Dan Piccolo performs and teaches percussion in a broad range of musical idioms. He is Associate Professor and Director of Percussion Activities in the College of Musical Arts at Bowling Green State University.
With a background including studies in concert percussion, jazz, and numerous global musical traditions, Dan has embraced the view of the modern percussionist as a musical polyglot. His career has included solo projects, rock bands, chamber music, jazz groups, cross cultural collaborations, and orchestral playing, both on stage and in the recording studio. He has performed throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe, and has studied in Ghana and north India. He is a member of the percussion group Ensemble Duniya, and in 2020 he released his debut solo recording, Monobot.
In his current position at Bowling Green State University Dan directs the Percussion Ensemble and teaches applied lessons. He regularly presents workshops and masterclasses throughout the United States, and has been selected as a clinician at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention numerous times. During the summer months he enjoys being member of the percussion faculty at New England Music Camp in Sidney, Maine.
Dan works actively with composers to commission new solo and ensemble works for percussion, and has premiered works by Evan Ziporyn, Aaron Kernis, Emma O’Halloran, and Christopher Dietz. Dan edited a newly-discovered collection of swing variations on “The Downfall of Paris” by Charley Wilcoxon, which was published by Ludwig Masters in 2024. He currently serves as Associate Editor for Professional Development for the Percussive Arts Society’s journal, Percussive Notes, and he has been an officer in PAS’s Ohio Chapter since 2021.
Dan is an artist endorser for Cooperman Frame Drums, Zildjian Cymbals, Innovative Percussion sticks and mallets, Pearl/Adams percussion instruments, and Remo drumheads. Please visit www.danpiccolo.com for more information
