Nathan Coles
- Feb 22
- 3 min read

2022 Percussion Ensemble Showcase Competition

Updated: Apr 1

Black Swamp Percussion's nation wide percussion competition is back! Available to High School and College Students.

The 2022 Percussion Ensemble Showcase is a United States percussion competition for High School percussion ensembles (small and large), College multi-percussion soloists, and High School/College snare drum soloists.

Here's everything you need to know about this year's competition.

1) A Brief History of the Showcase

2) Divisions of the Competition

3) Rules of the Competition

4) The Prizes

A Brief History of the Showcase

The first iteration of the showcase competition was conceived over ten years ago in 2009, by Black Swamp Percussion Educator, Dan Smithiger. Inspired by the Arizona PAS Competition during that time, Dan expressed an interest in producing a nation wide percussion ensemble competition judged by Black Swamp Artists and Educators - some of the first of which included; Christopher Deane, Joe Gramely, Todd Meehan, Doug Perkins, Morris Palter, and even our very own Tim Church.

The competition not only gave students a performance opportunity but a chance to obtain important educational aspects as well. Every ensemble that submits to the competition receives valuable feedback from the judges on their performances.

Tim Church has a conversation with Dan about the origins of the Percussion Ensemble Showcase Competition on episode 14 of the Black Swamp Podcast back in 2020 if you want to hear more about how the competition got its start.

Divisions of the Competition

Since the start of the competition in 2009, we have seen an exponential increase in the number of ensembles that submit to the showcase. That number has only grown since the expansion of the college multi-percussion solo division, and the snare drum solo division (launched in 2020). Below are details and requirements for each division.

Ensemble Division

Available to High Schools within the United States.

Small Ensemble: 2-7 performers
Large Ensemble: 7+ performers
Performance length no more than 10 minutes

Judges

Dan Smithiger (BSP Educator & Event Coordinator)
Ivan Trevino (BSP Artist)

Deadlines

Entry Deadline: 4/30/22
Winners Announcement: 5/16/22

Multi-Percussion Solo Division

Available to College Students within the United States.

Selected piece must be a multi-percussion solo.
Solo performed without accompaniment.
May include non-pitched instruments and keyboard instruments.
Performance length of 5-15 minutes.

Judges

Joe W. Moore III (BSP Educator)
Gloria Yehilevsky (BSP Concert Artist)

Deadlines

Entry Deadline: 5/20/22
Winners Announcement: 5/30/22

Snare Drum Solo Division

Available to High School and College (undergrad or graduate) Students within the United States.

Selected pieces must be a snare drum solo without accompaniment.
Pieces may include the use of tape electronics.
Only one entry per individual is eligible.
Performance date between February 1st and May 20th, 2022.
Video needs to reflect a complete (and unedited) performance of the selected piece.

Judges

Ryun Louie (BSP Ensemble Endorser)
Trevor Barroero (BSP Concert Artist)

Deadlines

Entry Deadline: 5/20/22
Winners Announcement: 5/30/22

Rules of the Competition

Alright, so you're ready to submit to the showcase competition. But what are the rules?

Entry Requirements

Participants must be students of a US High School or College
Only one entry per school or individual is eligible.
Ensemble may be conducted by a director, but may not include the director as a performer.
Participants must complete and submit an online entry form linked here.

Prior to submitting the form, submissions must be uploaded to YouTube as a public or unlisted video. A link to the entry video needs to be shared on the entry form for your application to be accepted Submit your entry fee by check, credit card or PayPal for the amount indicated on the application form. All entry fees must be postmarked the deadline dates indicated on your application for eligibility. The video does not have to be a public or concert performance, simply an unedited video recording of the piece performed by the participants.

How Your Performance is Graded An adjudication grading system similar to Rubric Evaluation will be used. Judge's scores will be averaged for a final score. Judges comments will be emailed to all participants after results have been calculated.

Although video creativity will not influence the judge's placements, audio/video quality certainly will! Make sure your video can be clearly heard in order to be fairly judged against other competing entries.

Questions can be directed to Daniel Smithiger, Showcase Coordinator, at dsmithi@siue.edu