Marty Hurley was an American percussionist, teacher, composer, and music clinician. He is best known for his work in the areas of

marching percussion Marching percussion instruments are instruments specially designed to be played while moving. This is achieved by attaching the drum(s) to a special harness (also called a carrier or rack) worn by the drummer, although not all marching bands us ...

rudimental drumming In ''rudimental drumming'', a form of percussion music, a drum rudiment is one of a number of relatively small patterns which form the foundation for more extended and complex drumming patterns. The term "drum rudiment" is most closely associa ...

, drum & bugle corps, and

marching band A marching band is a group of instrumental musicians who perform while marching, often for entertainment or competition. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. Most marching bands wear a uniform, ofte ...

Instruction

Since 1974, Marty had been the Director of Bands at

Brother Martin High School Brother Martin High School is a private, Catholic, all-male college preparatory school run by the United States Province of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was established by the brothers in 1869 as St. Aloysius Col ...

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

. Hurley's bands have been consistent winners of sweepstakes awards at regional concert and marching competitions. During his time at Brother Martin, he has led 71 percussion students from his beginning percussion class to eventually become All State performers, and he received the

Teacher of the Year The National Teacher of the Year is a professional award in the United States. The program began in 1952, as a project by the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), and aims to reward excellence in teaching. It is sponsored by ING. Se ...

award in 1999. Marty had also acted as percussion instructor at

Nicholls State University Nicholls State University is a public university in Thibodaux, Louisiana. Founded in 1948, Nicholls is part of the University of Louisiana System. Originally named Francis T. Nicholls Junior College, the university is named for Francis T. Nicholl ...

Thibodaux, Louisiana Thibodaux ( ) is a city in, and the parish seat of, Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, United States, along the banks of Bayou Lafourche in the northwestern part of the parish. The population was 15,948 at the 2020 census. Thibodaux is a principal city ...

, and twice judged the national finals of the Marching Bands of America contest, and the

Percussive Arts Society Percussive Arts Society (PAS) is a non-profit organization for professional percussionists and percussion educators. It was founded in 1961 in the United States and has over 5,000 members in 40 American chapters, with another 28 chapters abroad. It ...

National Marching Forum.

Drum Corps

A former member of New Jersey's Blessed Sacrament's Golden Knights (he aged out in 1967) and of Hawthorne Caballeros in 1968, Marty served as percussion instructor for the Stardusters (Arabi, Louisiana) in 1971, the Bleu Raeders (Metairie, Louisiana) from 1972 to 1973, and the Black Knights (Belleville, Illinois) from 1973 to 1975. During his tenure as percussion instructor and arranger with the Phantom Regiment (Rockford, Illinois), the corps placed in the top ten nationally for 14 years at

Drum Corps International Drum Corps International (DCI) is a governing body for junior drum and bugle corps responsible for developing and enforcing rules of competition, and for providing standardized adjudication at sanctioned drum and bugle corps competitions througho ...

finals competition in Denver, Philadelphia, Birmingham, Montreal, Miami, Madison, Kansas City, Buffalo and Dallas. In November 2002, Marty performed as a soloist on The Drummer's Heritage Concert at the

International Convention in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

. Marty was affiliated with various other corps over time, including the Neptune Shoreliners, the Asbury Park Hurricanes, the St. Joseph Modernaires, and the Jersey Cyclones.

Death

At the time of his death, Marty was a Marching Percussion

Clinic A clinic (or outpatient clinic or ambulatory care clinic) is a health facility that is primarily focused on the care of outpatients. Clinics can be privately operated or publicly managed and funded. They typically cover the primary care needs ...

ian for Pearl Percussion,

Sabian Cymbals Sabian is a Canadian and Armenian cymbal manufacturing company established in 1981 in Meductic, New Brunswick, where it is still headquartered. Sabian is considered one of the ''big four'' manufacturers of cymbals, along with Zildjian, Meinl and ...

, and his music and instructional videos are published by Row-Loff Productions. Mr. Hurley was the band director at

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

until his death on September 12, 2011. Marty died on September 12, 2011, after suffering from a stroke and approximately a month of intensive care in the hospital. Publishers of obituaries include the following:

, and Drum Corps Planet.

Honors

In September 2004, Marty Hurley was inducted into the World Drum Corps Hall of Fame in

Scranton, Pennsylvania Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U ...

. In 2010, Mr. Hurley was inducted into the Louisiana Music Educator's Association Hall of Fame based on his fine work at Brother Martin High School. In August 2012, Marty Hurley was posthumously inducted into the

Hall of Fame at a ceremony in Indianapolis.

Selected works

For all of Marty's compositions, go t
Row-Loff's
web site and search for "Marty Hurley".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hurley, Marty American drummers American male composers American composers American percussionists 1946 births 2011 deaths