Pan Ramajay Summer Steel Drum Festival July 11-16, 2010        Registration is now open for the 2010 festival!        The Pan Ramajay Summer Steel Drum Festival, located at the Lamont School of Music on the campus of the University of Denver, CO, is a six day workshop for steel pan players of all ages, backgrounds and levels.      An all-star faculty along with the festival participants join together for a combination of workshops, rehearsals, student performances, faculty concerts and even late night jams.  Daily seminars and rehearsals are designed to assist participants with practice and playing techniques, arranging techniques, improvisation approaches, ensemble organization, instruction and administration, and more. 2010 Festival Faculty (to date) Pan Ramajay's, Tom Miller, Alan Lightner, and Jim Munzenrider, with Don Prorak, founder of, Pan Jumbies steel band, Michael Spiro, Latin percussion expert,  and Rick Henson, founder of Rocky Mountain Steel Bands. 2010 Festival Artist in Residence Ray Holman, master steel drummer, composer and arranger. Save the date and look for details at www.ramajaypanfest.com

Palmer High School junior Ray Grossman has been invited to play violin in the National High School Honors Orchestra (NHSHO) in Santa Clara, California in February, 2010. The NHSHO competitively selects the most talented young junior and senior high school musicians from school orchestras in each state.

Ray Grossman, age 16, has played violin since age 3 with his mentor and teacher Michael Hanson, Concertmaster of the Colorado Springs Philharmonic. Ray’s musical achievements include his selection to the National Suzuki Youth Orchestra of America at age 10, Young Concert Artists concerto competition winner in 2006 and 2007, and Colorado Springs Symphonic Guild concerto competition winner in 2009. Ray was Concertmaster of the 2009 Colorado All State Orchestra. Currently, he is Concertmaster of the Palmer High School Chamber Orchestra and the Colorado Springs Youth Symphony. Ray has represented Colorado in the MTNA regional competition at St. Olaf’s in 2009 and will again represent Colorado at the University of Missouri in 2010. Recently, he was named Concertmaster of the 2010 Pikes Peak Honors Orchestra and winner of the CSU Pueblo Honors Orchestra concerto competition and will play in April 2010 with the Pueblo Symphony Orchestra.

Ray has studied with Arkady Fomin at the New Conservatory of Dallas and has been a featured future artist soloist three times. Ray attended Indiana University Jacobs Summer String Academy where he studied with Gwen Chan. This past summer, Ray studied with Alan Bodman of Northwestern University at the Meadowmount School or Music in New York. Ray is first violin for the VERA Quartet, coached by Karina Garibova and has performed solo and in groups for many school, church, community, and charity events.

Ray is in the International Baccalaureate program at Palmer High School and maintains a grade point average of 5.0. Ray studies mathematics and physics at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. He is a member of the National Honor Society, Chinese National Honor Society, Forensics Debate Team, and the Palmer Varsity Swim Team. Ray competed at the 2009 National Forensic Tournament in Alabama in Cross Examination debate. Ray is an Eagle Scout with Manitou Springs Boy Scout Troop 18, and a volunteer at Memorial Hospital. He is also an accomplished pianist studying with Carol Jilling.

Photo courtesy of Dan Park