In August 2016, Yun Ju Pan, doctoral student of percussion performance in the College of Music, too first place honors in the Australian Marimba Competition. The annual competition, held in Melbourne, is a hallmark event of the Australian Percussion Academy – a global organization that fosters excellence in percussion education and performance.
Since 2013, Pan has been attending competitions in order to gain performance experience. In addition to her first place honors in the Australian Marimba Competition, Pan has won numerous other national and international percussion competitions.
“As an educator, I acknowledge the importance of teaching and encouraging young musicians, so I have been giving master classes and clinics at many different universities, including MSU, SooChow University (Taiwan), Ball State University, Ohio University, the University of North Alabama, the University of Central Florida, and Stetson University,” Pan said. “I have also been invited as an artist to hold recitals and clinics by the Modern Player Music Promotion Association in Macau, China in the summer of 2017.”
Additionally, in June 2017, Pan will be holding a Michigan and Asia (Taiwan and Japan) tour with three of her colleagues from MSU. This quartet was formed in an effort to present a diverse music program to schools in Michigan, Taiwan and Japan. The program includes Pan’s current research project – a transcription of Bela Bartok’s Fifth String Quartet to Marimba Quartet, and a commissioned world premiering project, Andrea Clearfield’s Tibetan-style composition.
“Students serve an important role and are the key to our future,” Pan said. “Leadership activities help support people who have good ideas and have the courage to pursue dreams for their future careers. Knowing that young musicians need more opportunities, I have been trying to provide a stage for music players, enthusiasts, and an outlet for known and emerging composers with the resources I have. I would like to thank COGS for providing these opportunities to support students. It not only helps the students who have been awarded, but it also helps us make a better world by supporting students that make an extra effort to help motivate and extend a helping hand to others.”
Pan plans to invest the $2,000 COGS Leadership Endowment Fellowship award in her current quartet project, which promotes diversity in their repertoire, research, and educational outreach towards greater inclusiveness and equality between current and future American and international students at MSU.
As an international student from Taiwan in percussion performance, Pan has recognized and felt the socio-cultural divides between students from diverse backgrounds during her four years of study in the MSU College of Music. Since 2014, it has been her mission to address these issues by actively contributing to a collaborative chamber music ensemble.
“Receiving this award has been one of my greatest honors in the time I have been at MSU,” Pan said. “The award not only supports my current project – my percussion quartet’s world tour – but it is also helping me gain more confidence for my future career. I am a classical musician who always wants to try something different. In this project, I am working with friends that I have made throughout my time at MSU who I have strong connections with as an ensemble. This award truly helps me believe and gives me even more motivation to achieve my goal.”
