Andrea Venet

University of North Florida

Dr. Andrea Venet is a percussion artist, educator, and composer specializing in contemporary and classical genres. She is currently Assistant Professor of Percussion and Area Coordinator at the University of North Florida, where she directs the UNF percussion ensemble, teaches applied lessons, pedagogy, methods and percussion literature. As a passionate educator, Dr. Venet’s research involves pedagogy, with focus on college percussion education at various levels, classical improvisation and historically informed Baroque performance practice techniques for Bach on marimba. Her creative activity includes performance, composition, and commissioning new works.

As a soloist, chamber musician, and clinician, Andrea maintains an active performance schedule nationally and internationally. Venet has been a featured performer in Japan at Kyoto City University of the Arts, with SNL percussionist Valerie Naranjo, Ivan Trevino, at the Celebrate Marimba Festival with the Kutztown University Symphony, the Lawson Ensemble, Project Trio, the Eastman Percussion Ensemble, was a member of the award winning Santa Clara Vanguard Drum and Bugle Corps, and performed with Grammy winning alternative band TOOL.

Dr. Venet’s percussion duo, Escape Ten (with Dr. Annie Stevens, Virginia Tech), maintains a steady performance schedule touring as guest artists and clinicians internationally. Through collaboration with composer Eric Guinivan, they are the recipients of a marimba duo commission entitled Illuminations (2018), awarded from the prestigious Fromm Foundation. In 2016 they performed a standing-room only Showcase Concert at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention, giving 3 world premieres by Aurél Hollo, Joe Locke, and Michael Burritt. These works will be released on their second album My Favorite Things. In addition to regular appearances at percussion festivals and universities across the country, Escape Ten has been featured artists in Trinidad, the Barnes Foundation, Leigh Howard Stevens ​Summer ​Marimba Seminar, Heartland Marimba Festival, Rhea Miller Concert Series, Musica Viva Concert Series, McCormick Marimba Festival, Interlochen, the International Trombone Festival, ​VMEA, ​and the Virginia Humanities Conference. Escape Ten has collaborated with composers that include Michael Burritt, Alejandro Viñao, Ivan Trevino, Emmanuel Séjourné, Joe Locke, Aurél Hollo, Steve Danyew, Steve Ridley​,​ Drew Worden​, and Kelly Rossum. ​Escape Ten has their own publication series of new percussion duos through Keyboard Percussion Publications (KPP). You can hear Escape Ten on their first album Colours of a Groove.

Andrea holds a DMA in Performance and Literature with a minor in Pedagogy, and the prestigious Performer’s Certificate from the Eastman School of Music. She received her Masters in Percussion Performance from Rutgers University and a Bachelors of Music from Arizona State University. Her compositions and arrangements can be found through Keyboard Percussion Publications (KPP), Tapspace, and self-published via her website. Andrea is an active member of the Percussive Arts Society, where she currently serves as Florida Chapter President, is a performing Malletech artist, and proudly endorses Remo and DREAM Cymbals.