Blake Wilkins

Professor of Percussion

Director of Percussion Studies

Blake Wilkins (Percussion, Division Head) joined the University of Houston faculty in August 1997 and is the Director of Percussion Studies. Prior to coming to UH he served as Visiting Instructor of Percussion at the University of Oklahoma. He also served as percussionist and substitute principal timpanist with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic from 1993 to 1997, and was a member of the Oklahoma Panhandlers, a professional steel drum band. Dr. Wilkins specializes in solo classical marimba performance and is a strong advocate for the performance of new music. In addition to performing regularly with the University of Southern California's Contemporary Music Ensemble and OU's New Century Ensemble, he co-founded El Dos, an experimental improvisation duo, with bassist Michael Lee. Equally active as a composer, Dr. Wilkins has studied composition with Robert Moore, James Hopkins, and Michael Hennagin amongst others. His catalog reveals compositions of large scale for a variety of media with his primary orientation being toward chamber music for non-traditional combinations of instruments. His two works for large percussion ensemble, including a prize winner in the 1988 Percussive Arts Society International Composition Competition, are published by the OU Percussion Press and have been recorded by the University of Oklahoma Percussion Ensemble on the compact disc Twilight Offering Music, distributed by Albany Records (Troy 214). Dr. Wilkins teaches all applied percussion lessons and Percussion Techniques for non-percussionist music education majors. He also conducts the Moores School Percussion Ensemble, Marimba Band, and Steel Drum Band.