Apr 23, 2021, 10:23 AM
by
Percussive Arts Society
PAS is proud to announce our Hall of Fame Class of 2021: James Campbell, Valerie Naranjo, Layne Redmond, and Garwood Whaley.
“On behalf of the entire PAS community, I want to congratulate Valerie, Jim, Gar, and the friends, colleagues, and family of Layne. All four of our 2021 Hall of Fame inductees have made significant contributions to our field and I am thrilled they will be inducted into the PAS Hall of Fame this year. I look forward to celebrating their achievements in person at PASIC 2021."
— Joshua Simonds, PAS Executive Director
About the PAS Hall of Fame
The Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame was established in 1972 to recognize the contributions of the most highly regarded leaders in percussion performance, education, research, scholarship, administration, composition and the industry. Inductees demonstrate the highest ideals and professional integrity to their profession to bring about significant events, substantive improvements in the world of percussion, and the betterment of the profession through exemplary services or acts.
James Campbell
James Campbell has received worldwide recognition as a performer, pedagogue and author, and is a respected figure in the development of the contemporary percussion ensemble. He has toured extensively throughout The Americas, Europe, and Asia. Currently Provost’s Distinguished Service Professor of Music and Director of Percussion Studies at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, he also holds the positions of Principal Percussionist with the Lexington Philharmonic and drummer with the Kentucky Jazz Repertory Orchestra.
James also serves as Past-President of the Percussive Arts Society (PAS) and received their PAS Lifetime Achievement in Education Award in 2019, that recognizes the contributions of the most highly regarded leaders in percussion education.
Having worked with several DCI member drum and bugle corps, James is well known for his long past association with the internationally renowned Rosemont Cavaliers, with whom he served as principal instructor, arranger, and Program Coordinator. He was inducted into the Drum Corps International Hall of Fame in 2008. He served as Percussion Director for the McDonald’s All-American High School Band and was inducted into the Bands of America Hall of Fame, which recognizes individuals who have greatly impacted the nation's band activity and music education.
As a performer, James has appeared at the International Society of Music Education World Conference, International Patagonia Percussion Festival, Journèes de la Percussion, PercuSonidos Percussion Festival, Swedish Arts and Musicians Interest Organization, Australian Percussion Eisteddfod, MENC National In-Service Conference, Midwest Band & Orchestra Clinic, MusicFest Canada, All-Japan Band Clinic, The Music for All World Percussion Symposium, State MEA conventions across the country, and frequently appears as an artist at the Percussive Arts Society International Conventions (PASIC).
Among his award-winning works for percussion, James has published with Meredith Music, C. Alan Publications, Innovative Percussion, Row-Loff Productions, Bachovich Music Publications, Alfred Publications., and Tapspace Publications. James is an artist and endorsee for Innovative Percussion, Evans Drumheads, Meinl Percussion, and a member of the Black Swamp Percussion Educator Network. He is an Artist and Educator for the Avedis Zildjian Cymbal Company and a Performing Artist for Yamaha Corporation of America, Band & Orchestra Division, who recently presented him with their Legacy Award.
Valerie Naranjo
Valerie Naranjo began music study of her family’s Native American tradition, whence she met the marimba. She published, with her mentor Kakraba Lobi, several CDs, the written music series “West African Music for the Marimba Soloist”, and two concerto series, expanding international understanding of the solo gyil. In 1988 Ghanaian Chief Karbo lifted the ban on women gyil players so that Valerie could participate in their “KO bee nay” Traditional Festival, for which she won first prize in 1996, changing forever the perception of women on this instrument.
Valerie is the percussionist in the Saturday Night Live Band (26 years), plays and arranged for Broadway’s “The Lion King” and has performed with such artists as Paul Simon, Mick Jagger, David Byrne, and The Paul Winter Consort. She was Drum! Magazine’s “World Music Percussionist of the Year” 2005 & 2008, and “Mallet Player of the Year” 2012.
Performance venues include Lincoln Center; NY City Center; Carnegie Hall; The Kennedy Center; The White House; London’s Royal Festival Hall; The National Theatre (Ghana); Johanesburgh’s Civic Theatre; South Africa’s Grahamstown Festival; Scotland’s Edinburgh Festival; FESTIBO (Cote D’Ivoire); “Young Indians” (New Delhi), The 2010 Winter Olympics, and (several) PASIC performances.
Valerie is professor of West African percussion, song and dance at New York University, and is a member of NYU’s Global Institute for Advanced Studies. She endorses Pearl, Vic Firth, Zildjian, and Rhythm Tech instruments, and has three signature mallets from Encore Mallets. She is published by Bachovich Publications.
Layne Redmond
Layne Redmond (1952–2013) was a composer, drummer, author, filmmaker, and
educator who conducted pioneering research on frame drum history and possessed
virtuoso talents as a performer. By searching out the lost, early history of the frame
drum for her book, When the Drummers were Woman, Redmond uncovered an
important missing chapter not only in the history of percussion but in the history of
humanity — a chapter in which goddesses ruled besides gods and in which women's
spirituality, wisdom, and sexuality were affirmed through rituals involving
drumming. As a performer specializing on tambourine, Layne not only revived
ancient techniques, but she also created new ways of playing the instrument,
elevating its status from that of a percussion “toy” to an instrument worthy of
serious study. She shared that knowledge with others through private and group
teaching, video instruction, and instructional CDs. In particular, her example and
educational activities empowered many women to begin playing various types of
drums.
Garwood Whaley
Garwood Whaley received degrees from the Juilliard School where, as a scholarship student, he studied with Morris Goldenberg and Saul Goodman and The Catholic University of America where he earned both Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees while performing with the United States Army Band, “Pershing’s Own.” He is conductor emeritus of the Bishop Ireton Symphonic Wind Ensemble in Alexandria, Virginia, former adjunct professor of music at The Catholic University of America, two-term past president of the Percussive Arts Society, former curriculum coordinator of instrumental music for the Diocese of Arlington Schools and president and founder of Meredith Music Publications. As director of Meredith Music, he has been responsible for the publication of some of the most exceptional performance and educational materials available today. Gar wrote his first book in 1965 and since then has become one of the best known and best selling writers of percussion method books of all time with more than 500,000 copies of his books sold worldwide. He is the author of two of the most popular music method books of the past two decades, Basics in Rhythm and Primary Handbook for Snare Drum and has written many other best selling titles.
He is the recipient of numerous awards in the field of music and music education including the 2004 Alumni Achievement Award in the field of Education from Catholic University and the 2011 Midwest Clinic’s prestigious Music Industry Award. For five years he received a Grant in the Arts from the Washington Post Newspaper’s Educational Foundation for his "Commissioned Work and Composer-In-The School Project." In 1998, Bishop Ireton High School named its new performance hall the “Garwood Whaley Auditorium” in recognition of his long-term contributions to the school’s fine arts program. His charitable contributions both personal and corporate have provided thousands of dollars to individuals and organizations that promote music and provide music education opportunities. He lives with his wife Adele in Delray Beach, Florida. Gar’s hobbies include scuba diving and working out at Crossfit Delray Beach.