UNCSA and PAS Day of Percussion™

Ksenija Komljenović is a percussionist, educator and composer who gained international
recognition winning the International Percussion Competition Luxembourg. The first
Serbian woman to earn a doctorate in percussion, she serves as faculty and Head of
Department at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.

In 2024, she made her Carnegie Hall debut and premiered Episodes for Marimba and Orchestra,
written for her by Oscar nominee and six-time Emmy winner Chris Boardman. Her concerto
appearances include works by Viet Cuong, Mason Bates, and Emmanuel Séjourné.

She co-founded Vesna Duo with pianist Liana Harron; their debut album featuring her
marimba and piano arrangement of Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring” was praised by
The Wall Street Journal as “smashingly effective.” Her compositions draw on her Slavic
and Balkan heritage. Ksenija is a Marimba One artist.

Dave Hall is Associate Professor of Percussion at the University of North Texas College
of Music. Under his direction, the UNT Percussion Ensemble won the 2025 PAS International
Percussion Ensemble Competition.

Dave performs extensively as a keyboard and multi-percussion soloist, chamber musician,
jazz drummer, timpanist, and steel pan player. He commissions and records works for
solo and chamber percussion while producing collaborative projects with his students.

An active composer published by C. Alan Publications, his works have been commissioned
and performed worldwide. He serves as adjudicator and clinician for concert and marching
percussion nationally and internationally. Since 2019, he has been Associate Music
Ensemble Coordinator and Music Design Consultant for the DCI World Champion Bluecoats
Drum and Bugle Corps.

Dave is an endorsing artist for Pearl/Adams, Remo, Innovative Percussion, and Sabian.

Ethan Strickland is an educator, performer, and collaborator currently serving as
Adjunct Assistant Professor of Percussion at Virginia State University.

Ethan has presented clinics nationally at institutions including Vanderbilt University,
Arkansas State University, Fort Hays State University, and Shenandoah Conservatory.
He has performed with artists from Bang on a Can All-Stars, Heartland Marimba, Sō
Percussion, New Morse Code, and Arx Duo. As a collaborator, he has worked directly
with composers including Daijana Wallace, Keaton Garrett, Ancel Neely, and Nate Heyder.

Ethan earned his Doctor of Musical Arts from Michigan State University, Master of
Music Performance from the University of Kansas, and Bachelor of Music from Reinhardt
University.

He serves on the Percussive Arts Society’s Education Committee and the advisory board
for the International Foundation for Contemporary Music. Ethan is an endorsee of Black
Swamp Percussion, Vic Firth, and Zildjian.