Mike Nevin
- Percussionist
Over the past four decades, Mike Nevin has been a successful composer, arranger, teacher, performer, adjudicator, consultant, and clinician. He has played an integral part in building successful high school, university, and independent music programs in the US and abroad.
His original compositions have been performed by award-winning ensembles in Europe and Asia and have helped produce several finalists over the past 25 years in every class at the WGI World Percussion Championships. The groups he has personally instructed have earned more than a dozen medals for finishing in the top three of their class in WGI. Six of them became champions in their respective class; Upper Darby High School 2013 in Scholastic Open, Gateway High School 1996 and 1997 in Concert World, and the Blue Knights World Percussion Ensemble 1999, 2000, and 2003 in Independent World.
For 20 of the 30 years that the Blue Knights World Percussion Ensemble has been in existence, Mike has been involved in several roles within the organization. He wrote original compositions and arranged their front ensemble music from 1995-2006 and 2009-2011. He was also the head front ensemble instructor from 1995–2006 and, most recently, the Program Director from 2015-2019.
With his extensive experience teaching and writing for marching bands, drum corps, and competitive indoor percussion ensembles, Mike has also had the opportunity to work with several of the best marching ensembles in the world. He served as the front ensemble arranger and instructor for the Blue Devils Drum and Bugle Corps from 2003-2005. He was also the front ensemble arranger for the Yokohama Scouts from 2004-2010. During that time, the Scouts won the All Japan Division I Championships 4 times and were a DCI Division III Finalist and International Class Champion in 2007. From 2005-2007, Mike was the front ensemble arranger for the 10-time All-Japan Marching Band Champion, Soka Renaissance Vanguard Drum & Brass Corps, and traveled to Japan regularly to work with the group.
As a performer skilled on a multitude of percussion instruments, Mike has played a wide range of genres, from orchestral music to jazz to world music and beyond. Before moving to Philadelphia in 2006, Mike performed with several bands and orchestras in Colorado, which included a 20-year stint with Pan Jumbies Steel Band. While living in the Philly area, Mike was a member of Spoken Hand Percussion Orchestra and the Lenny Seidman Tabla Choir.
Mike earned a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Montana State University in 1988 under the instruction of James B. Campbell and Daniel P. Moore. He relocated to Colorado to earn his Masters Degree in Percussion Performance in 1991 at the University of Northern Colorado under the direction of Gray Barrier. He has also served as Interim Director of Percussion Studies at Colorado State University from 2002-2003. Mike is a Vic Firth Artist and a member of their Education Team. He is also an Artist for Zildjian Cymbals.
Mike and his wife, Angela, live in Lakewood, CO, with their family (more like "pack") of dogs and cats. Through his passion for music and belief in a strong educational foundation, Mike continues to pursue his lifelong goals as a musician in every aspect, always striving to be a positive influence on the next generation of music educators, writers, and performers.