Yun Ju (Alice) Pan
Dr. Yun Ju Pan is an award-winning performer and educator who has performed with many notable groups and artists such as Ju Percussion Group, The New Morse Code, Gordon Stout, and Gwen Dease and many others. She an active performer, winning the 2016 Australia Marimba Competition, 2016 Brownsville Marimba Competition and third place in the 2013 PASIC Vibraphone Solo Competition. Dr. Pan has also performed in several music festivals such as the Percussive Arts Society International Convention, Australia Percussion Gala concert, Taiwan International Wind and Percussion Festival, and the McCormick Marimba Festival. Alongside performance, Dr. Pan is a well-rounded educator, leading clinics and masterclasses in universities and public schools. She is currently teaching as an adjunct percussion instructor at University of North Alabama alongside educator Dr. Tracy Wiggins.
About the Performance Piece
New Music / Research presents 2020: Music for Percussion and Voice – Lifesongs: songs for singing marimbist
Pan is a percussionist who has a passion for singing. One of the highlights of her collection is “Lifesongs” by Josh Oxford. This piece has the guise of pop music, built on classical harmony and contemporary rhythmic language that shows off Pan’s ability to work with complex rhythms. This piece moves away from many quirky, complex, and oddly intricate pieces for percussion and voice, and instead aims itself to the non-musician. Its accessibility lies in its straightforwardness, no less complex than other pieces, but opens the boundaries of percussion music to those who are not a member of our world. The challenge for the percussionist is to be able to sing and play together cohesively. Not just achieving, but even exceeding the expectations of the singer-songwriter today, proving that even the elusive sounds of percussion instruments have a place for everyone’s ears.