MA Top 30 Professional: Joshua Simonds

Executive Director
Percussive Arts Society

For years, Joshua Simonds was solidly in the youth orchestra business. He spent more than a decade at the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra, first as general director, then executive director; he was also briefly executive director of the DC Youth Orchestra, near his alma mater, American University.

But when he heard that the Percussive Arts Society (PAS) was seeking a new director, something clicked for this former percussionist. “I have a undergrad degree in percussion, and my master’s is in nonprofit arts management,” he says. “I have the perfect job.”

Since joining PAS in 2016, Simonds has overseen some key changes for the Indianapolis-based membership organization. He’s established more than a dozen regional competitions for school percussion ensembles, giving students an avenue to perform, meet other area percussion ensembles, and receive feedback, just like their band and orchestra peers. He has also strengthened the organization’s partnerships with similar affiliation groups, like the marching band–focused Drum Corps International (DCI) and Winter Guard International (WGI).

And he has grown PAS’s flagship event: the annual Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC), which turned 50 in the fall. We spoke ahead of that golden-anniversary iteration, which, he said, was on track to be one of the largest PASICs ever. The convention has increased its educational programming, too, from inviting 16 schools to 50 last year.

After alternating between its Indianapolis home base and other host cities, Simonds decided to keep PASIC rooted in Indianapolis permanently—a move that has enabled him to strengthen relationships with local vendors and save money by signing longer-term contracts. “We don’t want to just be a convention in Indy,” he says. “We want to be part of the Indianapolis community.”