Korry Friend

Korry Friend (b. 1993) is an active percussionist, educator, and composer based in the United States. A dedicated advocate for new music, Friend has commissioned works from composers such as Adam Hopper, Anna Meadors, Evan Chapman, Francisco Perez, Ivan Trevino, Thad Anderson, Jacob Thiede, and Ian Whillock.

His percussion career began during high school, performing with various community bands and university-sponsored wind ensembles in and around Dayton, Ohio. Friend’s collegiate years offered numerous distinguished performance opportunities, including the 2015 PASIC Showcase Concert with the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) Percussion Ensemble; a UNCG Wind Ensemble tour in Europe; the Kentucky Music Educators Association (KMEA) Conference with the Morehead State University (MSU) Symphony Band; an MSU Percussion Ensemble tour in Tianjin and Beijing, China; the KMEA Intercollegiate Orchestra; and Sacred Winds Ministries. In 2014, he was named the winner of MSU’s prestigious Gallaher Solo Competition.

As an educator, Friend has taught and adjudicated for numerous high school bands and competitions across Texas, West Virginia, Indiana, Kentucky, Nebraska, and Ohio. During his time in North Carolina, he served as a section percussionist with the nationally acclaimed North Carolina Brass Band. He can also be heard on Sacred Winds Ministries’ first studio album, In Christ Alone. Notably, he performed John Luther Adams’ Inuksuit with the Nief-Norf Project and Steve Schick at the Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, TN.

Friend currently serves as Assistant Director of an after-school music program in Carmel, Indiana, where he teaches a private studio and mentors fellow drum instructors. He earned his Master of Music in Performance (MM ’17) from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro under Dr. Eric Willie and his Bachelor of Music Education (BME ’15) from Morehead State University under Dr. Brian S. Mason. In 2013, he also studied Mandarin Chinese and Chinese history and culture at Tianjin Normal University in Tianjin, China.

Korry Friend’s Music

  • Sapience
    Sapience for snare drum with audio accompaniment
    By Korry Friend
    $24.00

    Expressive concert snare drum solo with fixed media that mixes rudimental, concert, and Basel styles with hip-hop and gamelan-inspired electronics.

    • Duration: 7:10
    • Level: Med-Advanced
    • Personnel: 1 player
  • (O)r(B)it
    (O)r(B)it for percussion sextet
    By Korry Friend
    $12.00
    A dreamlike 6-percussion percussion ensemble full of swirling marimba sonorities, groovy cajon patterns, and soaring vibraphone melodies invoking fond nostalgia.
    • Duration: 3:45
    • Level: Med-Advanced
    • Personnel: 6 players
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