UNA Pressroom

Una Music Students Place In International Percussion Event

Jan. 27, 2021



Michelle Eubanks, UNA, at media@una.edu, 256.765.4392 or 256.606.2033

Michelle Eubanks, UNA, at meubanks@una.edu, 256-606-2033 or 256-765-4392

FLORENCE, AL - Three percussion students from the University of North Alabama placed in the Taiwan World Percussion Alliance 2020 Online Competition recently; the competition is sponsored by Taiwan Percussion Arts. Matthew Mansour, Kyle Blair, and Miles Wheeler entered and placed in all of their categories.

The competition was entered, and judged, by performers from around the world. Submissions had to be one unedited take and angle to the video. There were more than 90 entries in the competition, and many of them from countries that often dominate these events. Each of the entries from UNA used videos prepared during the Fall 2020 semester.

  • Mansour won the undergraduate marimba division. He also received the bronze judges' choice prize for the entire competition and across all divisions.
  • Blair placed first in the vibraphone category.
  • Wheeler placed fifth in the undergraduate marimba division. He was also selected as a lottery winner, which meant he received items from the companies that sponsored the competition.

"We are very proud of these students for their work and being so competitive on the international level," said Dr. Tracy Wiggins, Percussion Area Coordinator and Assistant Director of Bands at UNA.

If travel options reopen for the summer, UNA's drumline has again been invited to perform at the Taiwan World Percussion Alliance event.

About The University of North Alabama

The University of North Alabama is an accredited, comprehensive regional state university offering undergraduate and graduate degree programs through the colleges of Arts and Sciences, Business, Education and Human Sciences, and the Anderson College of Nursing and Health Professions. Occupying a 130-acre campus in a residential section of Florence, Alabama, UNA is located within a four-city area that also includes Muscle Shoals, Sheffield, and Tuscumbia. UNA Athletics, a renowned collegiate athletics program with seven (7) Division II National Championships, is now a proud member of the NCAA Division I's ASUN Big South Conference. The University of North Alabama is an equal opportunity institution and does not discriminate in the admission policy on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, disability, age, or national origin. For more: www.una.edu and www.una.edu/unaworks/