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Ralph Sorrentino
Instructor – Percussion

Room 152B, Swope Music Building
Phone: 610-436-2831
rsorrentino@wcupa.edu

Curriculum Vitae

Education
B.M. in Music Performance, West Chester University
B.S. in Music Education, West Chester University
M.M. in Orchestral Performance, Temple University.

Ralph Sorrentino is currently active as a performer and educator in the Greater Philadelphia region.  Ralph serves as a substitute percussionist with The Philadelphia Orchestra and has performed with the Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, the Mann Music Center and the Saratoga Performing Arts Center under the batons of Christoph Eschenbach, Sir Simon Rattle, Charles Dutoit, Andrew Litton, Osmo Vanska, Peter Oundjian, Erich Kunzel and Marvin Hamlisch, among others.  With The Philadelphia Orchestra, Ralph has performed the North American premier of Hans Werner Henze’s Tenth Symphony and the world premier of Behzad Ranjbaran’s Saratoga.  Ralph was named Principal Percussionist of the Haddonfield Symphony in September 2004 and is currently a section percussionist with the Pottstown Symphony.  In September 2006 Ralph was named Principal Percussionist of the Bay-Atlantic Symphony.  Ralph has also performed with the New World, Delaware, Harrisburg, Lancaster, Kennett, Reading and Trenton Symphonies, Orchestra 2001, the Ocean City Pops, the Lehigh Valley Chamber Orchestra, Opera Delaware and the Westminster Brass. 

As a solo artist, Ralph was named the winner of the 1999 MTNA Collegiate Artist Percussion Competition at both the state and regional levels, and he was named First Runner-up at the 1999 MTNA Collegiate Artist Percussion Competition National Finals in Los Angeles.  In February 2003, Ralph gave the world premier performance of award-winning composer Robert Maggio's Songs from the Wood (for solo marimba) after playing an integral role in the commission and development of the work.  Ralph records percussion tracks for NFL Films, including music that was heard on the national television broadcast of Super Bowl XL.   He has also recorded for Warner Brothers Publications and he served as Principal Percussionist with the Haddonfield Symphony for a CD of Daniel Dorff’s music, scheduled to be released by Bridge Records in 2006. 

Ralph joined the faculty at West Chester University in August 2004.  He has served as an adjunct faculty member at Immaculata University since January 2003, where he founded and conducts the Immaculata University Percussion Ensemble   Ralph has served as the percussion caption head and arranger for the Shippensburg University Marching band since August 2004.

His principal teachers include Mr. Alan Abel (retired Associate Principal Percussionist with the Philadelphia Orchestra), Mr. Matthew Strauss (Section Percussionist with the Houston Symphony) and Dr. Christopher Hanning.

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