West Virginia University Director of the School of Music and Director of the World Music Performance Center Mike Vercelli stops by to talk about his work at WVU along with their incredible percussion inventory (03:10), his work navigating the new financial reality for colleges and the importance of developing entrepreneurship in students (18:00), growing up in New Hampshire, his percussion and music background, his unusual lessons background, and playing in rock bands and youth orchestra (29:50), attending UConn for undergrad, his various teachers at the program, and the growth of men’s and women’s college basketball there (38:30), his master’s degree at Bowling Green State (OH) and his first prominent experiences in world percussion, including his first trip to Ghana (45:05), taking time away from school, teaching and freelancing in Ohio and Arizona, heading to the University of Arizona for his doctorate, and his 6 months of study in Ghana (54:05), and finishing with the Random Ass Questions, including segments on the inclusion of world percussion in a western arts curriculum, making hot sauce and spicy foods, travel writer Paul Theroux, New England seafood, bad jobs, wild performance situations, and the Smithsonian African American History Museum (01:19:15).
Finishing with a Rave on the 2026 film Project: Hail Mary (01:52:15).
Mike Vercelli Links:
Previous Podcast Guests Mentioned:
Other Links:
Teaching Percussion - Gary Cook
Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring trailer
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey trailer
Captain America: The First Avenger trailer
On the Plain of Snakes: A Mexican Journey - Paul Theroux
Raves: