Newsletter
New Music / New Publication / New Book - 2/10/26
Good Morning!
I hope you are doing well! This is another newsletter where I am excited to share with you a few new projects that have all recently been released!
My vibraphone solo, Autumn Morning, is now officially available through Tapspace! I wrote this work back in the Fall of 2023 and it is so cool to see how far it has come and how many people have taken it on. This piece is special because it is meant for players of all levels. Halfway through the piece, the performer has the choice to either repeat the main theme, play a pre-written solo, or improvise over the changes themselves. Because of this freedom, I have seen some truly unique variations of this piece! I am honored to be featured on the front page of Tapspace at this moment and I am glad to now have more of my music accessible to percussionists through Tapspace. I am truly proud of this piece and it is still one of my favorite compositions to play on any given day. Go check out Autumn Morning right here: https://www.tapspace.com/product/autumn-morning/
If you can remember from my last newsletter, I mentioned that I was writing a marimba duet for some friends who are attending the University of Miami’s – Frost School of Music. Well, that piece is finished and available on my website right this second. Far Away Places is about friendships that are separated by distance. I have made so many friends through my time at KSU and MTSU that I no longer see on a regular basis. Although I am happy for the success of these friends, there still is a bittersweet feeling of not getting to spend as much time together. Far Away Places captures moments of longing and moments of joy for all of my friends who are out there doing great things. I am super proud of this work and excited to get a live recording up sometime this Summer. You can check out Far Away Places right here: https://www.christiankilgore.com/far-away-places
I have one more work available on my website that is completely different from anything else I have ever written. Metered is a collection 502 cards, each with a unique combination of eighth notes and eighth rests. The cards consist of every time signature between 1/8 & 8/8 and every possible eighth note-based rhythm within (excluding measures of purely rests). These cards are simply made to inspire creativity and help musicians explore all the rhythmic (and polymetric) possibilities within these time signatures. Metered is intentionally left to the devices of the beholder so that you can use it in your own creative way. There is no one way that these cards were intended to be used. However, a few recommend uses can be found in the first few pages including: Performances, Educational Tools, Creative Tools, Improving your Independence, or as a Game. You can check out Metered right here: https://www.christiankilgore.com/metered
If you like these emails or any of these pieces, I would love to hear your thoughts! If you are no longer wanting to receive newsletters from me, please let me know. I write these by hand just to let you know when I have new music out (No spam!) I hope you are all having a fantastic 2026 and I will let you know when my next big project is out!
All the best!
-Christian Kilgore
Percussionist - Performer - Educator - Composer
Life Update / Consortium Announcement / PASIC / New Music - 11/11/25
Good morning!
I hope you are all doing well! This is another newsletter from yours truly. The Fall is winding down and I can’t believe I am almost one semester down in my DMA! It has been a ridiculously busy period of life, but I love what I do and I feel extremely lucky to be where I am. I have had so much fun instructing and writing for the USC drumline this season and I am excited to end this season strong (only two more home games!). I am writing to you today to share a few quick updates!
As you have probably already seen on my socials, I just announced my third annual consortium! This has become one of my favorite regular projects and is always an amazing opportunity to connect with and write for active percussionists all over. This year, I am writing a multi-movement work for solo multi-percussion. I have a few thematic ideas stored, but as previous consortium members know, I will work closely with those involved to help talk about and develop any & all ideas. To learn more, feel free to email me or check out this page on my website: https://www.christiankilgore.com/consortium
As you may already know, Tomorrow is day 1 of the Percussive Arts Society International Conference in Indianapolis. I am so excited to attend this year for a couple of reasons! On top of all the amazing clinicians and performances, this will be my first year on the PAS Composition Committee and after already starting a few projects with them, I am excited to meet everyone in-person and share a few of the things we have been working on. Additionally, Row-Loff Productions and C. Alan Publications will both have booths in the Expo Hall and will be carrying some of my music. Give those booths a visit if you get the chance. Lastly, I am excited to see friends both old and new. If you spot me walking around the convention, please stop me; I would love to talk to you and catch up!
