As a drummer growing up in Radford, Ian Epperly started laying down the beat fairly
early.
While in high school, he and the percussion quartet he’d formed were chosen to compete
in the 2019 Shelor Motor Mile “Growing the Future” Talent Show. Using trash cans as
instruments, his group prevailed against some 25 other acts and brought a $10,000
prize home to Radford High School, plus another $2,500 for the band to share.
Back then, Epperly was also spending time around the university’s campus, attending
concerts and visiting the percussion studio.
“I would … watch these crazy performances, and I was like, ‘I want to go here!’” he
recalled. “I knew about the other schools in the area, too, but I just felt like there
was something special about Radford.”
It was Epperly’s participation in the Governor’s School for Visual and Performing
Arts – also held on campus – that fully sealed the deal for him, both in terms of
where he was headed and what he would study.
“That made me fall in love with the school. That was really the turning point,” he
explained. “Before that, I was like, ‘Maybe I won’t go into music, maybe I’ll do something
else.’ But after doing that and spending so much time with the people, I was like,
‘This is what I want.’”
Over the past four years, he’s been a fixture of the campus music scene.
“I try to hit everything I possibly can,” said Epperly, who graduates this May with
a degree in music. “I’ve played tambourine, I play drum sets, snare drums, marimbas.
Any percussion instruments.”
Epperly performs in various groups, such as the Meridian Percussion Duo, which he
formed with senior Meridythe Witt (“Meridian” comes from combining their first names),
and in 2023, they took their talents to the Great Plains International Marimba Competition,
an event that draws seasoned music students and professional performers alike from
around the world.
The first Radford students to enter, Epperly and Witt took third place in the open
duo category.
Epperly also works to share his knowledge and skills with others – he gives private
lessons to numerous students, and most weekdays, you can find him teaching young musicians
at Radford High School.
“I love teaching so much that I know I need to be a teacher eventually. So, I want
to teach either college or a performing arts high school,” he said.
“I’ve had two percussion professors … they’ve both been hugely influential during
my time here,” Epperly explained. “My first percussion professor … Robert Sanderl
… he was a very fatherly figure; he was great. But then my current professor in percussion,
William Newton, is probably the most influential.
“I’ve gotten very close with him, and any time that I’m doubting myself or feeling
like I can’t do something, he’s always there to support me. He’s a big reason I’ve
gone out and done all these competitions. He’s really got me out there.”
To learn more about Radford University's commencement ceremonies, visit www.radford.edu/commencement.
