Wes Denkins (b. 1996) is an in-demand educator and performer in the tri-state region of Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia. Here, Wes regularly offers clinics and masterclasses to region schools and organizations in addition to adjudicating music events and performing a variety of classical and popular music with local groups like the Bluegrass Wind Ensemble, Mountain Arts Center Wind Orchestra, Cave Run Symphony Orchestra, and many area schools. Wes is also the Director of Percussion at Boyd County Public Schools in Ashland, KY and has had many students audition into area honor bands, collegiate percussion studios, and place in performance contests held by PAS.
Having attended Middle Tennessee State University and obtaining his Master of Music degree in Percussion Performance, Wes had the opportunity of studying under the tutelage of world acclaimed Lalo Davila, as well as marimba virtuoso, Dr. Brian Mueller. Wes received his B.M.E. at Morehead State University as a student of Dr. Brian S. Mason and Dr. Matthew Geiger. At both institutions, Wes had the opportunity to perform in a variety of musical groups including wind ensembles, steel bands, salsa band, marching bands, percussion ensembles, chamber music groups, big band jazz and combos, concert choir, as well as accompanying and playing on many degree and non-degree recitals.
In his free time, Wes enjoys composing and arranging music for percussion ensembles, jazz band, wind ensemble, and small chamber groups. In 2022, Wes was commissioned by the North Georgia Percussion Ensemble to write a percussion ensemble piece entitled Subliminal Thoughts for their inaugural performance. Wes also arranges many marching percussion books as well as smaller percussion works for many local schools and organizations regularly.
Wes’s professional memberships include the Percussive Arts Society (PAS), the National Association for Music Educators (NAfME), the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP), and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity (?MA). Additionally, Wes has music published through Tapspace Publications and is proud to endorse Innovative Percussion for all his stick and mallet needs.
