Wiley Sykes, percussionist
John Beck, percussionist
Eric Willie, percussionist
Chelsea Tipton, Principal Guest Conductor

Mason – Toast of the Town
Debussy – Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun
Peck – Glory and Grandeur
Dvorak – Symphony No. 7

Immerse yourself in Glory and Grandeur with Greensboro Symphony percussionists Wiley Sykes, John Beck, and Eric Willie. The program includes Mason’s lively Toast of the Town, Debussy’s dreamy Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, Peck’s dynamic Glory and Grandeur, and the majestic Dvorak Symphony No. 7

About the guest artists:

Wiley Sykes is the Greensboro Symphony’s principal percussionist, concurrently serving as the percussionist with the Winston-Salem Symphony and with the Philidor Percussion Group. He teaches on the music faculty of Guilford College, and for the past 23 summers he has been a member of the prestigious Grand Teton Music Festival orchestra, whose musicians represent the finest orchestra in the US, Canada, Europe, and Asia.

John R. Beck is Professor of Percussion at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and also teaches at Wake Forest University. He is the principal percussionist of the Winston-Salem Symphony and is a member of the Greensboro Symphony, Brass Band of Battle Creek, and the Philidor Percussion Group. A former member of the United States Marine Band, for 10 years he performed regularly with the National and Baltimore Symphonies, Washington and Baltimore Operas, and the Theater Chamber Players of the Kennedy Center. Beck has toured the United States as a xylophone soloist with the Jack Daniel’s Silver Cornet Band, Brass Band of Battle Creek, and the New Sousa Band. John is a Past President of the Percussive Arts Society and presents clinics endorsing Yamaha percussion instruments, Zildjian cymbals, Innovative mallets, and is a Remo Endorsed Drum Circle Facilitator in the Health and Wellness community.

Eric Willie has appeared at leading universities and music festivals at fourteen Percussive Arts Society International Conventions (PASIC), three Midwest Clinics, as well as numerous Days of Percussion and music educator conventions. As a 2022 Fulbright Scholar in Recife, Pernambuco, Eric immersed himself in the tradition of Maracatu, performing with the group Quebra Baque while conducting research on the genre. During this time, he served as a Regency Professor at the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE) and was the Artistic Director of the LapTop Percussion Ensemble for the V Encontro Percussivo (Fifth Percussion Meeting). Currently, Eric is Professor of Percussion Studies at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He and his wife, Rebecca, reside in Greensboro with their two children.