Dr. Andrea Venet is a percussion artist, soloist, educator, and composer specializing in contemporary and classical genres. She is currently assistant professor of percussion and head of the department at the University of North Florida (UNF), where she directs the UNF percussion ensemble, teaches applied lessons, pedagogy, methods and percussion literature. Her creative activity includes performance, composition, and commissioning new works.
As an international soloist, chamber musician, and clinician, Andrea maintains an active performance schedule, having held appointments in Europe, Japan, Canada, and Trinidad. Andrea has been a featured soloist at the Celebrate Marimba Festival, The Steve Weiss Mallet Festival (Barnes Foundation, Pennsylvania), Prairie Music Residency (SK, Canada), with the Kutztown University Symphony, in addition to being a featured performer with SNL percussionist Valerie Naranjo, Ivan Trevino, the Lawson Ensemble, Project Trio, and the Eastman Percussion Ensemble. Early in her career, Andrea was a member of the award-winning Santa Clara Vanguard Drum and Bugle Corps from 2002 ti 2004 and performed with Grammy-winning alternative band TOOL with the Gilbert Drumline in 2001.
Andrea has performed and presented at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention multiple times, the Florida and Virginia Music Educators Association conventions, the College Music Society National Conference, the International Trombone Festival, and has been invited to co-present at the World Symposium of Choral Music in Auckland, NZ in 2020 with Dr. Cara Tasher.
Dr. Venet's percussion duo, Escape Ten, maintains a steady performance schedule touring as guest artists and clinicians nationally and internationally, consistently featured as chamber artists and clinicians at music festivals, concert series, conferences, and universities. Through collaboration with composer Eric Guinivan, they are the recipients of a marimba duo commission awarded from the prestigious Fromm Foundation, Illuminations (2018), which they premiered at the Cummer Museum in Jacksonville, Florida. In 2016 they performed a Showcase Concert at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention, giving three world premieres. Select appearances include performances in Spain at the Ágora Actual Percussion and WASBE 2019 festivals, the Academy of the Performing Arts (UTT) in Trinidad, at the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia, the Eastman Summer Percussion Festival, and at the Leigh Howard Stevens Marimba Seminar. They have collaborated with composers Michael Burritt, Russell Hartenberger, Aurél Hollo, Emmanuel Séjourné, Ivan Trevino, Joe Locke, Steve Danyew, Steve Ridley, Drew Worden, and Kelly Rossum. As signature artists, Escape Ten has their own mallets (2020) and publication series of new percussion duos through Malletech/Keyboard Percussion Publications (KPP). You can hear them their albums, My Favorite Things (Parma Records, 2020) and Colours of a Groove (2014).
Andrea’s compositions and arrangements can be found self-published via her website, through Keyboard Percussion Publications (KPP), Tapspace, and Alfonse-Production, in addition to articles published with PercussiveNotes and Rhythm!Scene magazines. A passionate educator, Andrea’s research involves pedagogy, with focus on college percussion education at various levels, classical improvisation and historically informed Baroque performance practice techniques for Bach on marimba. She has presented her lecture recital, Affekt and Execution: Historical Performance Practice and Contemporary Techniques for performing Bach on Marimba multiple times across the country. Andrea holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in performance and literature with a minor in pedagogy, and the prestigious Performer’s Certificate from the Eastman School of Music. She received her master's and bachelor's degrees from Rutgers and Arizona State University, respectively. Andrea is endorsed by Malletech, Remo, DREAM Cymbals, Black Swamp Percussion, and currently serves as the Percussive Arts Society Florida Chapter President.