Faculty members of the department of fine and performing arts came together in a four-member recital to honor “The History of Percussion” on Monday, Oct. 4, in the Pottle Music Building Auditorium.

The recital was opened by percussion professors Kevin Estoque and Dr. Guy Gauthreaux and was later accompanied on piano by Dr. David Evenson and Director of Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts Dr. Kenneth Boulton.

Throughout the first half of the program, Estoque and Gauthreaux performed alone, with Evenson and Boulton accompanying them after the program’s intermission.

The first piece performed was “The March for Two Pairs of Kettledrums,” written by Andre Danican and Jacques Danican Philidor in 1685, which was performed in the presence of King Louis XIV.

The second set played was titled “The History of American Drums,” and contained traditional songs such as the American tune “Downfall of Paris,” which was played on a gut snare with a leather sling, suiting the 18th century.

Another traditional piece played was “Connecticut Halftime,” which was performed on a more modern snare, a Leedy, with single-tension rods. The final song of the set was the second movement from “American Suite.” It was written in 1989 by Gauthreaux and performed on a Black Swamp snare drum with double-tension rods. The piece represents a melding of the earlier snare styles with contemporary styles.

The final piece performed before intermission was not only the newest of the bunch, but perhaps the most well-received by the audience. “Digga-Digga Digga-Digga Digga-Digga Digga-Digga Deegot,” written in 1997 by David Jarvis, is based on rock drumming and was first performed at Humbolt State University in California. This piece led the audience into the  intermission, awaiting the major sonata of the recital.

After intermission, all four musicians stepped onstage and began to perform Bela Bartok’s “Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion,” an advanced piece of music.

“It’s notoriously hard,” said Evenson, department head of fine and performing arts. “The rhythmic difficulties are tough, and somehow the physical patterns don’t always ‘lie well’ in the hand. I learned it in graduate school a zillion years ago and have performed it several times since. Still, every time is like the first.”

The sonata, which lasted about 15 minutes, required all four men to perform at a high level, with Estoque at some times playing two instruments at once.

Overall, the crowd’s reaction to the recital was quite positive.

“I liked it,” said junior Matthew Lee. “I thought the performance went over well, much better than I expected.”

The recital was also enjoyable for musicians in the audience.

“I’m a percussionist myself, and to watch them, both of whom are instructors and sort of my mentors, was pretty awesome,” said music senior Jonathan Thomas. “I was really impressed, and enjoyed the show.”