Luis Rivera, percussion
Dr. Luis C. Rivera (b. 1983) currently serves as a drummer with the United States Air Force Ceremonial Brass at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, Washington, DC. Previously he was the Assistant Professor of Percussion at Oklahoma City University and prior to that was the Director of Percussion Studies at the University of South Alabama. He is originally from Orlando, where he received his Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from the University of Central Florida under the direction of Jeff Moore and Kirk Gay. While at UCF, Dr. Rivera was a Presser Foundation Scholar and the winner of the UCF Music Department’s Performance Excellence Competition (2004). He holds a Master of Music degree in Percussion Performance from the University of South Carolina, under the direction of Dr. Scott Herring and Jim Hall, where he was a graduate Teaching Assistant, director of the Palmetto Pans Steel Drum Ensemble, and winner of the USC Concerto Competition performing Emmanuel Séjourné’s, Concerto pour Vibraphone et Orchestre à Cordes. In 2012 he received the Doctor of Music degree in Percussion Performance from Florida State University, studying under Dr. John W. Parks IV, where he was a recipient of the McKnight Doctoral Fellowship. Dr. Rivera is a published composer/arranger through Alfred Music, Bachovich Publications, Tapspace Publications, self-publishes various classical arrangements, and has scholarly works published with the Percussive Arts Society (PAS) journals Percussive Notes and Rhythm! Scene. He also served on the PAS Composition Committee (2014-2019) and currently is a member of the PAS Marching Percussion Committee.
Apart from his daily responsibilities with the USAF Band, Dr. Rivera is an active performer and educator across the United States. He performed as a percussionist with the Mobile, Pensacola, and Northwest Florida Symphony Orchestras, Sinfonia Gulf Coast, and held Principal Percussion positions with the Gulf Coast and Meridian Symphony Orchestra. Dr. Rivera was an active adjudicator in the Gulf Coast marching band and indoor drumline circuits for Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, the Florida Bandmasters Association, and has served as a clinician at several Alabama Days of Percussion, Alabama Music Educators Association In-State Conference, and several universities around the nation. He has been a featured recording artist on several albums released through Garnet House Productions including Adam Silverman: Percussion Music (2014), Firefish: The Music of Blake Tyson (2014), The Florida State University Percussion Ensemble, Volume 1 (2010), Volume 2 (2013) and Volume 3: Ten Windows (2015), and The Gaia Theory (2012) released through Rattle Records in New Zealand. Most recently Dr. Rivera is featured as a performer on The John Psathas Percussion Project: Volume 1 studio album that was released on Navona Records in 2019. His arrangements and compositions, including The Fairy Garden, Evergreen, and Pascal’s Motor Rhythms, have also been included on various studio albums. Dr. Rivera is also one half of a percussion duo with Dr. Justin Alexander called Novus Percutere, releasing their debut album symmetry | reflection through Synced Up Designs in 2015. The duo is committed to commissioning new works for percussion as well as promoting contemporary music through master classes and recitals around the globe. More information on Novus can be found on this site by clicking here.
As part of the FSU Percussion Ensemble, Dr. Rivera performed on a national tour and showcase concert for the 2011 Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC) in Indianapolis. His distinct contributions to this program included his arrangement of Maurice Ravel's, “The Fairy Garden” from The Mother Goose Suite, and his edition of The First Circle by Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays (first arranged by Steve McDonald and Michael Kingan). Since then Dr. Rivera has been a featured arranger or performer at PASIC from 2011 through 2014.
Dr. Rivera has also been involved with Drum Corps International for fifteen years. He performed as a snare drummer with Magic of Orlando (2002-2003) and the Madison Scouts (2004), served as a snare drum technician with Carolina Crown (2005-2006), a snare drum technician and marching instructor with the Boston Crusaders (2007-2011), the Front Ensemble Coordinator and Supervisor for Spirit of Atlanta (2013), the Cadets (2017-2019), and returned to the Spirit of Atlanta Front Ensemble Instructional Staff in 2020. Dr. Rivera is a proud endorser of Pearl/Adams instruments, Zildjian cymbals, Remo drumheads, Grover Percussion, and Vic Firth sticks and mallets.
