About

Dr. Don N. Parker - Percussion

Dr. Don N. Parker is Associate Professor of Music/Percussion and Music Coordinator at Fayetteville State University. Since 2003, Don has served as principal timpanist for three years and currently serves as principal percussionist with the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra. In 2006 he was the featured soloist performing the DePonte Marimba Concertino. He has performed on three FSO CD releases and in 2008 toured Amman, Jordan with the FSO presenting performances and clinics.

Dr. Parker has appeared as a guest artist at the Augustana College Jazz Festival, The University of Nebraska at Omaha Jazz Festival, DePauw University, Greenville College, The University of Texas at San Antonio, and the Austin Jazz and Arts Festival. Don has performed with the African American Jazz Caucus (AAJC) Big Band and served as a guest performer/adjudicator for the Columbia Basin College Jazz Unlimited Festival in Pasco, Washington with Bill Watrous and Jeff Clayton. While in St. Louis, Mo., Don performed with the modern American music group, Synchronia and the St. Louis Brass Band.

Don currently performs contemporary and traditional chamber literature with his trumpet/percussion duo, Double Take with his wife Dr. Sheryl Linch-Parker and his jazz vibes and piano arrangements with the Haydon/Parker Duo with Dr Geoff Haydon (Georgia State University). In 2009, Double Take performed at the 10th Annual Tarleton State University Percussion Festival in Stephenville, Texas and at the Eastern North Carolina Day of Percussion. Double Take's second CD "Atmospheres" released in 2008 features commissioned works by Howard Buss and William Cahn. The Haydon/Parker Duo, which has a CD on the ACA Digital Recording Label, entitled "My Foolish Heart" is scheduled to record a second CD scheduled for late 2012 release featuring an expanded trio format. He also performs regularly with the Fayetteville Jazz Orchestra, and FSU Summer Opera Orchestra. Don contributed a teacher resource guide to "Teaching Music through Performance in Jazz " complied and edited by Richard Miles and Ronald Carter released in 2007 through GIA Publications.

Dr. Parker has served as a percussion clinician in South Dakota, Wyoming, Kansas, Iowa, Tennessee, Nebraska, Illinois, Indiana, Arkansas, Maryland, Washington D.C., Virginia, Texas, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, West Indies (Grenada), and Toronto, Canada. He has recently presented at State Music Conferences (New Jersey, Nebraska, and North Carolina) and Days of Percussion (Mississippi, North Carolina, South Dakota, and Missouri). He has served as host and clinician for North Carolina Day of Percussion 2007.

Regionally he has presented numerous clinics for area schools at the elementary, middle and high schools as well as faculty development workshops for Cumberland County Schools and FSO Educational Outreach Programs. In 2011, he served as the guest conductor for The HBCU-NBDC All-Star Percussion Ensemble in Atlanta, Georgia, Director/Percussion Instructor for the Music Camps @FSU, and Percussion Instructor at the H.O.P.E. Summer Percussion Camp at the University of Louisville in Kentucky.

Prior to his appointment at Fayetteville State University, he also held positions at the University of Missouri - St. Louis, Chadron State College (Nebraska) and the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. His early foundation in percussion was established with his matriculation through the D.C. Youth Orchestra Program, which was accompanied by private instruction and a variety of performance opportunities nationally and internationally. Don has pursued additional instruction at Eastern Illinois University, Full Sail Recording Workshop, UNC Greeley Technology Workshop, and Berklee College of Music Summer Programs. The following teachers/performers influenced his development as a musician and a percussionist: Roberta Washington, Thomas Akins (former timpanist Indianapolis Symphony), Steve Hanna, Randy Salman (Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orch.), George Frock, Johnny Lee Lane (Director of Remo Education), Tim Adams (Univ. of Georgia), Craig Williams (Catherine Dunham Dance Troupe), Harold McMillan, Marvin Sparks Jr., and Ricky Burkhead (Ole Miss).

Dr. Parker holds active membership in PAS, NACWPI, MENC, JEN (Jazz Education Network), and American Federation of Musicians. He currently is serving a second term as a board member for Fayetteville/Cumberland County Arts Council, and 2nd year as Vice-President of the NC Percussive Arts Society State Chapter. Don has a B.M. in Performance and Music Business from DePauw University, M.M. and a D.M.A. in Percussion Performance from the University of Texas at Austin. Many of the activities Don has undertaken have been supported by his endorsements from Sabian Cymbals, Mapex Drums, Mike Balter Mallets, Calato Regal Tip Sticks, Remo World Percussion, LP Music Group, and Jupiter/Majestic Mallet Instruments. For more information visit: www.parkerlinchmusic.com.

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Dr. Sheryl Linch-Parker currently serves as Associate Professor of Music (Trumpet and Music Education) at Fayetteville State University. Prior to her appointment at FSU, she taught as a band director for the Hazelwood Public Schools (St. Louis, MO.) where she directed five elementary bands, Chadron State College (Music Education Specialist/Trumpet), and the Callaway School District in Nebraska as K-12 Band Director. Dr Linch-Parker maintains an active private studio for trumpet and performs with the Fayetteville Jazz Orchestra, Highland Brass Quintet, Snyder Baptist Church Orchestra, and Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra since 2003 as a section and principal player. She performed on three FSO CDs, the "50th Anniversary" concert in 2006, the "Carmina Burana" performance in 2007, and "Patriotic Favorites" in 2009.

In the summer of 2010, she was invited to perform for the "Festival of Trumpets" at the International Trumpet Guild Conference in Sydney Australia. In addition, she presented clinics and performances with her trumpet/percussion duo, Double Take at Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas and UNC-Pembroke with the recent release of Double Take's 2nd CD, "Atmospheres" in 2008. The CD features commissioned works for Double Take written by Howard Buss and William Cahn.