I know it has been a while since I have released any new music, but I promise you I have been working diligently on a few projects that you can expect to see in the near future:
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Obviously, the 2026 Consortium (which means last year’s consortium will be available soon)
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A solo version (with backing track) of one of my pre-existing works
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A new marimba duet to be premiered by some friends at University of Miami – Frost School of Music
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And a new percussion ensemble work utilizing tuned metal pipes
I promise you all will be the first to know when all the music goes live over the next few months! That’s all I have to share for now. I hope to see you all at PASIC and have a fantastic day!
P. S. The Palmetto Pans have a concert TONIGHT at 7:30pm EST and will be playing my tune Devious D named after the notorious Lalo Davila. Check it out here if you have the time!
-Christian Kilgore
Percussionist - Performer - Educator - Composer
Updates in my life / New Book / Free Resources - 8/20/25
Good morning!
I hope this email finds you well! Over the summer, I moved from Murfreesboro, Tennessee to Columbia, South Carolina because I am now pursuing my DMA at the University of South Carolina. My Graduate Assistantship is with the marching band, teaching the drumline, and I have been having a blast working with the group and meeting new people in the area.
So much has changed in my life over the past few months and I have so many big updates to share! This is the first issue of my newsletter. If you are receiving this email, it is because you have supported me and/or my music in some way over the past two years. I could not be more thankful for your support and I figured you might want to be the first to know about new music and/or life updates. Know that these emails come from me directly (no spam). If you ever want to be removed from my mailing list, just let me know with a response.
One of the biggest news is that I have a collection of percussion ensemble works coming out through Row-Loff Productions this Thursday entitled, MINISICLES! This book contains eight pieces for percussion quartet designed for minimal set-up and equipment, all grade 1 & 2. Each work in the collection uses instruments and materials that are most commonly found in school band rooms like music stands, chairs, or just sticks on the ground. Blackman Middle and High School were awesome enough to perform all eight pieces and they will be up on YouTube Thursday at 9am! You can learn more about the collection here: https://www.christiankilgore.com/compositions/minisicles
Speaking of other publications, my work for percussion orchestra (premiered by TCU), Nimbus, is now available through C Alan Publications. Nathan Daughtry was a pleasure to work/speak with and I just wanted to get this work out to more programs. Consider programming it for your next percussion ensemble concert! Check it out here: https://c-alanpublications.com/nimbus/
I added a new tab to my website titled the “Resources” tab. This is where I will post FREE educational percussion resources for anyone to use for yourself, students, or a percussion program. Right now, there are two PDFs available for snare drum exercises. One is the “Essentials” and the other is “Christian’s Way.” The Essentials are exercises that every percussionist should know; Some of the most universal exercises that are all collected on one document with explanations on how to approach them. Christian’s Way is a collection of original exercises, written by me, that are twists on common skillsets. If you are tired of the same old exercises, try switching up your routine and challenge yourself with these. I would love to hear about it if you find them useful! I am planning on creating another set for mallet percussion. The Snare Drum PDFs are available right here: https://www.christiankilgore.com/resources
The final bit of news I have to share is that I was officially accepted as a member of the PAS Composition Committee! For the next three years, I will be serving with the likes of Dr. Jamie Whitmarsh, Benjamin Holmes, Dr. Brant Blackard, Shane Roderick, and more! We are working on educational resources soon to be released through PAS and the upcoming Composition Contest. I feel honored to work with such amazing people and I am excited for all the opportunities that will arise. You can learn more about the committee and see my name listed here: https://pas.org/committees/
That is it for now! I am sure that the next newsletter will not have nearly as much to share. Thank you for your support and I hope you all have a fantastic week!
-Christian Kilgore
Percussionist - Performer - Educator - Composer