Blake Tyson is Associate Professor of Percussion at the
University of Central Arkansas. He received the DMA degree
from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York.
The faculty of the Eastman School also awarded him the
prestigious Performer's Certificate. He received the Master
of Music degree from Kent State University in Kent, Ohio,
and a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of
Alabama. His teachers include John Beck, Michael Burritt,
Larry Mathis, and Peggy Benkeser. He has also studied
derabucca with Halim El-Dabh and has devoted intensive
study to El-Dabh's unique notational system for the
instrument.
Blake has given recitals as both a solo and chamber artist
throughout the United States. He has performed and taught
in Ecuador as a guest of the National Conservatory, and
performed in Egypt at the Ministry of Culture in Cairo and
as a soloist with the Orchestra de Biblioteca Alexandrina.
He recently traveled to South Africa for a masterclass and
performance in Johannesburg, and to China for performances
at the Beijing Central Conservatory. He has performed as a
percussionist with many orchestras throughout the United
States, and is currently principal percussionist with the
Conway Symphony Orchestra. He has also performed at the
Percussive Arts Society International Convention, the
Northwest Percussion Festival, the Leigh Howard Stevens
Summer Marimba Seminar, and at numerous Days of Percussion
throughout the country. His compositions Anubis and
Vertical River are published by Keyboard Percussion
Publications.