Mission Statement
The mission of RMPA is to provide a competitive and educational performance outlet for Colorado indoor percussion ensembles, with a continual goal of enriching the lives of young performers. RMPA commits to delivering the best venues, hosts, adjudicators, clinicians, sponsors, and volunteers in tandem with contributing to this mission.
Our Story
The Rocky Mountain Percussion Association is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit Colorado based youth organization, that was started in 1991 by a group of percussion instructors, judges and educators who were concerned about the level of percussion training and performance, primarily at the high school level. Steve Yates, Joe Bartko and Ralph Hardimon were the founders of the RMPA and along with Charles Craig formed what is now one of the nation’s premier percussion organizations of its kind. Our main focus is student motivation, educational training, and achievement through the percussion activity.
The association is the governing body of the indoor percussion activity in the Rocky Mountain region and sponsors a series of indoor percussion events, educational clinics and competitions during the winter and spring months.
These programs provide a motivational tool that can help turn non-percussionists and a typical drum section into a cohesive and entertaining percussion ensemble. The nation’s top percussion judges adjudicate all of our competitions.
Since the first event was held in 1993, the RMPA has provided competition and training for over 15,000 students, and has become one of the premier percussion organizations of its kind in the country and serves as a national model by which other organizations are administered and managed.
Winter Percussion
The Winter Percussion Activity was organized to provide a program for the many percussion students participating in a typical marching band during the fall season, but not having a comparable performance outlet during the winter and spring seasons. The traditional jazz band, concert band, wind ensemble, etc. does not involve the larger number of percussion students that a marching band requires.
The first units participating in the percussion activity were primarily from scholastic marching units, utilizing both a battery and pit ensemble in a setting that limited the amount of marching and showmanship. Within a few short years, the number of independent organizations participating in the competitions increased, and the performance venue was enlarged to allow for more development of the visual and theatrical potential of the activity. Soon thereafter, traditional “concert” percussion ensembles were included as an additional performance outlet for student percussionists preferring that genre.
The Rocky Mountain Percussion Association operates under the rules and guidelines of Winter Guard International.
Rocky Mountain Percussion Association
2536 West 99th Place
Denver, CO, 80260
2020 Board of Directors
2020 Foundation Team
Founding Members (circa 1991)
- Steve Yates
- Ralph Hardimon
- Joe Bartko
- Charles Craig
New for the 2020 season, each RMPA ensemble will be required to have a Participating Ensemble Master Agreement on file prior to the start of the season. This agreement is designed to be a single, comprehensive document that will cover items such as participant protection, copyright, liability, and scholastic eligibility. Please familiarize yourself with all the details of this agreement, including the requirement to share the Code of Conduct and Ethics with all those associated with your ensemble.
This agreement must be on file with RMPA prior to the start of the season. Ensembles that do not have their agreement on file will not be allowed to compete at any RMPA event with no exceptions.
Single School Scholastic Ensemble
- If all your performers attend the same school, please complete the Single School Participating Ensemble Master Agreement. This will be the vast majority of scholastic ensembles.
- The principal of the school needs to sign the Master Agreement and the Scholastic Eligibility Certification letter.
Combined Schools Scholastic Ensemble
- In some instances, scholastics ensembles may be approved to incorporate membership from multiple schools within the same school district. Examples would include students enrolled in a feeder school participating "up" with their future school's ensemble and potential scenarios where multiple schools share membership for shared music programs, sports teams, and/or clubs.
- If these scenarios apply to your ensemble, please complete the Combined Schools Participating Ensemble Master Agreement.
- The superintendent of the school district needs to sign the Master Agreement.
- Scholastic Eligibility Certification letters must be signed by the principal of each school involved.
- If you have any questions regarding combined ensemble eligibility, please email pete@rmpa.org.
Independent Ensemble
- If your ensemble competes in an independent class, please complete the Independent Ensemble Participating Ensemble Master Agreement.
- An officer of the organization needs to sign the Master Agreement.
- Independent ensembles will need to submit their proof of liability insurance along with their Master Agreement.
Completed documents should be scanned and uploaded as a single file, and can be submitted HERE. Your ensemble must submit a signed Participating Ensemble Master Agreement prior to performing at an RMPA event. If you have any questions regarding completion or submission, please contact pete@rmpa.org.
The 2020 RMPA Member Handbook is a helpful reference and will answer many questions that you may have. It is a must-read for all directors, instructors, and performers.
Download the 2020 RMPA Member Handbook
