"Cameron Leach is a major talent! His performance of my Percussion Concerto was outstanding...full of power and grace!"
- Jennifer Higdon, Composer
Pulitzer Prize and two-time Grammy Award winner
American percussionist Cameron Leach is a bold, high-energy performer recognized for his expressive virtuosity, musical athleticism, and daring interpretations. Leach is the winner of both the Percussive Arts Society International Solo Artist Competition and Yamaha Young Performing Artist Competition, and was awarded the prestigious Performer’s Certificate from the Eastman School of Music.
Recent highlights include a performance in China’s National Centre for the Performing Arts, a European Tour with the World Percussion Group, the debut of his electroacoustic solo show ELISION, and a performance of Jennifer Higdon’s Percussion Concerto with the Eastman Wind Ensemble.
Leach’s upcoming engagements include his concerto debut with the Grammy-nominated Dallas Winds, recital and clinic tours across the United States, the world premiere of Dave Maric’s percussion concerto Spiel, and residencies at Purdue University Fort Wayne, the Space City New Music Festival, and the MalletLab Summer Intensive. Along with his active touring schedule, he regularly performs with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra. Leach is endorsed by Black Swamp Percussion, Beetle Percussion, Sabian Cymbals, and Malletech.
“A true superstar in the making, Leach is one of the most promising percussion soloists of his generation.”
- Dave Maric, Composer
After a very successful opening to the 2018/2019 season, including trips to China, California, Tennessee, and Kentucky, as well as a short break from performing to learn new repertoire, I’m back at it in just a few days — touring Florida for two weeks and meeting up with Orphic Percussion for some shows in Oklahoma. This tour will see the premiere of David Skidmore’s I Leave You the Real World for solo vibraphone and electronics, leading up to a much-anticipated, late-March premiere of Dave Maric’s Spiel, a percussion concerto for wind ensemble and electronics commissioned for Capital University’s 100th Year Anniversary Gala Concert.
I’ve also been starting several (too many!) commissioning projects for a variety of new works (in varying commissioning formats), including:
New marimba solo with electronics by Emmanuel Séjourné (contact me if you’re interested in joining!)
New piece for speaking/acting percussionist by Linda Kernohan (individual commission)
New piece for speaking/acting percussionist with electronics by Paul Pinto (individual commission)
New snare drum solo with electronics by Vera Stanojevic (individual commission)
New piece for saxophone quartet and percussion duo, by a composer very versed in writing for both instruments (exclusive invite-only commission)
And ANOTHER new percussion concerto in the 2020-2021 season.. details TBD!
Thanks for reading, and before I sign off, here is my most recent video release—Jennifer Higdon's critically acclaimed Percussion Concerto—with none other than the Eastman Wind Ensemble! As usual, I owe you all the biggest THANK YOU for all of your support!
- February 1, 2019
When I first started using social media to document my journey from graduate school to professional soloist, I wrestled with how exactly I would represent myself online. I constantly went back and forth about whether I would show what was really happening, or whether I would doctor it up a bit in order to appear more “professional.” So I experimented with both:
I’m very excited to be touring Florida for the next two weeks. Here’s a full listing of where I’ll be, and what I’ll be doing:
Feb. 5, 12:30pm — Master Class @ Douglas Anderson School of the Arts
Feb. 6, 7pm — Solo Recital @ Douglas Anderson School of the Arts
Feb. 7, 8pm — Solo Recital @ University of Central Florida
Feb. 8, 11:30am — Master Class @ University of Central Florida
Feb. 11, 7pm — Performance @ SubCentral at the Iberian Rooster (Classical Revolution)…
With any new trend or fad, there will surely be a wave of backlash from the general public (and particularly those entrenched in old ways) before acceptance begins to take hold. But whether you/we/I like it or not, social media is here to stay. Why?
Because it is no longer a trend or fad. It is now a part of our daily lives and culture, and it saves us from overusing the one resource that we can never get back: TIME.
You’ve prepared and detailed everything to the best of your ability. You’ve rehearsed and polished the piece with the ensemble. You’ve mentally compromised on in-rehearsal battles (a figure of speech, of course), some that you’ve fought and won, some that you’ve fought and lost, and some that you opted not to fight at all. The piece is finally as good as it is going to get. Whether or not you’re in love with how things sound and feel, your primary responsibility is to deliver an exciting and engaging musical product that will “wow” the audience. Hide any insecurities behind performance vibe and your poker face. Now, it’s time to perform.
Now that you've fully prepared the concerto by learning the notes, fine-tuning transitions, making intentional tempo/phrasing decisions, and communicating with the conductor, it is time to start the rehearsal process...
So what is your responsibility in all of this, knowing that you have an exceptionally limited amount of time, and knowing that many people in the ensemble might not care about the piece?
Have you ever performed a concerto with a pianist? How about a full orchestra or wind ensemble? If you haven’t, then this might be a new topic, but if you have, then hopefully you can relate. The mental demands of learning, rehearsing, and performing a concerto with a supporting musician or ensemble are completely different than those of a recital, audition, or competition, and I’m going to discuss some of them in terms of:
I alluded to this blog entry on a Facebook post earlier this week, because I realized that there are several huge projects in the works that nobody knows about, and I wanted to provide a glimpse into what has been happening behind the scenes: PERCUSSION DUO, NEW CONCERTI, + MORE...
{17 days 'til PASIC 2017} - Update 9/17
Last Monday, I decided to embark on {17 days ’til PASIC 2017}, the process of documenting my preparation leading up to the PAS Solo Artist Competition. It is my first foray into consistently documenting something with different kinds of content, and I wanted to share my experiences here so far.
Embracing failure is:
But, as musicians, it can feel different for us.
Here’s my take on it…
This one is huge for me, and something that I struggled with for a very long time.
There is a distinct difference in being humble and being self-deprecating.
Nobody in the professional world wants their first interaction with you to involve building you back up after you continually tear yourself down. It’s exhausting for them, and that person will likely never call you back.
Why?
After traveling with the World Percussion Group and performing at the Yamaha Young Performing Artist Concert this summer, I did not touch an instrument for TWO MONTHS.
I was burnt out.
Some people think this is crazy, but I couldn’t be happier.
Here are some of my thoughts on taking time off, in both the long and short term…