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F. Michael Combs
The University of Tennessee Link to:
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F. Michael Combs
The University of Tennessee Link to:
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F. Michael Combs taught percussion and coordinated the percussion program at the University of Tennessee for over 37 years. He has also taught at the Interlochen Summer Music Camp (formerly National Music Camp), at Perdue University, The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Maryville College and other institutions. Combs was selected "Outstanding Teacher" on the University of Tennessee campus in 1996 by the Phi Eta Sigma National Honor Society
PRESENT ACTIVITIES
Percussion Performance: Combs is in his 38th season as Principal Timpanist with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra. He has played two solo timpani concertos and one vibraphone concerto with the Knoxville Symphony Chamber Orchestra. He has played with the KSO percussion section during a number of special section solo performances and percussion features. In addition, he performs frequently in the community.
Tennessee Music Education Association: Combs was recently appointed EXECUTIVE SECRETARY-TREASURER of the Tennessee Music Education Associatioin. He is also EDITOR of the publications of the association which includes producing The Tennessee Musician, the official publication of TMEA, and the official programs for the State Music Conference and Tennessee All-State. Information about TMEA is available at www.tnmea.org.
EXPERIENCE
Combs has degrees from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana and the University of Missouri at Columbia as well as advanced professional studies. He has studied privately with Saul Goodman, retired timpanist with the New York Philharminic, Al Payson, retired percussionist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and Buster Bailey, retired percussionist with the New York Philharminic, and Cal Cherry, timpanist with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.
He has performed (as extra section) with the St. Louis Symphony and many concerts over many years with the faculty-staff orchestra at Interlochen Summer Music Camp.
AUTHOR AND COMPOSER
Combs has published compositions for percussion, written articles in most leading music journals and is author of the text book PERCUSSION MANUAL. He served as Percussion Column Editor for The Instrumentalist magazine for several years. He was the second Editor of the Percussive Arts Society's official publication Percussive Notes and also edited the society's former research publication, The Percussionist.
His musical compositions are published by M. M. Cole and Kendor publishing companies.
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
Combs is active in the Percussive Arts Society, having served in a variety of offices and leadership positions. One of his contribution to PAS includes chairing the committee that established the official standards for the college percussion methods class. He sereved on the PAS Board of Directors for 12 years and hosted two PAS International Conventions in Knoxville (1977 and 1983). Currently he serves as reviewer of new percussion literature for Percussive Notes magazine and a member of the college pedagogy committee.
Combs is also a member of the Tennessee Music Education Association and the Music Educators National Conference. He is on the Editorial Board for the MENC national publications and served as National Chair of the Council of State Editors.
He is former President of the National Association of College Wind and Percussion Instructors (NACWPI)
THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE
During his 37 years as Professor at the The University of Tennessee, Combs served on numerouos departmental, college, and campus committees. In the School of Music, he served as Coordinator of the Woodwind/Brass/Percussion area and his former percussion students are now in positions with symphony orchestras, as directors of significant school band programs, in leadership positions in the industry, and as leading citizens and community leaders across the state and country. Combs established and directed the UT Percussion Ensemble program. In additionl to regular concerts on the UT campus, the ensemble has performed at several of the PAS state and international conventions, on extensive tours of the region and presented concerts in London, England, Moscow and St. Petersberg, Russia. Combs was very active with, and close to, the UT Band program and the marching band drum line still plays drum parts that he composed.
At the college level, Combs served for four years on the Arts and Science's Tenure and Promotion Committee and participated in a variety of other activities at that level. At the campus level, he served for three years as the first faculty member of the UT Enrollment Management Committee and was elected President of the UT Faculty senate for the 2002-03 academic year. He served as faculty representative on the UT Board of Trustees as well as a member of campus committees.
COMMUNITY
Combs is founding President of the Board of the Joy of Music Youth Music School and a member of the Historic Tennessee Theatre Foundation Board. He was selected as a member of the 1998 class of Leadership Knoxville and is a 2003 recipient of the Howard Love Outstanding Community Service Award presented by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission. He served on the Corporate Board of the Boys and Girls Clubs of the East Tennessee Valley and was an active member of the Board of the Arts Council of Greater Knoxville (now called Knoxville Arts and Cultural Alliance).