“JUstin bunting is a magician … He’s creating a great community … and it’s inspiring to see.”
- Ivan Trevino, composer/percussionist
Dr. Justin Bunting (b. 1986) has an active career as an international percussion educator, solo and chamber performer, orchestral musician, clinician, and composer. His appearances include the Percussive Arts Society International Convention, the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic, the NEXUS Summer Percussion Workshop in Toronto, and the Great American Brass Band Festival. He currently serves as Director of Instrumental Activities and Assistant Professor of Music (Percussion) at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. He previously served on the faculties of Western Colorado University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Winston-Salem State University.
Dr. Bunting performs with his wife, Cassie, as Blue Line Duo. They have performed or presented at events including the Percussive Arts Society (PAS) Colombia Day of Percussion in Armenia, Colombia, the College Music Society South Central Regional Conference, Colorado Music Educators Association (CMEA) Conference, the Mars Hill University Guest Artist Percussion Residency, New Western Slope Chamber Music Series (Colorado), Music for a Great Space, and the Greensboro Fringe Festival.
Active in the Percussive Arts Society, Dr. Bunting currently serves as President of the Arkansas PAS Chapter and is a former member of the World Percussion and Collegiate Committees. Also, he had an article published on performance anxiety in Percussive Notes and is a reviewer for the New Literature and Recordings section of that publication. In addition to performing at PASIC, he has appeared PAS Days of Percussion in North Carolina, Tennessee, and Ohio.
As an orchestral musician, Justin performs regularly with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, and has performed with the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, Greensboro Symphony Orchestra, Winston-Salem Symphony, and the Salisbury Symphony. He has also appeared with the North Carolina Opera Orchestra, Greensboro Opera Orchestra, Greensboro Light Opera & Song, and the Nashville Philharmonic Orchestra. Additionally, Justin is a founding member of the North Carolina Brass Band and Gate City Percussion. He appears on those groups' recordings First In Flight, Christmas Wrapped in Brass (NCBB) and Praxis (GCP).
Dr. Bunting’s book, Studies in Rosewood, is a collection of ten four-mallet marimba solos that allow students and teachers to develop technique, musicianship, and analysis. The book is available from C. Alan Publications and includes three solos on the Texas Prescribed Music List. Multiple other works are published by C. Alan and Bachovich Music Publications. He has also self-published a piece for world percussion ensemble, collaborated to compose another world percussion duet, and has completed various arrangements for steel band. He has been a part of commissioning, premiering, or composing more than twenty works for percussion from composers including Ivan Trevino, Evan Chapman, and Emma O’Halloran.
Justin earned the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Performance and a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Music Theory from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, as well as a Master of Music in Percussion Performance from Belmont University and a Bachelor of Music in Percussion Performance from The Ohio State University. He has studied with acclaimed percussionists Eric Willie, Neeraj Mehta, Kristopher Keeton, Christopher Norton, Susan Powell, and Joseph Krygier as well as drum set and world percussion with Chester Thompson and Todd London, respectively.
Dr. Bunting is proudly a Malletech Performing Artist and an artist/endorser of Zildjian cymbals and Grover Pro Percussion products.