Percussion Ensemble

Bio: Dr. Andrew Eldridge is Coordinator of Percussion/Assistant Professor of Percussion at the University of Texas at Arlington. Prior to UTA, Andrew taught percussion and music theory at Texas Christian University, taught percussion at Texas Wesleyan University, and spent six years as a full-time Assistant Band Director/Percussion Director at high schools in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex. Andrew’s musical interests lie at the intersection of percussion and electronics. His recent musical experiments combine live-looping acoustic percussion in Ableton Live controlled with midi controllers. Andrew also enjoys creating music with mobile music set-ups that are accessible to the general music lover. At UTA, Andrew was awarded an Outstanding Teaching Award for Tenure-Track Faculty by the UTA College of Liberal Arts in 2021 and nominated twice for the President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. Under his direction, the UTA Percussion Ensemble was selected to present the New Literature Session at the 2017 Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC). The ensemble also performed Showcase Concerts at the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) annual convention in 2017 and 2023. The UTA Percussion Ensemble actively commissions talented composers for the UTA Percussion Commissioning Series, presenting world premieres to music by Nathan Daughtrey, Francisco Perez, and Michael Varner. Andrew actively serves as President for the Percussive Arts Society (PAS) Texas Chapter and as Co-Chair for the Percussion Ensemble Committee for PAS. He served a three-year term on the Lone Star Wind Orchestra Board of Directors and has been performing with the group as a section percussionist since 2009. Andrew presented clinics for the Midwest Clinic, Texas Music Educators Association, and the National Conference on Percussion Pedagogy. Most recently, he was selected to present a clinic called “The Tech-Forward Student: Technology Integration for the Applied Percussion Studio” at the 2023 National Conference on Percussion Pedagogy. An avid performer of new music, Andrew has individually commissioned and given the world premieres of music written for percussion by Dan Welcher, Kyle Kindred, Dwayne Rice, Martin Blessinger, Ryan George, and David Maslanka. Andrew presented recitals and performances at the College Music Society (CMS) National Conference, CMS Great Lakes Regional Conference, National Association of College Wind and Percussion Instructors, and the National Conference on Percussion Pedagogy. Additionally, he has performed as a concerto soloist with the Lone Star Wind Orchestra, Lone Star Youth Winds, and the UTA Wind Symphony. Andrew holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Percussion Performance from Texas Christian University, a Master of Music in Percussion Performance from the University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign, and a Bachelor of Science in Music Education from Texas A&M University – Commerce. He proudly endorses Yamaha Percussion, Vic Firth Sticks and Mallets, Remo Drumheads, and Zildjian Cymbals.