John Hanks, of Durham, North Carolina, is the Duke University Dance Program's primary musician, overseeing part-time musicians and music facilities. A Duke employee since 1987, he was also the percussion instructor for the Duke University Music Department until 2012. A musician for the American Dance Festival (Durham) since the early 1980's, he also participated in ADF/Seoul, Korea in 1991-92, and ADF/Henan, China, in 2012 and 2014. From 1992-2003, he was percussionist for the Jazz Dance World Congress, where he worked with Jazz Dance Masters Gus Giordano, Matt Maddox, Frank Hatchett, and others. Locally, John performs with the North Carolina Youth Tap Ensemble (NCYTE), and also plays for their NC Rhythm Tap Festival Faculty Showcase that features notable tappers Michelle Dorrance, Derick Grant, Elizabeth Burke, and others. He has been a musician for numerous dance conventions, including: Southeastern Regional Ballet Association, American College Dance Association, and North Carolina Dance Alliance.
As a jazz drummer he has performed with many notable artists over the years, including: Randy Johnston, Bill Easley, Hod O'Brian, Mose Allison, the Glen Miller Band, Stephanie Nakasian, Butch Thompson, Scott Hamilton, Warren Vache, Mary Lou Williams, and others. Currently, he performs with the Willie Painter Band (rock & blues), Jim Quik & Coastline, George Knott and the Atomic Rhythm Allstars (classic jazz), Gregg Gelb, and others. He played drums for the North Carolina Jazz Repertory Orchestra, directed by James Ketch, from 1991-2008.
In 1990, John Hanks and Christopher Deane, along with Wiley Sykes and Mark Ford, founded the Philidor Percussion Group. John has also performed as timpanist/percussionist with the Choral Society of Durham, the Mallarme Chamber Players, Duke Chapel Choir and Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle, and others. He plays drums/percussion locally for many touring and local musical theater shows, including Theater Raleigh, North Carolina Theater, and Durham Performing Arts Center.
He composes electro/acoustic percussion scores and audio collages for dance and has released several recordings of his dance class work, most notably: Here Come the Drums (1999), Drumjazz (2001), both widely available online (iTunes, Spotify, etc). As a drummer/sideman has also recorded CDs with Bill Easley, the Willie Painter Band, Randy Johnston, the Gregg Gelb Swing Band, NCJRO, Jon Metzger, Kirk Ridge/Black Dog Syndrome, among others.
As a jazz drummer he has performed with many notable artists over the years, including: Randy Johnston, Bill Easley, Hod O'Brian, Mose Allison, the Glen Miller Band, Stephanie Nakasian, Butch Thompson, Scott Hamilton, Warren Vache, Mary Lou Williams, and others. Currently, he performs with the Willie Painter Band (rock & blues), Jim Quik & Coastline, George Knott and the Atomic Rhythm Allstars (classic jazz), Gregg Gelb, and others. He played drums for the North Carolina Jazz Repertory Orchestra, directed by James Ketch, from 1991-2008.
In 1990, John Hanks and Christopher Deane, along with Wiley Sykes and Mark Ford, founded the Philidor Percussion Group. John has also performed as timpanist/percussionist with the Choral Society of Durham, the Mallarme Chamber Players, Duke Chapel Choir and Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle, and others. He plays drums/percussion locally for many touring and local musical theater shows, including Theater Raleigh, North Carolina Theater, and Durham Performing Arts Center.
He composes electro/acoustic percussion scores and audio collages for dance and has released several recordings of his dance class work, most notably: Here Come the Drums (1999), Drumjazz (2001), both widely available online (iTunes, Spotify, etc). As a drummer/sideman has also recorded CDs with Bill Easley, the Willie Painter Band, Randy Johnston, the Gregg Gelb Swing Band, NCJRO, Jon Metzger, Kirk Ridge/Black Dog Syndrome, among others.
John's setup for a 2019 American Dance Festival class in the Rubenstein Arts Center.