Dave Hall is Associate Professor of percussion. At his previous academic appointment and under his direction, the University of Nebraska Percussion Ensemble was selected to perform a showcase concert at PASIC in both 2019 and 2016 as winners of the Percussive Arts Society International Percussion Ensemble Competition. Besides directing the UNL Percussion Ensemble, Dr. Hall established and directed Nebraska Steel, the first university steel band in the state. Before his appointment in Lincoln Dave was a percussion instructor at Texas Christian University (TCU) and taught lessons, ensembles and courses at the University of North Texas as a teaching fellow.
He regularly performs as a marimba and multi-percussion soloist, collaborative chamber musician (especially in contemporary classical settings), jazz drummer, timpanist, orchestral percussionist, steel pan player, and improviser – favoring an eclectic and omnivorous approach to percussion and the arts. In addition to regular engagements in the contiguous United States, he has performed abroad in Spain, Puerto Rico, Belgium, France, Italy, and at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland.
Dave is an active composer, published by C. Alan Publications. His works for percussion have been commissioned, performed, and recorded around the world. His music has been called “the aural equivalent of a Dali painting” (New York Concert Review). His compositions are regularly performed at notable venues including the Midwest Clinic, Percussive Arts Society International Convention, National Conference on Percussion Pedagogy, and at major concert halls and performing arts centers in the United States and abroad. He is regularly involved nationally and internationally as an adjudicator and clinician for concert and marching percussion. In the summer of 2019, he joined the staff of the Bluecoats (Drum Corps International) as Associate Music Ensemble Coordinator.
Dr. Hall has earned degrees in percussion performance from the University of North Texas (DMA), TCU (MM), and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (BM). He is an endorsing artist for Innovative Percussion sticks and mallets, Pearl/Adams concert percussion, Zildjian cymbals, Remo drumheads, and is a member of the Black Swamp Percussion Educator Network.
