John Hanks, a
percussionist living in Durham, North Carolina, is staff musician
for the Duke Dance Program
where he accompanies Modern, Ballet, and Jazz dance classes full-time. He also
teaches private lessons (Applied Music 84/94) for the Duke University Music Department,
where he is a Guest Lecturer.
A 1980 graduate of the North Carolina School of the Arts (now UNC-SA; GO PICKLES!), John teaches percussion in the Duke Music Department and is the Staff Associate musician for the Duke Dance Program. A musician for the American Dance Festival since 1984, he accompanied them to Seoul, Korea in 1991-92. From 1992-2003, he was percussionist/accompanist for the Jazz Dance World Congress. He has played drums for the North Carolina Jazz Repertory Orchestra and the Gregg Gelb Swing Band since their inceptions in 1991. As a jazz drummer he has performed with many notable artists, including: John Brown, Wyclif Gordon, Jon Metzger, Mose Allison, the Glen Miller Band, Stephanie Nakasian, Butch Thompson, Scott Hamilton, Warren Vache and Mary Lou Williams. Mr. Hanks is the founding member of the Philidor Percussion Group and has performed frequently with the Mallarme Chamber Players, the North Carolina Symphony, and the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra. He plays for percussion or drums for many touring and local Broadway shows, most recently. He composes electronic and percussion scores for dance and has released three CDs of his dance class work: Here Come the Drums (1999), Drumjazz (2001), and Percussion Jams for Dance (2004). He has also recorded several jazz CDs with the Gregg Gelb Swing Band, NCJRO, Jon Metzger, Kirk Ridge, and NCSA faculty Ron Rudkin among others.
Professional Activities
Duke Dance Program, John is full-time staff musician here. The Dance Program offers a variety of classes and offers a Major in Dance.Applied Music / percussion lessons at Duke- MUS 84/94 private percussion/drumset lessons for Duke Students through the Dept. of Music
Dance Class Music CDs by John Hanks Drumjazz, Here Come the Drums and Percussion Jams CDs, including audio samples.
John also plays drumset and concert percussion in the Triangle area (Durham, Raleigh and Chapel Hill) in a variety of settings, including:
- The North Carolina Jazz Repertory Orchestra Jim Ketch, artistic director. Drummer from 1991-2008.
- The Willie Painter Band Rock and Blues
- Black Dog Syndrome Indie singer/songwriter band based in Durham
- Duke University Chapel A great choir in a wonderful space, directed by Rodney Wynkoop
- North Carolina Theater Broadway shows
- Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle Lorenzo Muti, conductor. Timpanist, 1990-2007.
- American Dance Festival John is a long-time faculty musician
- Jazz Dance World Congress John played drums for Gus Giordano from 1991-2003
- Encounters: Music of our Time Duke Music Dept. contemporary music series
Bio continued: I was incredibly lucky to have had access to great teachers at different times in my life. At age seven, my first lessons on snare drum were with a student at Duke University, Frank Bennett, who was also a fabulous Jazz drummer. After a career in Indian classical music playing mridungam, Frank is now a busy orchestrator in Hollywood. In my middle and high school years, I studied with composer, and former percussionist, David Maves and Fred Jenness. David taught me how to utilize the classic snare drum technique book Stick Control, by George Stone. Fred drilled me on rudiments and also taught me about musicality on drumset. During the summers in Newport, RI, where my father had a summer teaching job, I studied snare drum with Philip Peletier and I played, at 14 years old, with the Newport Concert Band, which furthered my skills in musicality and professionalism. The Newport Band's percussion section was manned by experienced new England-style rudimental drummers, who were also members of the local musician's union. I then studied during my senior year in high school with J. Massie Johnson at the N. C. School of the Arts. I entered Duke University as a freshman in order to study with saxophonist and Jazz educator Jerry Coker, who taught at Duke for one year. I transferred, at Jerry's recommendation, to the University of Miami. The music school had a very stimulating atmosphere (1975-76), but I also took lessons in town with Steve Bagby, who at that time was not on the faculty there, and Harry Hawthorne, who was. Guitarist Stan Samole was another teacher at U. of Miami who was very influential. I dropped out of school for a year, returning to Durham where I was able to study with Al Ashley. I returned to NCSA, getting my bachelor degree in 1980. During my last two years at NCSA I performed in the Broadway revue at Carowinds Themepark in South Carolina, and was hired by the Charlotte Symphony as primary auxilary percussionist, where he befriended and studies with Principle Percussionist, Peyton Becton.