MTL Percussion - A Malletech Artist Ensemble Providing positive life changing experiences and promoting excellence through diverse public school percussion education and performance opportunities within a caring and nurturing environment. You are listening to: The Awakening from the 2008 Evening of Percussion CONCERT SERIES Please go to the Multi-Media Page of this website to view videos and pictures from the 2009 Holiday Bells, Mallets & Drums Concert Series. Welcome to the web site for the Mt. Lebanon Percussion Program. Twenty - six years ago, the Mt. Lebanon Percussion began with 15 high school students, performing one song at the Concert Band's spring concert. Since then, the program has grown to include 195 students in grades 4-12 and features over 15 performances per season. The Mt. Lebanon Percussion is directed by Richard T. Minnotte. With seven concert ensembles, four specialty ensembles and the marching percussion section, the Mt. Lebanon Percussion has become recognized as one of the premier public school percussion programs in the United States. WQED-FM (Pittsburgh's NPR station) calls the Mt. Lebanon Percussion, "...a success beyond belief." In 1997, the adjudication panel for the Golden Gate Music Festival in San Francisco, CA. called the Mt. Lebanon Percussion, "One of the finest examples of music education we have ever seen." The National Association of Music Educators (MENC) has identified MTL Percussion as "One of the Best of the Best." Most recently, Cort McClaren, Director of the National Conference on Percussion Pedagogy wrote: "...Mt. Lebanon Percussion is one of the most distinguished examples of excellence in the United States. The Mt. Lebanon program demonstrates musical excellence rarely experienced in the US." The 2009/2010 school year marks the 26th season for the percussion program. Throughout its history, the Mt. Lebanon Percussion has received both local, state, and national recognition. Most recently, the Concert Percussion Ensemble was invited by the National Conference on Percussion Pedagogy to perform the opening concert for their 2010 conference to be held at The University of Oklahoma May 24 -26, 2010. Last season, Bands of America / Music for All selected the Concert Ensemble as one of the finest high school percussion esnembles in the nation and invited the students to perform for the 2009 National Percussion Festival in Indianapolis, IN. This marked the second appearance in three years at NPF for MTL Percussion. In April 2006, the Concert Ensemble was selected by the National Association of Music Educators (MENC) to perform for their national convention in Salt Lake City, UT. The Mt. Lebanon Concert Percussion Ensemble was the only percussion ensemble in the country to be invited to perform for the national conference. In 2002, 2005, and again in 2008, the Concert Percussion Ensemble was selected by the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association (PMEA) to perform for their annual convention. In 2003, PMEA selected the Mt. Lebanon Percussion as one of only three musical ensembles in the Commonwealth to be recommended to perform at the Music Educator's National Conference. In October of 2005, Mt. Lebanon Percussion was named a Malletech Artist Ensemble by Malletech Instruments, one of the world-wide leaders in the design and manufacture of keyboard percussion instruments. In addition, since 1996 the Concert Ensemble has been honored to perform the live music for the KDKA-TV Children's Hospital Free Care Fund Telethon. Under the direction of Mr. Minnotte, the Concert Ensemble has recorded four compact discs: HOLIDAY BELLS, MALLETS & DRUMS - featuring music from their popular holiday concert series and 20th Anniversary EVENING OF PERCUSSION - featuring selections from the first 20 seasons of their spring concert series. and HOLIDAY BELLS, MALLETS & DRUMS - VOLUME II - featuring many of our recently commissioned holiday selections. and 25th Anniversary EVENING OF PERCUSSION - featuring performances from our 21st through 25th seasons as well as selected favorites from our first 20 seasons.