Pete's Percussion Podcast - Pete Zambito

Maryland-based Freelancing Percussionist, Recording Artist, Composer, Author and Admissions Counselor Jenna Duranko stops by to talk about her career, her seminary studies, playing in senior-living spaces, and her recent album Mosaic (04:20), growing up in Frederick (MD), her early musical background in choir, piano and French horn, and her time in the girl scouts (24:00), attending Radford University (VA) for undergrad, recent podcast guest Meridythe Witt, becoming a percussion major and starting from scratch, and majoring in Music Business (34:20), her 7 years working in radio, creating a career through solo marimba performance, how the pandemic changed her career and called her towards ministry, and her current composition project (53:40), and settles in for the Random Ass Questions, including segments on why musicians always need to be paid, Tervis Tumblers, the band B*Witched, The Pittsburgh Steelers, library work, Macado’s Restaurant, and the Artemis II (01:12:40).
Finishing with a Rave on Pete’s experiences with the 2026 Missouri Day of Percussion and co-leading the Mass Steel Band (01:38:15).
Jenna Duranko links:
Jenna Duranko’s Facebook page
Jenna Duranko’s Instagram page
Mosaic - Jenna Duranko
Previous Podcast Guests Mentioned:
Meridythe Witt in 2026
Jeff Calissi in 2017
Megan Arns in 2017
Emily Lemmermann in 2019
Brian Zator in 2017
Connor Viets in 2024
Other Links:
Robert Sanderl
Lancaster Theological Seminary
Preaching and Music - Catherine Williams
“Michi” - Keiko Abe
“Wind in the Bamboo Grove” - Keiko Abe
Taubmann Museum of Art
National Ovarian Cancer Coalition
Rizpah
B*Witched
Tervis Tumblers
The Legend of Bagger Vance trailer
Gone with the Wind trailer
The Giver - Lois Lowry
Ben Roethlisberger highlights
Aaron Rodgers highlights
Mike Tomlin
Macado’s
Highlander Pizza
Raves:
2026 Missouri Day of Percussion

New York City-based Freelancing Percussionist, Teacher and Composer Caitlin Cawley stops by to talk about her professional life and her work with the percussion groups Talujon and Mantra Percussion (04:20), growing up on Long Island, her musical beginnings, and her time in the Juilliard pre-college program (22:00), attending Boston University and Manhattan School of Music for her undergrad and grad career, and how the pandemic and a health scare changed the scope of her percussion future (47:40), and settles in for the Random Ass Questions, including discussions of her experiences in the percussion world as a woman, great science-fiction books and series, New York Pizza, the New York Rangers, great visual art, and KPOP Demon Hunters (01:17:20).
Finishing with a Rave on the 2025 documentary film Thank You Very Much (01:44:40).
Caitlin Cawley Links:
Caitlin Cawley’s website
Talujon
Mantra Percussion
Previous Podcast Guests Mentioned:
Mika Godbole in 2026
Ian Antonio in 2023
Maria Finkelmeier in 2018
Pablo Rieppi in 2024
Other Links:
Bash the Trash
Greg Jukes
The Spence School
Brass Queens
Dewa Alit
La Mama
Michael Lipsey
David Cossin
Christopher Graham
“Get Off of My Cloud” - The Rolling Stones
“Honky Tonk Women” - The Rolling Stones
“Sonic Meditation 1” - Pauline Oliveros
Hypermobility
Jonathan Haas
Greg Giannascoli
Sam Solomon
Tim Genis
Matthew Pellegrino
The Fifth Element trailer
Whiplash trailer
The Great Cities - NK Jemisin
The Dune Series - Frank Herbert
Ursula K. Le Guin
The Daevabad Trilogy - S.A. Chakraborty
The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi - S.A. Chakraborty
Empire AI - Karen Hao
R.F. Kuang
Katie Ledecky
New York Rangers 1994 Stanley Cup
Joe and Sal’s Pizza
KPop Demon Hunters trailer
Raves:
Thank You Very Much trailer

