By Nathan Driskell, Student Reporter

The audience in Cullen Auditorium rose to its feet amid cheers and applause Monday night when the ACU Percussion Ensemble and Steel Grooves steel drum band sounded the final note of its spring semester concert.

The ensemble, made up of 15 ACU students and one Hardin-Simmons University student, performed traditional songs from West Africa, Zimbabwe and Guatemala, as well as steel drum songs from the tradition of Trinidad. The concert included guest appearances by the Classical Youth Chorus of Abilene, the ACU A Cappella Chorus and Eagle Steel, Abilene High School’s steel drum band. Dr. Allen Teel, associate professor of percussion and world music and director of the Percussion Ensemble, said he was impressed with the group.

“Nights like tonight make me think I have the very best job in the world,” Teel said Monday after the concert.

The steel drum song “Mambo Mindoro” combined members of ACU’s steel drum band and Abilene High School’s steel drum band on stage for a finale crowd pleaser featuring solos by Nathan Lambert, senior graphic design major from San Antonio, on congas; Brian Glass, Hardin-Simmons freshman music education major from Buffalo Gap, on timbales; and Philip Ellis, sophomore business management major from Van, on drum set. The song brought applause and a standing ovation from audience members.

“The audience was awesome; they ate it up,” Ellis said.

Throughout the semester, ensemble members have not only learned and rehearsed songs from other cultures, they have also studied the culture and background surrounding the pieces they play. Lambert said Teel has made the music more enjoyable by helping students understand the culture from which the music comes.

“He makes it fun by allowing us to feel another culture, to understand the rhythmic language,” Lambert said.

Ellis said he appreciates the level of expertise Teel brings to the ensemble.

“Dr. Teel is a genius,” Ellis said. “He’s the man. He’s one of the greatest drummers I know, and I think we’re lucky to have him here as a professor.”

In the fall of 2001, Teel spent his sabbatical studying West African drumming traditions under Midawo Gideon Foli Alorwoyie at the University of North Texas in Denton. Teel said understanding music in the context of the culture that influences it is something he has always been interested in.

“I’m interested in learning about the people, about the culture that creates the music, and a little bit about the context,” Teel said. “And I think that it’s important to help the students understand, too.”