A&M-Commerce Percussion Student, Alums Win Big at International Competitions

A current Texas A&M University-Commerce percussion student and two alums took home the top prize in separate competitions this summer. Ashton Carter, a current music education major at A&M-Commerce, was named the winner of the 2021 Black Swamp Snare Drum Competition. Carter won the competition with his recorded performance of “Impressions (Movement 1)” by Nicolas Martynciow. A&M-Commerce alumni Michael Jones and Dr. Andrew Veit, who both graduated with Master of Music degrees in 2012, took home first place in the Southern California Marimba International Artist Competition's Open Duo Division. The pair's winning entry included performances of “Departures” by Emmanuel Sejourne, “Passacaglia” by Anna Ignatowica-Glinska and “Scene Romantique (OP 101: No. 5)” by Jean Sibelius. Watch Carter's winning entry. See Jones' and Veit's entries at the following links: Departures, Passacaglia, Scene Romantique.

(Pictured are, from left, Ashton Carter, Andrew Veit and Michael Jones)