Director of Percussion Studies, Associate Professor of Music
Applied Area(s):
Percussion
Ensemble(s):
Percussion Ensembles
Education
BM Northwestern University, Chicago, IL MM Cleveland Institute of Music, Cleveland, Ohio
Personal Highlights
Earl Yowell is the Director of Percussion Studies at Shenandoah Conservatory of Music. He was appointed an Associate Professor of Music in 2007. In addition to his teaching duties, he also directs the SU(PER)cussion Ensemble. In his two years at Shenandoah he has co-founded the Ear Candy Contemporary Music Concerts, and been a co-chair of the planning committee of the Performing Arts Live professional concert series. He also presently serves on the Symphonic Committee of the Percussive Arts Society. Prior to his appointment at Shenandoah, he performed for 19 seasons as the principal timpanist and percussionist of The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. He toured extensively with the SPCO throughout the United States, Europe and Asia. He was a featured soloist with internationally famous percussionist Evelyn Glennie in the SPCO performances of Andrzej Panufnik's "Concertino for Timpani, Percussion and Strings" and was timpani soloist in the Chamber Orchestra's premier performances of Johann Carl Christian Fischer's "Symphony for Eight Obbligato Timpani." He was also a regular performer with the Chamber Music Society of Minnesota where in 2001 he premiered, with cellist Yo Yo Ma, a concert of new chamber music works. Yowell has also played on two Grammy A ward-winning albums: "The Art of Arleen Auger" and Samuel Barber's " Anthony and Cleopatra." He has appeared on Minnesota Public Radio's "Saint Paul Sunday" and "Prairie Home Companion" programs. He has given clinics and master classes at colleges and universities throughout the United States. Yowell also spent several summers playing in the Spoleto Festival Orchestra. He formerly served on the percussion faculty of the University of Minnesota and from 1991 to 2000 he was a member of the percussion faculty at the McPhail Center for the Arts. He holds degrees from Northwestern University and the Cleveland Institute of Music. His principal teachers include Cloyd Duff, and Richard Weiner, (Cleveland Orchestra), Terry Applebaum and Glenn Steele, (Northwestern University.)