Current Tampa-based Percussion Freelancer and Educator and Retired Director of Percussion Studies at the University of South Florida Bob McCormick stops by to talk about his current life and how he stays healthy (03:40), growing up in Cleveland and Southern California, his early musical influences and his time in undergrad (10:55), his work with the Army band and getting his master’s degree (27:30), his year of playing in Harry Partch’s Ensemble (36:15), teaching briefly at Florida State University before heading to USF, building the program there, literature choices in the early years, and the importance of investing in recordings (45:00), and settles in for the Random Ass Questions, including his feelings on current percussion literature, the PASIC New Music/Research Day, the musical landscape during the first half of the 20th century, Tony Cirone’s “Symphony Special”, and so much more! (01:19:20)
Finishing with a Rave about Pete performing How to Train Your Dragon live in concert with the Missouri Symphony (01:39:05).
Bob McCormick Links:
McCormick Percussion Group Homepage
Previous Podcast Guests mentioned:
Lee Hinkle in 2026
Kevin von Kampen in 2024
Neil Grover in 2023
Jeff Moore in 2023
Andrea Venet in 2018
Chrissie Souza in 2024
Sarah Hasekamp in 2024
Other Links:
Harry Partch
Danlee Mitchell
Tony Cirone
Gene Krupa
Buddy Rich
Forrest Clark
“Zyklus” - Karlheinz Stockhausen
Tom Siwe
Paul Price
Nancy Zeltsman
Leigh Howard Stevens
Emil Richards
Vic Firth
“Canaries” - Elliott Carter
Ed Thigpen
Larry Austin
Stuart Saunders Smith
Thad Anderson
Svet Stoyanov
“Synchronisms No. 5” - Mario Davidovsky
“Marimbastuck” - Maki Ishii
Payton MacDonald
Baljinder Sekhon
Michael Colgrass
2001: A Space Odyssey trailer
The Sound of Music trailer
Artful Noise - Tom Siwe
The Rest is Noise - Alex Ross
Pierrot lunaire - Arnold Schoenberg
Wozzeck - Alban Berg
Raves:
How to Train Your Dragon in Concert

Pennsylvania State University Percussion Professor Lee Hinkle stops by to talk about all things Penn State, getting hired during the pandemic, negotiating the job, and entrepreneurship classes (03:35), his predecessor Dan Armstrong, the facilities, recruitment, and Penn State football (18:20), freelancing and his faculty teaching load (32:55), his recent album release Modern American Percussion Concerti (41:00), growing up in central Florida, the folk musicians in his family, marching band, drumset, and martial arts (50:20), attending the University of South Florida for undergrad, focusing on percussion and voice performance, and the importance of vocal pedagogy in musical performance (01:02:35), attending the University of Maryland for his master’s and doctorate, then transitioning to a faculty position soon after (01:19:20), and finishes with the Random Ass Questions, including the tearing down the silos of the percussion world, his active physical health regimen, student memes, great books, scuba diving and submersibles, and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony (01:35:05).
Finishing with a Rave on a recent live performance by the UK band The Last Dinner Party (01:58:40).
Lee Hinkle Links:
Lee Hinkle’s Website
Modern American Percussion Concerti - Lee Hinkle
Williamsport Symphony Orchestra
Lee Hinkle’s Penn State Page
21st Century Consort
Previous Podcast Guests mentioned:
Cameron Leach in 2023
Dan Piccolo in 2020
Gwen Dease in 2017
Jauvon Gilliam in 2019
Other Links:
Dan Armstrong
Gregory Drane
Tonya Mitchell-Spradlin
Altoona Symphony Orchestra
Pennsylvania Chamber Orchestra
Nittany Valley Symphony
Washington Master Chorale
Signature Theater
Benjamin Ramirez
Naomi Seidman
Maurice Wright
Evelyn Glennie’s Concertos page
American Composers Alliance
“Conjurer” - John Corigliano
Colin Currie
William Hudgins
Kennedy Space Center
Playalinda Beach
Ron Jon Surf Shop
Carter Beauford
“Tom Sawyer” - Rush
“The Wanton Song” - Led Zeppelin
“What is Hip?” - Tower of Power
311 Tiny Desk Concert
“Signed, Sealed, Delivered” - Stevie Wonder
“Longview” - Green Day
“A Love Supreme” - John Coltrane (Elvin Jones, drums)
“Smells Like Teen Spirit” - Nirvana
Isshin-ryu
Annetta Monroe
The Harry Partch Ensemble
Lou Harrison
John Cage
John Tafoya
John Tafoya’s Orchestral Repertory Books
Tony Ames
Nancy Zeltsman
Tim Adams
Robert Marino
Shutter Island trailer
Signs trailer
Rachael Ray
Jack Reacher series - Lee Child
The Devil in the White City - Erik Larson
A Walk in the Woods - Bill Bryson
Guns, Germs, and Steel - Jared Diamond
Collapse - Jared Diamond
Pacific Crest Trail
Stanley Submarines
Ninth Symphony - L.V. Beethoven
Raves:
The Last Dinner Party’s website

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:
Mike Vercelli’s WVU page
Learning Gyil - Mike Vercelli
Previous Podcast Guests Mentioned:
Jason Baker in 2020
Alex Weir in 2026
Norman Weinberg in 2017
Josh Armstrong in 2018
Daniel Smithiger in 2017
Megan Arns in 2017
Other Links:
WVU’s World Music page
Phil Faini
Ellie Mannette
Paschal Younge
Tim Peterman
Mantle Hood
Alexander Lepak
Peter Coutsouridis
Roger Schupp
Steven Cornelius
Abraham Adzenyah
Emmanuel Agbeli
Gary Cook
Teaching Percussion - Gary Cook
Jonathan Latta
Scott Shinbara
Erick Saoud
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:
Project: Hail Mary trailer