Image ID: Laurel, a women with long dark blonde hair draping down and to the side, stands in a rust colored dress in the woods in front of a tree.
Laurel Grinnell-Wilson is a freelance jazz drummer, percussionist, and ethnomusicologist with expertise in Indonesian gamelan music of Central Java. She is currently the Director of the San Diego State University Javanese gamelan ensemble, the Director of the Canyon Crest Academy High School Javanese gamelan ensemble, and is a part time lecturer also at San Diego State University. In addition, she works for the Center for World Music as the Assistant Director of the World Music in the Schools Program.
Laurel graduated from SDSU with an MA in Ethnomusicology and an emphasis on Javanese gamelan, studying under the notable Pak Djoko Walujo Wimboprasetyo and writing her Master’s thesis on Pak Djoko’s contributions to teaching gamelan in the United States. She has conducted musical field studies in Java, Bali, and Ghana and in addition to studying Javanese gamelan music, she has experience playing and performing Balinese anklung, rindik, gender wayang, and selonding, Zimbabwean mbira and marimba, West African drumming styles of the Ewe region, and kora of Senegal. She has performed locally in a number of groups that perform music from around the world, including Sene Africa, Dornob, Zimbeat, Kembang Sunda, the Javanese Gamelan of the Indonesian Consulate in LA, CalArts, and more.
Laurel received her BA in Jazz Performance Studies from Sonoma State University and graduated with distinction on drum set under master teachers George Marsh and Mel Graves. She continues to perform locally on drums as a jazz freelance musician, in musical theater productions (San Diego Musical Theatre), as a special guest with the San Diego Women’s Choir, as well as various other contexts. She has performed with artists such as Allison Adams Tucker, Lori Bell, Steph Johnson, Monette Marino, and more!
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