Sophomore music performance major Lyndon Wilson and senior music education major Alex Sharkey took top honors at the Missouri Percussive Arts Society College Marimba Competition April 13, 2024, in Columbia, Missouri.

Wilson and Sharkey are both students of Dr. Scott Cameron, associate professor in the Department of Music.

“Several MSU students have competed over the past several years, but Lyndon is the first student to take first place,” Cameron said.

Drawn to percussion from an early age

Wilson and Sharkey both started playing musical instruments as young children.

“I was drawn to percussion because I, like most people, enjoyed hitting things as a small child,” said Sharkey, who plans to be a band director. “I was drawn to the marimba specifically because, in my opinion, it has the most engaging and musically challenging literature of any instrument in the percussion family.”

In addition to being able to play all the percussion instruments, Sharkey is also a classically trained pianist.

Wilson, who plans to earn a Ph.D. in music performance and teach at the university level, was heavily influenced by his family to play percussion instruments.

“Both of my parents were percussionists and so was my oldest brother,” he explained. “However, in college my passion for this instrument family and performing has grown astronomically.”

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