Dr. Don N. Parker is Associate Professor of Music/Percussion at Fayetteville State University. He has served as a percussion clinician in the US , Canada, and abroad. In 2005, he presented at the New Jersey Music Educators Conference and the Mississippi Day of Percussion in Jackson, MS. In 2006, he presented at the North Central/Nebraska Music Educators Conference in Lincoln, NE. He served as the host and clinician during the Missouri Day of Percussion 2002 at UM-St. Louis and North Carolina Day of Percussion 2007.

Don has appeared as a guest artist at numerous jazz festivals. Recently he performed with the African American Jazz Caucus (AAJC) Big Band at the IAJE Conference from 2002-2008. In April 2006 and 2007, he appeared as a guest artist and adjudicator at the Columbia Basin College Jazz Unlimited Festival in Pasco, Washington with Bill Watrous and Jeff Clayton. He performs regularly with the Fayetteville Jazz Orchestra. He also performs jazz vibes and piano arrangements with the Haydon/Parker Duo, which has a CD on the ACA Digital Recording Label, entitled “My Foolish Heart”.

Don has also performed with the modern American group, Synchronia, and the St. Louis Brass Band. He currently performs contemporary and traditional chamber literature with his trumpet/percussion duo, Double Take. In 2009, the duo performed at the 10th Annual Tarleton State University Percussion Festival in Stephenville, Texas and at the Eastern North Carolina Day of Percussion. Double Take’s second CD “Atmospheres” released in 2008 features commissioned works by Howard Buss and William Cahn.

Since 2003, Don has served as principal percussionist with the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra and in 2006 he was the featured soloist performing the DePonte Marimba Concertino. He has performed on three FSO CDs, “The 50th Anniversary Concert in 2006, “the Carmina Burana performance” in 2007, and “Patriotic Favorites” in 2009 . In 2008, he toured Amman, Jordan with the FSO presenting performances and clinics. Don contributed a teacher resource guide to “Teaching Music through Performance in Jazz ” complied and edited by Richard Miles and Ronald Carter released in 2007 through GIA Publications.

Don has a B.M. in Performance and Music Business from DePauw University, M.M. and a D.M.A. in Percussion Performance from the University of Texas at Austin. Don has the following endorsements: SABIAN Cymbals, Mapex Drums, Mike Balter Mallets, Calato Regal Tip Sticks, Remo World Percussion, LP Music Group, and Jupiter/Majestic Mallet Instruments.