School of Music

Bio

Gordon Hicken is currently an adjunct percussion instructor and the director of the Carolina Band Drumline at the University of South Carolina. Previously, he served as the adjunct percussion instructor at Chipola College in Marianna, Florida, and at Limestone College in Gaffney, South Carolina.

As a performer, Hicken recently served as the principal percussionist with Sinfonia Gulf Coast in Destin, Florida, and has performed in the percussion sections of the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra, the Carolina Pops Orchestra and the Toccoa Symphony Orchestra. In 2011, he was part of a Midwest tour and performance at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention as a member of the Florida State University Percussion Ensemble. Hicken has also performed with large ensembles at the American Bandmasters Association National Convention, South Carolina Day of Percussion and multiple South Carolina Music Educators Association Conferences.

Active as a teacher, adjudicator and clinician, Hicken arranges music for marching and concert percussion ensembles throughout the Southeast. He recently completed his coursework for the doctor of music in percussion performance at The Florida State University, and he holds a master’s degree in percussion performance from the University of South Carolina and a bachelor of music degree in music education from Furman University. His teachers include Dr. John W. Parks IV, Dr. Scott Herring, Dr. John Beckford, Prof. James Hall and Ron Schwartz.