenn commissioned and recorded Dave Morgan’s concerto Reactions for drumset and wind band with the YSU Wind Ensemble on the 2005 disc Spin Cycle;whichwas voted “winner” of the Downbeat magazine Outstanding College Wind Ensemble Recording Competition.
Glenn toured China in 2002 and 2004 with the YSU Faculty Jazz Group presenting clinics and concerts at numerous acclaimed Chinese universities in Beijing, Hangzhou, and Nanjing. He performed Lou Harrison’s percussion and dance compositions with the Youngstown Percussion Collective and the Cleveland Dance Theater Collective at the 2003 Percussive Arts Society International Convention and performed Edgard Vareses’ Ionization at the 2004 PAS Pennsylvania Day of Percussion with Peter Erskine and the Pittsburgh Symphony Percussion Section. Glenn has performed at the Skaneateles Chamber Music Festival in New York with Trichi Sankaran, with the Akron Symphony, Youngstown Symphony, Cleveland Jazz Orchestra, and numerous jazz artists including Paquito D’Rivera, Jim McNeely, Sean Jones, Marvin Stamm, Nick Brignola, Harold Danko, Chip Stephens, John Fedchok, Todd Coolman, Randy Johnston, James Weidman, Ralph Lalama, Dan Wall, Ernie Krivda, Howie Smith, Jeff Grubbs, Brad Goode, Hal Melia, Phil DeGreg, Pat Harbison, and Tony Leonardi.
Glenn has attended the Percussive Arts Society International Conventions, (PASIC) since 1982 and has served on the Drumset Committee, College Pedagogy Committee, among others. He has appeared as lecturer, clinician, and performer at various PASIC’s, including chairing a panel discussion “Teaching Drumset in the University Percussion Methods Class” at the 2003 PASIC and the 1999 PASIC “Drumset Educators Panel Discussion”.
Glenn has presented clinics at the University of Michigan, Indiana University, Purdue University, Eastern Illinois University, University of Akron, Ashland University, Kent State University, Southern Illinois University, Slippery Rock University, and the Interlochen School of the Arts. He has adjudicated MENC State Solo and Ensemble Events, Collegiate and High School Jazz Festivals, and Percussive Arts Society Days of Percussion in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Indiana.
Glenn lives in Poland, Ohio with his wife Sara, a professional violinist, and their twin boys Lewis and Karl. He was born in Berea, Ohio and began playing drums at an early age. He began formal lessons in fourth grade with Cleveland area jazz drummer and vibraphonist Harold Damas, with whom he studied for twelve years. Glenn began playing professionally in tenth grade with the Cleveland area band “The Fudales” and began teaching privately while at Berea High School. He also studied at the Baldwin-Wallace College Summer Music Clinics and the Ludwig Percussion Symposiums.
From 1978-92 he attended Baldwin-Wallace College; Conservatory, studied percussion with George Kiteley, and earned the Bachelor of Music in Percussion Performance. He was the Concerto Competition Winner in 1981, founded a vibe/marimba duo with Michael Wimberly, and freelanced in northeast Ohio with local bands, his own jazz quartet, and the Tommy Dorsey Band.
From 1982-83 Glenn attended Eastern Illinois University, studied percussion with Johnny Lee Lane, jazz composition with Alan Horney, served as jazz and percussion teaching assistant, and earned the Master of Arts in Percussion Performance. He performed at EIU and professionally with the Kevin Gainer Quartet, whom received the “Outstanding Combo” award at the Notre Dame Collegiate Jazz Festival and the Memphis State University Jazz Festival. After graduation, Glenn did an extensive US tour with the 1940’s Radio Hour Show based in Dallas, Texas, recorded with the Air Force Band of Mid America, and taught at the EIU Summer Jazz Camps.
From 1984-86 and 87-88 Glenn studied percussion at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana with Tom Siwe, ethnomusicology with Bruno Nettl, Charles Capwell, and Tom Torino, and earned the Doctor of Musical Arts in Percussion Performance and Literature. While at UI, Glenn was a member of Jazz Band I, the Graduate Percussion Group, and the New Music Ensemble. His doctoral thesis was entitled “Jazz Drumming 1960-65; Transcriptions and Analysis” and he was invited to lecture on this topic at the 1993 PASIC convention in Columbus. His recorded Scott Wyatt’s multiple percussion and tape solo Time Mark, various commercialjingles, and with singer/songwriter Nancy Hill. As a UI teaching assistant he taught jazz improvisation courses, taught at the UI Summer Youth Music Jazz and Percussion Camps, and was adjunct instructor at Parkland College. As a freelance artist he appeared as soloist with the Champaign-Urbana Symphony, performed with the Springfield Symphony, The Rovers - country-rock band, jazz artists such as Laurence Hobgood, Michael Stryker, Bryan Lynch, Michael Weiss, Brad Kirk, Jeff Helgeson, Kim Richmond, with pop artists Les Elgart, Larry Elgart, Red Skelton, Engelbert Humperdink, and performed at the International Association of Jazz Educator’s Convention in Detroit.
In 1986-87 Glenn accepted his first full-time university teaching position as tri-college visiting lecturer at Moorhead State University, North Dakota State University, and Concordia College where he taught applied percussion, percussion ensemble, percussion methods, and coached the NDSU drumline. He also served as principal timpani/percussion with the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony.
From 1988-94 Glenn lived in Lakewood, Ohio and worked as a freelance artist in northeast Ohio. He was a member of the world percussion quartet BATTU in-residence at Baldwin Wallace College. BATTU toured Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas and presented hundreds of performances and clinics for Young Audiences of Greater Cleveland. Glenn served as assistant principal and principal percussion with the award winning Cleveland Chamber Symphony, which included myriad world premieres, tours to the Ball State University New Music Festival and Harvard University, and seven recordings on the GM label.
During this time, Glenn also performed with Cleveland Ballet, Cleveland Opera, Ohio Chamber Orchestra, Colorado Music Festival in Boulder, Robert Page Singers, and appeared as soloist with the Baldwin-Wallace Conservatory Symphony Orchestra. He performed the Cleveland Opera’s world premiere of Stuart Copland’s opera Holy Blood and Crescent Moon and played with rock & roll legend Chuck Berry. Glenn completed two years of post-doctoral studies at Cleveland State University, studied contemporary music with Edwin London, served as personnel manager and principal percussion with the New Music Associates - a professional ensemble in-residence at CSU, and studied orchestral percussion with Tom Freer and Jay Burnham of the Cleveland Orchestra. Glenn taught at the Baldwin-Wallace College Preparatory Department, taught timpani and drumset for twelve years at the United States Percussion Camp, and taught world music at Cuyahoga Community College. In 1994 he was awarded a professional research grant from the Ohio Arts Council to study Afro-Cuban folkloric percussion with Roberto Vizcaino, Fermin Nani, and Santiago Nani at the National School of the Arts in Havana, Cuba.
From 1994-96 Glenn served as visiting assistant professor of percussion and jazz studies at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, where he taught applied percussion, percussion ensemble, percussion methods, jazz history, African Roots of American Music, directed big bands and combos, and founded an Afro-Cuban Folkloric Music course. He served as principal timpanist with the Lake Superior Chamber Orchestra, section percussion with the Duluth-Superior Symphony, founded a Latin-Jazz Group, and performed with jazz artists Anthony Cox, Harvey Weinapple, and Michael Pagan. Glenn received a UMD faculty research grant to study at the Berklee College of Music World Percussion Festival with Giovanni Hidalgo, Horacio Hernandez, Glen Velez, Jamie Haddad, Victor Mendoza, and Trichi Sankaran.