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An award-winning percussionist and educator, Brennan Connolly holds a Master of Music degree in performance from Oklahoma City University and a Bachelor of Music degree in performance from the University of Western Ontario. For the last decade, he has been studying the traditional drum-dance music of Ghana, West Africa with master drummer Kwasi Dunyo.
Brennan works as a professional percussionist across numerous musical genres and styles. He performs regularly with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony and the Jeans ‘n’ Classics Rock Symphony and has also performed with the Hamilton Philharmonic, London Symphonia and Windsor Symphony Orchestra. An active theatre musician, he has also performed many shows in the pit at the Stratford Festival and with Drayton Entertainment.
Brennan currently teaches studio percussion and percussion courses at Wilfrid Laurier University and works regularly as a guest clinician, delivering workshops to students of all ages and supporting music educators across the province in their professional development. He is a founding member of Duo Percussion, a contemporary chamber percussion ensemble known for their high-energy performances and commitment to music education.
Brennan is proud to hold artist endorsements with Pearl/Adams Drums and Concert Percussion, Dream Cymbals and Gongs and BlackSwamp Percussion.
Brennan works as a professional percussionist across numerous musical genres and styles. He performs regularly with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony and the Jeans ‘n’ Classics Rock Symphony and has also performed with the Hamilton Philharmonic, London Symphonia and Windsor Symphony Orchestra. An active theatre musician, he has also performed many shows in the pit at the Stratford Festival and with Drayton Entertainment.
Brennan currently teaches studio percussion and percussion courses at Wilfrid Laurier University and works regularly as a guest clinician, delivering workshops to students of all ages and supporting music educators across the province in their professional development. He is a founding member of Duo Percussion, a contemporary chamber percussion ensemble known for their high-energy performances and commitment to music education.
Brennan is proud to hold artist endorsements with Pearl/Adams Drums and Concert Percussion, Dream Cymbals and Gongs and BlackSwamp Percussion.
I am currently involved in developing a partnership between Laurier’s Faculty of Music and the University of Ghana with the hope that traditional Ghanaian drum/dance music could provide a link between our two schools and support institutional collaboration, field courses and opportunities for faculty and student exchanges.
Connolly, B. (2021, June 21-24). Embracing the Discomfort: Reflections of a White artist-educator working towards racial justice through Ewe drum-dance music [Virtual paper presentation]. International Symposium on the Sociology of Music Education, Hamar, Norway. https://youtu.be/y2f1oT4mXko
Selected Recordings
“The Front Page” Production Recording
Stratford Shakespeare Festival - 2019
John Gzowski – Composer and Sound Designer
“Beethoven 9th Symphony” Juno Nominated!
Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra – 2016
Bruno Weill, conductor
“Idina Menzel Live! – Barefoot at the Symphony”
KW Symphony Orchestra - 2012
Marvin Hamlisch, conductor
PBS (TV) / Concord Label (DVD/CD)
Selected Performances
Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra (selected)
Mahler – Symphony No. 1
Mahler – Symphony No. 2
Mahler – Symphony No. 5
Shostakovich – Symphony No. 10
Stravinsky – Petrouchka
Rimsky-Korsakov – Scheherezade
Holst – The Planets
Bernstein – Symphonic Dances from West Side Story
Orff – Carmina Burana
Tchaikovsky – Symphony No. 4
Elgar – Enigma Variations
Stratford Shakespeare Festival
Spamalot – Drum Set
The Front Page – Fanfare Drummer / Production Recording
HMS Pinafore – Percussion
A Little Night Music – Percussion
Man of La Mancha – Percussion
Henry V – Onstage Drummer
Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra
Beethoven – Symphony No. 9 (recorded for commercial release)
Duo Percussion (selected)
Elora Festival Singers, Elora, ON
Canterbury Choral Society, Oklahoma City, USA
Contact East Indian River, PEI
Guelph Chamber Choir, Guelph, ON
As a music educator, I strive to develop exceptional, creative, and relevant artists that take risks, think critically, and actively contribute joy and beauty to the world as global citizens. My teaching is defined by developing a sense of belonging for all students while cultivating the next generation of high-calibre percussionists. Thus, it is a priority for me to ensure a safe learning environment that first and foremost promotes the health and wellbeing of students. I see teaching, learning, and creating alongside students as a way of being of service to them and to the world. I encourage my students to discern for themselves how they see their work as artists intersecting with their sense of life purpose. One of my goals is to ensure that students develop their artistry within their own unique identity. My aim is not to reproduce another version of myself and my own artistry by simply transmitting my way of doing things to the students. Instead, we work through the discovery process together and I challenge them to exceed their own expectations by pushing them to take risks and try something new. I believe this approach is highly effective since learning to play music is an iterative and ongoing process. Students inevitably discover that the process of music creation requires a growth mindset that eventually frees them from trepidation and allows them to maximize their potential. I strive to nurture confident artists that are not derailed by small technical mistakes, but instead willing to be courageous in their artistic craft to create memorable experiences and meaningful human connection with others.
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