Frank Oddis

Biography & Career

Frank Oddis, Associate Professor Emeritus of Music and Coordinator of the Morehead State University Percussion Program for 35 years and Assistant Marching Band Director beginning in 1977, holds a Master of Music performance degree from East Carolina University and a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Morehead State University. He was honored in 2004 with the MSU Distinguished Creative Productions Award and again in 2008 by the Kentucky Music Educators Association as the statewide University Music Teacher of the Year. The MSU Percussion Ensembles are internationally recognized and have won three Percussive Arts Society National Championships under Oddis' leadership. The MSU Percussion Ensemble and Steel Band toured in China, Spain, and Brazil offering successful performances in prestigious concert halls such as the Beijing Concert Hall, Tianjin Concert Hall, and the Sala São Paulo Concert Hall. Professor Oddis’ arrangements and compositions for percussion have been performed across the country and internationally and are published by Drop 6 Publishing. Professor Oddis has performed with the MSU Faculty Jazz Quartet, including their compact disc recording Blue Duck Suit adopted into the Kentucky Collection. He has worked as a freelance percussionist and drummer for many well-known celebrities and jazz artists, the national touring companies of Broadway productions, and as a percussionist and drum set artist with the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra. Professor Oddis has presented educational workshops and conducted concerts nationwide and internationally in Asia, South America, and Europe and has offered numerous premiers of Percussion Ensemble Literature. He has coached and written for many groups achieving state, regional and national titles. He has served as a band and percussion adjudicator for many organizations including DCI, PAS, Bands of America, MCBA, and many state, regional, national, and international events. He is a clinician and endorser of Ludwig Drums, Musser keyboards, Sabian cymbals, and Vic Firth sticks and mallets. Professor Oddis has served as the principle director of a United States Department of Education Grant, Fund for the Improvement of Post Secondary Education - MAGNETS Program, for the purpose of student and faculty exchange with universities in Brazil. Professor Oddis' students currently teach in public schools and universities and perform in professional venues across the United States and abroad.