The Southeastern Percussion Ensemble Symposium will once again take place at Lassiter High School, with performances held in the Lassiter Concert Hall on Friday and Saturday, April 24–25, 2026.

The purpose of the symposium is to encourage the growth of the percussion ensemble activity in a non-competitive environment. The Lassiter Concert Hall is a state-of-the-art acoustic venue, and the festival provides high-quality evaluation so percussion students and ensemble directors can learn, grow, and interact with some of the best college instructors and performers in the country.

This year’s evaluators and clinicians include:

• Michael Burritt – Professor of Percussion and Chair of Winds, Brass, and Percussion at the Eastman School of Music

• Lalo Davila – Professor of Music and Director of Percussion Studies at Middle Tennessee State University

• She-e Wu – Associate Professor of Music and Head of Percussion at Northwestern University

The symposium is sponsored by Mapex/Majestic Percussion, Music for All, and the Percussive Arts Society.

Performance times are assigned based on the timestamp of online registration. Fees are $275 for PAS group members and $400 for non-members, with Title I schools eligible to deduct $100 from either fee. For details on PAS group memberships, visit https://pas.org/group-membership/.

Slots fill very quickly—last year, all 22 ensemble spots were taken within two and a half minutes.

All large percussion equipment will be provided. Mapex Drums and Majestic Percussion will again supply stage instruments, including rosewood-bar xylophones and marimbas. Ensembles only need to bring accessories such as cymbals, sticks, mallets, and other small items. Since the focus of the symposium is education and performance—not equipment transport—our goal is to make participation as easy as possible. A fully equipped clinic room will also allow for hands-on, interactive sessions with the clinicians.

We encourage all groups to stay for the entire weekend to support every performing ensemble and to help create a positive, appreciative audience for all students. Quality performance opportunities for percussion ensembles can be hard to find, and we aim to provide an event your students will look forward to year after year.

Special features this year include:

• Friday evening performance by The Atlanta Youth Percussion Ensemble and The Atlanta Percussion Ensemble

• Saturday lunch performance by the Atlanta Steel Collective Steel Drum Band

Solo Competition

New for this year’s symposium is a solo competition open to both middle and high school students. Categories include Concert Snare Drum, Keyboard (marimba, vibraphone, xylophone), and Timpani.

Middle school solos will take place on Saturday morning, with high school solos scheduled for the afternoon. Results will be announced that evening.

The solo competition fee is $30 for PAS members and $35 for non-members. Students may register for the solo competition even if their school is not participating in the ensemble event.

Judges for the solo competition include:
Dr. Kellen King – Georgia State University, Reinhardt University
John Lawless – Kennesaw State University, Atlanta Opera

Prizes will be awarded to category winners.