Dr. Glenn Schaft
Associate Professor of Percussion

Dr. Glenn Schaft is Associate Professor and Director of Percussion Studies at YSU where he has taught since 1996. He directs the Percussion Ensemble, Jazz Combos, performs with the Faculty Jazz Group, is faculty advisor for the student organization the YSU Percussion Federation, and is founder of the Youngstown Percussion Collective, YSU Latin Arts Festival, and SMARTS RHYTHMS Drum Circle Outreach Program. Dr. Schaft is an educational endorser with Avedis Zildjian, ProMark, Remo, Dynasty, Black Swamp Percussion, and GMS Drums. His performance and teaching credits include appearances throughout the United States, Cuba, and China since 1975. Dr. Schaft is an in-demand performer, educator, clinician, and lecturer whose versatility includes jazz and commercial drumming, classical percussion, contemporary music, and World percussion.

Recent engagements have included: Producer of the YSU Percussion Ensemble and Youngstown Percussion Collective CD to be released spring 2006, soloist on Dave Morgan’s Reactions for drumset and wind band recorded with the YSU Symphonic Wind Ensemble on their 2005 CD release Spin Cycle, which won the Downbeat Magazine award for Outstanding College Wind Ensemble Recording, a 2004 tour of Shanghai, Yanjing, and Hangzhou China with the YSU Faculty Jazz Group, Paquito D’Rivera with the YSU Faculty Jazz Group at the 2004 Lakeland Community College Jazz Festival, Harold Danko with the YSU Faculty Jazz Group, and serving on the Percussive Arts Society International Convention 2005 planning committee.

Other major engagements have included: clinician at the 2003 Ohio Music Educators Association Convention, Youngstown Percussion Collective performance at the 2003 Percussive Arts Society International Convention in Louisville, Kentucky, performance and clinic tour of Beijing, China in 2002 with the Youngstown State University Faculty Jazz Group, the 2003 Percussive Arts Society International Convention in Louisville, KY, Colorado Music Festival, Battu World Percussion Group, Akron Symphony, Youngstown Symphony, Cleveland Chamber Symphony, Ohio Chamber Orchestra, Cleveland Ballet, Cleveland Opera, Concerto Soloist with the Youngstown State University Symphonic Wind Ensemble, Skaneateles Chamber Music Festival, Duluth-Superior Symphony, Lake Superior Chamber Orchestra, Robert Page Singers, Ohio Music Educators Convention, Minnesota Music Educators Convention, International Association of Jazz Educators Convention, Peter Erskine and the Pittsburgh Symphony percussion section, and Soloist with the Champaign-Urbana Symphony. He has recorded with the Youngstown Percussion Collective, YSU Symphonic Wind Ensemble, YSU Percussion Ensemble, Cleveland Chamber Symphony, Cleveland Opera, Scott Wyatt, and the Air Force Band of Mid-America, among others.

Dr. Schaft’s diverse drum set experience includes styles such as jazz, rock, R&B, reggae, Brazilian, Afro-Cuban, Caribbean, funk, fusion, and pop bands such as the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra, YSU Faculty Jazz Group, Chip Stevens, 1940’s Radio Hour Show - United States Tour, Chuck Berry, Paquito D’Rivera, Jim McNeely, Dan Wall, Ernie Krivda, Marvin Stamm, Todd Coolman, Nick Brignola, John Fedchok, Harold Danko, Randy Johnston, Don Menza, Brian Lynch, James Weidman, Jerry Coker, Ralph Lalama, Anthony Cox, Brad Goode, Hal Melia, Howie Smith, Michael Weiss, Phil DeGreg, Pat Harbison, Jack Schantz, Tony Leonardi, Jeff Grubbs, Kent Engelhardt, Laurence Hobgood, Kim Richmond, Tommy Dorsey Band, Les Elgart, Larry Elgart, Red Skeleton, Englebert Humperdink, Mitch Miller, The Four Lads, The Four Aces, CGS Blues Trio, and the world premiere of Stuart Copland’s opera “Holy Blood and Crescent Moon” with the Cleveland Opera.

Mr. Schaft was awarded three percussion performance degrees including the Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, the Master of Arts from Eastern Illinois University, and the Bachelor of Music from the Baldwin-Wallace College Conservatory of Music in Cleveland, Ohio. He completed post-doctoral studies at Cleveland State University where he served as a graduate assistant managing the New Music Associates - a professional contemporary ensemble.

He studied with Tom Siwe at the University of Illinois, Johnny Lee Lane at Eastern Illinois University, George Kiteley at Baldwin-Wallace Conservatory, and Tom Freer and Jay Burnham of the Cleveland Orchestra. He studied drumset with John Riley, Lewis Nash, John Hollenbeck, and Harold Damas. He studied Afro-Cuban percussion with Roberto Vizcaino, Fermin Nani, and Santiago Nani at the National School of the Arts in Havana, Cuba through a grant from the Ohio Arts Council and with Giovanni Hidalgo, Horacio Hernandez, Glen Velez, Jamie Haddad, and Trichi Sankaran at the Berklee College of Music World Percussion Festival. He studied drum circle facilitation with Christine Stevens at the Remo Health Rhythms Workshop in Pittsburgh, and contemporary music with Edwin London at Cleveland State University. He is an active member of the Percussive Arts Society, having attended the PAS International Conventions since 1982, and served as a lecturer, clinician, performer, and on numerous committee’s. He chaired a panel discussion entitled “Teaching Drumset in the University Percussion Methods Class” at the 2003 Percussive Arts Society International Convention in Columbus. In 1999, he was invited to serve on the PAS International Convention “Drumset Educators Panel Discussion” to discuss drumset education in American universities. During his formal training he was the Concerto Competition Winner at Baldwin-Wallace Conservatory in 1981. He served as percussion and jazz graduate teaching assistant at Eastern Illinois University in 1982-83, and as a jazz graduate teaching assistant at the University of Illinois in 1987-88. He was a member of university jazz combos whom were awarded outstanding combo awards at the Notre Dame and Memphis State University Jazz Festivals.

From 1988-94, he freelanced in Cleveland and performed with the world percussion quartet BATTU, toured and recorded contemporary American music with the Cleveland Chamber Symphony, performed with Cleveland Ballet, Cleveland Opera, Ohio Chamber Orchestra, and appeared as guest soloist with the Baldwin-Wallace Conservatory Symphony Orchestra.

Dr. Schaft’s teaching experience includes the United States Percussion Camp, Youngstown State University Summer Jazz Camp, University of Minnesota-Duluth, the University of Illinois, Baldwin-Wallace College, Moorhead State University, North Dakota State University, Concordia College, Eastern Illinois University, Richland Academy Jazz Camp, and the University of Illinois Summer Jazz Camp.