Dr. Joseph Van Hassel, Assistant Professor, Percussion
Dr. Van Hassel's website, with audio and photos:
Joseph Van Hassel is a North Carolina-based percussionist specializing in orchestral and chamber music. Performance highlights include Carnegie Hall, the Cincinnati MusicNow Festival, the Percussive Arts Society International Convention, the International Tuba Euphonium Conference, and the Hindemith Center in Switzerland. A versatile artist in many genres, Joseph has performed or recorded with Percussion Group Cincinnati, Roland Vazquez, and Bernard Woma. He has worked with numerous composers in the performance of their music, including Steve Reich, Peter Garland, Joseph Schwantner, William Bolcom, Jennifer Higdon, Elliot Cole, and John Corigliano. Active in the performance of new repertoire, Joseph has individually commissioned and premiered works by many composers, and is especially noted for his close working relationships with Michael Barnhart, David Macbride, Stuart Saunders Smith, and Dan VanHassel. He can be heard on recordings for the Innova, Mode, Equilibrium, nobrow.sounds, and Ohio Percussion record labels, and his solo CD of percussion commissions is available on Soundset Recordings. He is published in Percussive Notes, and his compositions are published by Media Press and PerMus.
An active educator, Joseph has presented master classes and given solo performances at numerous universities throughout the USA, including the Manhattan School of Music, Peabody Conservatory, and the Center for New Music and Audio Technologies at the University of California at Berkeley. He is on the percussion faculty at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, and previously taught at Ohio University and Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp. Joseph is a member of the Percussive Arts Society’s New Music / Research Committee, and co-owner of Media Press Music.
Joseph earned degrees from the Hartt School, the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and Ohio University. He also spent time studying music and dance in Ghana, West Africa. He endorses Yamaha Percussion, Innovative Percussion sticks and mallets, Black Swamp Percussion Products, Sabian Cymbals, and Remo Drumheads.
Todd Proctor, Adjunct, Drum Set
My parents bought me my first snare drum when I was 12 years old. From then on, I was hooked on music. I had a dream as a young child to become a highly skilled musician, one where I could build a career by performing professionally. I could not be more happy to be currently living out this dream. What I did not realize as a young boy is how much I would eventually enjoy teaching other people how to play music.
My passion for teaching others is such that I get the same satisfaction out of teaching as I do performing. My passion for teaching and sharing the information that I have collected over the years has driven me to pursue writing a technique book that focuses on relaxation and visualization, which leads to actualization. All musicians can benefit from these concepts.
Music has taken me all around the country. My drive and commitment to music has yielded me an undergraduate degree in music business from East Carolina University and a master's degree in jazz composition and arranging from North Carolina Central University.
I have had the opportunity to perform with some of the industry’s finest performers and artists, including: Maceo Parker, Christian McBride, Mulgrew Miller, Grady Tate, Mary Wilson (of The Supremes), Gogi Grant, Wynonna Judd, Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Chip Shearin (of "Rapper's Delight" fame), and Chip Crawford (who backs up vocalist Gregory Porter). I have played in over a dozen musicals, with several symphonies, in big band jazz ensembles, with several salsa bands, and in numerous versions of pop rock/dance/R&B/funk and soul groups. My playing is best represented on a dozen albums not listed here, but available upon request.
Victoria Nelson, Adjunct, Percussion
Victoria Nelson is a percussionist and educator located in Raleigh, NC. Classically trained, she currently serves as the principal percussionist with the Fayetteville and Durham Symphonies, and the principal timpanist with the Raleigh Symphony. Victoria can frequently be seen performing on stage with other orchestras in the state including the North Carolina Symphony, Tar River Orchestra, and Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle, as well as in the pit for the Carolina Ballet. Outside of the symphonic stage, Victoria is a founding member of the contemporary music ensemble earspace, an ensemble dedicated to creating invigorating multi-sensory performances of new music. As a member of earspace, Victoria has participated in two residencies at UNC Chapel Hill, in addition to performances at CAM Raleigh, Kings, and The Fruit in Durham. Victoria also frequently performs as a soloist, with recent memorable performances at NCMA in Raleigh, and with the Asheville Ballet. On the slightly more frivolous front, Victoria also plays drum set with the Durham Flash Chorus, and the all-girl rock band Kinda Nice.
As an educator, Victoria has maintained a private percussion studio for students of all ages and disciplines since 2009, as well as working as a Teaching Artist with Kidznotes since 2017. She has worked with numerous schools in the triangle area in various capacities including providing lessons, giving masterclasses, and instructing percussion ensembles, drumlines, and front ensembles.
Victoria received her Bachelor’s degree in music from UNC Chapel Hill before going on to receive her graduate degree from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. Her primary instructors include John Tafoya, Michael Spiro, Kevin Bobo, Juan Alamo, Cameron Britt, Lynn Glassock, and Matthew Richmond. Further information on current projects and featured discography can be found at VictoriaNelsonMusic.com.