As an educator, Dr. Sheryl Linch-Parker has served as a professional presenter at the local, state and national levels in the areas of music education and research. She has presented at the NASM 81st Annual Meeting in Boston in the fall 2005 and also published an article entitled "Improving Learning and Reducing Costs: New Models for Distance Learning and Online Courses" in their 2006 proceedings. She has presented four clinics /workshops dealing with the growing musician and collaborations at the MENC North Central Division/Nebraska Music Educators Conference in November 2006. Dr. Linch-Parker has served as the trumpet instructor for the "Music Camps @ FSU" since 2009 and teaches trumpet for the Snyder Music Academy.

Dr. Linch-Parker has a B.A. in Music Education from The University of Nebraska at Kearney and a Master of Music in trumpet performance from The University of Arizona in Tucson. Dr. Linch-Parker holds a Doctorate in Music Education (D.M.E.) from the University of Northern Colorado at Greeley. She is also a Jupiter Performing Artist endorser.

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About Double Take

Formed in the fall of 1994, the chamber ensemble Double Take, Dr. Sheryl Linch-Parker on trumpet and Dr. Don Parker on percussion, provide a unique musical, cultural, and educational experience for audiences of all ages. With the exploration of different sound textures and colors, this ensemble has enticed its listeners with an intensity that reflects an honest approach towards music that all can understand and enjoy. Double Take has had the opportunity to presented workshops and recitals in Illinois, Texas, South Dakota, Colorado, Wyoming, Missouri, Washington D.C., and Nebraska. Most recently the ensemble has performed for the Mississippi Day of Percussion (2003) and FSU 2006-2007 Fine Arts Series, and was featured in clinic at the Nebraska Music Educators Conference in 2006. Double Take released a self-titled CD through PL Productions (DT001) in 2001 and will be recording a 2nd CD of commissioned pieces in the summer of 2007.

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Haydon/Parker Duo

The duo was formed to explore the forgotten traditional and contemporary jazz standards within the framework of the vibraphone and piano. By selecting and arranging tunes for this combination, Geoff Haydon, pianist and Don N. Parker, vibraphonist, create musical textures, which draw the audience into the listening experience. The duo has appeared at several universities and colleges in the Mid-West and the South and has made appearance at the Austin Jazz Festival in September 2001 to end their CD Release Tour of "My Foolish Heart" (ACA Digital JM 10004). The CD has received reviews by the Percussive Arts Society and the Austin Jazz Magazine.

Geoffrey Haydon

A native of Manassas, VA. Dr. Geoffrey Haydon has successfully bridged both classical and jazz styles of performance. He received his Bachelor of Music from the University of Richmond and studied three summers at the Aspen Music Festival. He received his Master of Music and Doctorate of Musical Arts degrees from the University of Texas at Austin where he studied with Nancy Garrett and Gregory Allen. Currently Dr. Haydon coordinates the piano faculty at Georgia State University in Atlanta where he teaches piano, jazz history and jazz theory. He is active as a classical and jazz soloist and is a member of the Haydon-Lyke Piano Duo, the American Music Trio, The Haydon/Parker Duo (jazz piano/vibes) and the Georgia State Faculty Jazztet. He has performed throughout the United States, in South America, Central America, and Europe. He has performed with well-known jazz artists such as Joe Henderson, Marvin Stamm, Nick Brignola, and Randy Brecker. In addition, Dr. Haydon is in demand as a clinician and adjudicator. He has numerous publications and arrangements with Warner Bros. Music and Stipes Publishing Company. He can also be heard on Cabin Fever, a jazz CD by the McLean-Haydon Jazz Quartet, which is available on the ACA Digital Label.

Don N. Parker

Don Parker, a native of Washington D.C., has been involved in total percussion playing in a variety of styles and genres. Over the years, Don has performed with artists such as Ellis Marsalis, Marchel Ivery, James Polk, Mark Whitfield, Ray Barretto, Oliver Lake, Buster Cooper, and Jeff Jarvis to name a few. Recently Don has appeared as a guest artist at the Augustana College Jazz Festival, The University of Nebraska at Omaha Jazz Festival, DePauw University, Greenville College, and the Austin Jazz and Arts Festival. Don has performed with the modern American music group out of St. Louis, Synchronia, which received 2000 ASCAP/Chamber Music America Award for adventurous programming. Don currently performs with the awarding winning, St. Louis Brass Band and with his trumpet/percussion duo, Double Take, which has released a self-titled CD through PL Productions (DT001). The CD has received favorable reviews by the Percussive Arts Society, the International Trumpet Guild, and NACWPI.

Don is the Assistant Professor of Music-Percussion at Fayetteville State University in North Carolina. After completing his B.M. in Performance and Music Business from DePauw University in Greencastle, IN., he completed his M.M. and a D.M.A. in Percussion Performance from the University of Texas in Austin. After the formal education, Don continues to pursue percussion studies with individuals such as Ndugu Chancler (USC) and Timothy Adams Jr. (Pittsburgh Symphony). Many of the activities Don has undertaken have been supported by his endorsements from Sabian Cymbals, Sonor Drums, Mike Balter Mallets, Calato Regal Tip Sticks, Remo World Percussion, Ross Mallet Instruments, Dynasty Marching Percussion, and LP Music Group.

To order your CD and/or to book the Haydon/Parker Duo for performances and workshops, contact:

Don N. Parker
910-476-1364
don@parkerlinchmusic.com

or

Geoff Haydon at (404) 377-6761

or

ACA Digital Recording Inc. at (404) 284-0948 or
www.blueskycd.com

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