John Hanks

Percussionist John Hanks of Durham, North Carolina, is Music Coordinator for the Duke University Dance Program. A musician for the American Dance Festival since 1984, he accompanied them to Seoul, Korea in 1991-92 and Henan Province, China, in 2012 and 2014. From 1992-2003, he was percussionist for the Jazz Dance World Congress, where he worked with Jazz Dance Masters Gus Giordano, Matt Maddox, Frank Hatchett, and others. John performs annually with the North Carolina Youth Tap Ensemble in their Spring concert, and also plays for their annual NC Rhythm Tap Festival that features notable tappers Michelle Dorrance, Derick Grant, Elizabeth Burke, and others. He has been a musician for numerous dance conventions, including: Southeastern Regional Ballet Association, American College Dance Association, and North Carolina Dance Alliance. He composes electro/acoustic percussion scores and audio collages for dance and has released three CDs of his dance class work: Here Come the Drums (1999), Drumjazz (2001), both widely available online (iTunes, Spotify, etc), and Percussion Jams for Dance (2004). 

As a jazz drummer he has performed with many notable artists, including: Randy Johnston, Bill Easley, Hod O'Brian, Mose Allison, the Glen Miller Band, Stephanie Nakasian, Butch Thompson, Scott Hamilton, Warren Vache, Mary Lou Williams, and many others. Currently, he performs locally with the Willie Painter Band (rock & blues), George Knott and the Atomic Rhythm Allstars (classic jazz), Peter Lamb, Mark Wells, Steve Hobbs, Gregg Gelb, Ethan Uslan, and others.  He played drums for the North Carolina Jazz Repertory Orchestra, directed by James Ketch, from 1991-2008.  In 1990, John Hanks and  Christopher Deane, along with Wiley Sykes and Mark Ford, founded the Philidor Percussion Group. John has also performed as timpanist or percussionist with the Mallarme Chamber Players, Duke Chapel Choir and Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle, the North Carolina Symphony, and the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra. He plays drums/percussion locally for many touring and local musical theater shows, including Theater Raleigh, North Carolina Theater, and Durham Performing Arts Center. He has also recorded CDs with Randy Johnston, the Gregg Gelb Swing Band, NCJRO, Jon Metzger, Kirk Ridge/Black Dog Syndrome, and UNCSA faculty Ron Rudkin, among others. From 1987-2012 he was the percussion instructor for the Duke University Music Department. 

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