The Robert Hohner Percussion Ensemble
Robert Hohner, Director

The Robert Hohner Percussion Ensemble, formerly in residence at Central Michigan University, was a very active, multi-faceted performing group including the Classical Chamber Ensemble, Jazz Percussion/Steel Drum Ensemble and the World Music Group. The ensemble has performed in almost every major city in the United States. They have recorded and performed in many prestigious halls including Orchestra Hall in Detroit, BMG Studios (Formerly RCA) and the Hit Factory in New York City, State University of New York (Purchase), Kleinhanse Hall in Buffalo, Devos and Royce Halls in Grand Rapids, and twice in Carnegie Hall in New York City. The group has performed annually in the Hudson's Thanksgiving Day Parade in Detroit, broadcast nationally on CBS, since 1998.

The ensemble has been featured at the International/National Conventions of the Music Educator's National Convention, Percussive Arts Society International Convention, College Band Director's National Association, International Association of Jazz Educators, and the Music Teacher's National Association. They have performed annually at The Montreux-Detroit Jazz Festival and the Notre Dame Jazz Festival. Reviews of the group have appeared in the Chicago Tribune, Down Beat Magazine, Stereophile Magazine, Audio Magazine, Jazz Times, and other international publications.

Several new works have been premiered by the Robert Hohner Percussion Ensemble including Michael Colgrass' Pulitzer Prize winning composition Deja Vu for Percussion Quartet and Wind Ensemble, David Maslanka's Arcadia II for Marimba and Percussion Ensemble, Maslanka's Montana Music: Three Dances for Percussion, and David Gillingham's national award-winning composition Paschal Dances. The group performed the world premiere of In Lonely Fields, a new work for percussion ensemble and orchestra by composer David Maslanka. The performance was part of the Windsor Symphony's 50th Anniversary Classics Series 1997-98, conducted by Music Director Susan Haig. The ensemble was featured as guest artists with the Midland Symphony Orchestra, performing Maslanka's In Lonely Fields and Percy Grainger's The Warriors with 24 percussionists.

The group has five internationally acclaimed recordings on the Digital Music Products Label (DMP). Discography includes Different Strokes, Lift-Off, The Gamut, World Music Tour, and Far More Drums. Reviews of these internationally released compact discs include the following publications. Different Strokes: ". . . The Robert Hohner Percussion Ensemble is witty, allusive and thoroughly engaging. What it isn't, thankfully, is bombastic..." - Jack Fuller, Chicago Tribune, January 1992. "Lift-Off brings a wonderful cross section of musical styles and venues to the public through the ingenious programming of Robert Hohner. Hohner has long been recognized as a leader in the area of percussion performance. His ensemble performs with a musical mastery that is rarely heard." - Doug Wolf, Percussive Notes, April, 1994. The Gamut: "This is Hohner's most intriguing set. . ." - Michael Ullman, Stereophile Magazine, February, 1995. The fourth release, World Music Tour, combines voices and authentic percussion from the far lands of Nigeria, Cuba, Ghana, Haiti, Trinidad, and Japan. The compact discs have also received wide air play - NPR's "All Things Considered," Times Station, New York City. The fifth disc, Far More Drums, was released in August of 2000 on the DMP label. "Far More Drums sets a standard of performance excellence to which all percussion ensembles should aspire. The recording quality, ensemble balance and precision is impeccable. Hohner's superb musicianship and advancement of the art form will be sorely missed, yet kept alive through recordings such as Far More Drums." - Lisa Rogers, Percussive Notes, February, 2001. The ensemble has also recorded The Percussion Music of David Maslanka on the Albany Label for the composer and Stained Glass for composer David Gillingham. Both composers were present during the recording sessions.

One of Bob's most important lessons for all of us did not have anything to do with music. It was about who we are as human beings and that going through life as honest and forthright people was the most rewarding experience of all.

Through the purity and honesty of music and life, the legacy of which Robert Hohner created and lived will burn forever in our memories and in our hearts...