If the best way to judge a teacher’s effectiveness is by their students’ career progress, professor Svetoslav Stoyanov is making the sort of impact most educators can only dream of. Stoyanov is director of the Frost School’s Classical Percussion Program, and his recent graduates are landing key positions with orchestras and universities across the nation.
In just the last several years, Frost School alumnus Jonathan Wisner recently earned a percussion section position with the Seattle Symphony, as did Evan Saddler with the United States Air Force Concert Band. And Frost School graduate Manuel Leuenberger released a solo album in late 2024, “Fluss der Zeit: Works for Marimba.”
On the teaching front, Ksenija Komljenović and Tyson Voigt are heading up percussion departments of their own at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and Florida’s Southeastern University, (where Voigt is also dean of the music school), respectively. Colin Williams is teaching at Florida International University, as is Cory Fica at Arkansas Tech University.
Some percussion students are breaking through even before graduation. Shane Roderick, who is scheduled to complete his doctorate in May, is already the incoming director of percussion at the University of Texas Permian Basin. And second-year doctoral student Mingyu Son won the Principal Timpani position with the Colorado Symphony, which he will join this summer.
“My philosophy is that I do not teach percussion, I’m teaching musicians who happen to play percussion,” said Stoyanov. “It’s about connecting dots between the vast array of musical contexts – solo, chamber, orchestra, theatrical, as well as the endless instruments within the artform percussion represents—marimba, timpani, drum set, vibraphone, snare drum, cymbals, tambourine, xylophone, glockenspiel, and on and on. I collaborate with and teach my students how to cultivate and use their universal knowledge, and apply it within the microcosms of music, the percussive arts, and life.”
Now in his 17th year at the Frost School, Stoyanov has built one of the country’s most innovative percussion programs. Creatively bonding orchestral, solo, and chamber music, he works with his colleagues Pablo Rieppi from the New York City Ballet and Leonardo Soto from the Houston Symphony. Stoyanov balances teaching with a still-active career as a touring solo percussionist, which has given him an extensive professional network he is generous in sharing with students.
“His awareness of current trends on the professional landscape is invaluable, and his network is insane, he’s so well-connected,” said Son. “He understands what audition panels are looking for and translates that into very practical, actionable advice.”
Stoyanov uses his connections in multiple ways. When he was invited to perform in a 2024 work set to the music of renowned composer Gabriela Ortiz at New York’s Carnegie Hall, he enlisted three players from his Frost School stable -- Son, Komljenović, and Roderick.
“That was quite an experience,” said Roderick. “Getting an opportunity like that as a student is very telling as to how he thinks about students as collaborators.”
Of course, the reason Stoyanov gets such opportunities in the first place is that he remains a fantastic musician. Komljenović recalls being reduced to tears during the first lesson she ever had from him as a student.
“I don’t know if he noticed, or pretended not to and just let me shed a tear or two,” she said with a laugh. “I was just so moved by his playing. Everything he told me really spoke to me, recognizing both my qualities and challenges in a very supportive way. I feel very lucky to have found him as a mentor. He was a wonderful guide, and I am forever grateful.”
