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Assembling the world’s elite

Artistic Director: Tim Palmer (Maraca2 Percussion Duo)

ABOUT US

Download WPG 2019 Tour Review

Tim Palmer
(WPG Artistic Director, Maraca2 Percussion Duo)

Tim began his percussion studies at the Birmingham Conservatoire in 2000. He graduated with a 1st class BMus(Hons) and AdvPgdip with Distinction in 2006. Upon leaving the Conservatoire, he was awarded an Honorary Member of the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire (HonBC).

Tim is widely recognised for his activities as half of the Maraca2 Percussion Duo. Since it’s inception in 2003, the group have toured the globe and have headlined at many of the world's prestigious festivals. In 2006, the group opened and performed the opening ceremony of the European Indoor Athletics Championships in Birmingham. They have performed as an evening headline act as part of the PASIC (Percussive Arts Society International Convention) in Indianapolis, 2013 and have visited over 60 universities and conservatoires worldwide.

Maraca2 have recently become active as soloists with orchestras and have just performed their first Percussion Concerto with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, conducted by Gustavo Dudamel. They also appeared as soloists with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra conducted by Pascal Rophé in 2019.

Tim has played an active role in music around Birmingham and has performed with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group and the Royal Shakespeare Company. With these groups he has performed at the Barbican, BBC Proms (Royal Albert Hall), Symphony Hall, Birmingham and Snape Maltings. He was a percussion adjudicator for the BBC Young Musician of the Year, 2016 and is a former Percussive Arts Society UK Chapter President.

Following the success of Maraca2's World Percussion Group, Tim now steers the ensemble forward as Artistic Director.

Megan Campbell
(WPG Academy Director of Operations)

Megan Campbell is a classical and contemporary percussionist currently based in Atlanta, Georgia. In the past year, she has performed in the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, and Italy with the 2023 World Percussion Group and in the 2023 Cortona Marimba Sessions. She also currently performs with the Horizon Percussion Trio, based in Gothenburg, Sweden. She will be attending the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen, Denmark, for her Master's in Percussion Peformance this fall.

Megan's true passion lies in Rudimental Percussion. She was a member of the University of North Texas Snare Ensemble, performing at events such as the 2022 PASIC Drummer’s Heritage Concert, along with playing snare drum for the Santa Clara Vanguard Drum and Bugle Corps. These experiences have since led her to teach masterclasses on American Rudimental Snare Drumming to Conservatory students in Sweden, Spain, Portugal, and at the Royal College of Music in London. Megan hopes to continue expanding both virtuostic and musical repertoire for Contemporary Snare Drumming. She commissioned “Denton Halftime” by John Thomas Baker, a solo for Rope Drum and Electronics, which has since been premiered in five different countries; She also had the privilege of performing the American, Spanish, and Portuguese premieres of “Rooted” by Brian Blume, a WPG 2021 Commission.

She graduated from the University of North Texas in May of 2023 with a Bachelor's Degree in Music Education, where she studied with Dave Hall, Paul Rennick, Mark Ford, and Christopher Deane, along with many other impactful teachers.

Megan is ecstatic to continue working with the World Percussion Group after her time in the 2023 V-Tour and the 2023 Fall Tour. She believes very strongly in the power of this program to make lifelong connections and expose each member to a new world of musical ideas. She hopes to bring the Virtual Academy model to life in a more accessible way for as many young percussionists to experience as possible.

The World Percussion Group

The World Percussion Group represents one chapter in the evolution of the Maraca2 duo and was an idea that began to take form in 2014. The members of the WPG are selected by audition from hundreds of applicants worldwide and represent the very best young percussion players. The mission of the WPG is not just to inspire audiences and students but to give an international platform to the best percussionists of the next generation, providing an opportunity for cultural sharing and professional development.

Selected WPG members deliver their own presentations, clinics, lessons, performances, and masterclasses. WPG put together a touring ensemble that deliver an extremely high quality ‘mobile percussion festival’ to the educational market.

Since its inception, the WPG has traveled some 30 thousand miles, presented some 35 residencies, showcased over 40 International Artists, received over 2 million video views online and 4 thousand shares on social media. Tours include extensive trips across the USA, Baltic Capitals and Europe. Tim Palmer will continue to steer the WPG as it continues to thrive. In 2024, the WPG is hosting three different events: a May tour in the Baltics, the summer Virtual Academy, and a Fall tour in the UK, Spain, and Portugal.

The World Percussion group would like to thank Sabian cymbals, Marimba One marimbas, Innovative Percussion sticks and mallets, Remo drum heads, Tapspace Publications, Black Swamp Percussion and the Pearl Drum Corporation for their support.