Jim Ancona has over 20 years' experience as an arranger and instructor for world class drum and bugle corps including the The Cadets, Star of Indiana, Madison Scouts, Santa Clara Vanguard, and Carolina Crown.
Jim's honors in the marching activity include having been Percussion Caption Head for the 2006 DCI World Champion Cavaliers and having been on the instructional staff of the 2011 World Champion Cadets as well as Star of Indiana's (1993) and Santa Clara Vanguard's (2004) World Champion percussion sections. His Vanguard Percussion Ensembles and Mixed Ensembles (with brass) have won at the Drum Corps International Individual and Ensemble Championships. Several of his percussion arrangements appear on Star of Indiana's "Brass Theater" and "BLAST" compact discs and are published by Tapspace Publications. Jim is also co-author of Up Front: A Complete Resource for Today's Pit Ensemble and author of Up Front Etudes. He is an endorser and clinician for Remo, Inc., Pearl Drums and Adams Percussion, Avedis Zildjian Company, and a Signature Artist for Innovative Percussion, Inc.
Jim is an Assistant Professor of Music at the University of Delaware. He is the Assistant Director of the Blue Hen Marching Band, Director of the Basketball Pep Band and Co-Director of the Symphonic Band. Jim received his Bachelor's Degree in Music Education from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and his Master's Degree in Performance from Indiana University where he was awarded the prestigious Performer's Certificate.
A downloadable, student-modeled version of the flagship book UP FRONT. Specifically tailored for individual players, this product contains most of the Technique and Exercises chapters from the original book at a fraction of the cost.
Designed by Jim Ancona to be a great companion to the popular pit resource "Up Front," this is a collection ensemble etudes of varying style to breathe life back into your pit's warm-up routine.
This arrangement of Ravel's masterpiece recreates the colorful and vibrant work for percussion ensemble. This piece will challenge performers and engage audiences with its accessible Spanish flair.
This arrangement of Mercury from "The Planets" re-creates the playful and rhythmic character of the original orchestration in the percussion ensemble setting. Fun for performers and accessible to audiences.
This medley contains music from "Letter From Home" and "First Circle". Beautiful harmonies, interplay between voices, and complex meter changes create a seamless thread of beautiful music with a subtle underlying groove.
During our recent website redesign, some passwords may not have carried over. If you’re unable to log in, please reset your password by selecting the “Lost your password” option. Thank you for your understanding!
