• Intro to Hand Drums

Percussionist Tripp Bratton is a Lexington based performer, composer, producer, and educator who in addition to his new position at Centre College as adjunct percussion instructor and director of the Rhythm Fusion Ensemble, also currently works as lecturer of percussion and director of the African-Latin Percussion and Contemporary Percussion (Fusion) ensembles at Berea College, as well as serving as director, composer, and arranger for the award winning March Madness Marching Band, music director for the Rakadu Gypsy Dance and Sabi Diri sbi multicultural dance troupes, and founder and director of One Circle Productions, a company that includes recording studio and live event productions, along with services to facilitate artistic collaboration between musicians, dancers, theatrical producers, and videographers. Additional current work includes designing and teaching preschool and elementary educational programs and summer arts camps, and performing with numerous top musicians, including ongoing work with his Grammy nominated mother, jazz vocalist Gail Wynters; co-directing, along with internationally  acclaimed Indian master musician Raj Pandya, the East/West fusion ensemble WeTone (formerly Orchestra Gaandharva); and percussion performance and recording work with the all-star band Tin Can Buddha which was featured in a 2011 documentary film which aired on Kentucky Educational Television. Tripp also currently performs and records with C the Beat, Bruce Lewis, Yellow Dog Jazz Band, Lee Carroll, Berea Castoffs, Uncle Sam's Bait Shop among  and performs recording session work with producer Duane Lundy at his Shangri-La Studio.


Notable highlights of Tripp’s performing, producing and recording career spans a vast discography of over 100 CDs/Albums, numerous TV, radio, film and concert appearances, and includes percussion work for legendary rock producer Chris Kimsey(Rolling Stones, Jimmy Cliff etc.); co-producing, recording and performing with Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Bernie Worrell (P Funk, Funkadelic, Talking Heads etc.); recording with Grammy Award winner Bela Fleck; numerous performances with Ghanaian master drummer Gideon Alorwoyie and his Afrikania Cultural Troupe including a special 1993 Chicago performance for Nelson Mandela; national touring,  festival appearances, and recordings with Catawampus Universe, a group that featured several of Tripp’s original compositions; performances with the Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra; performances and studies abroad in Ghana and Suriname. In addition to his work with Alorwoyie, Tripp’s studies with numerous African and Caribbean/Latin percussion masters includes work with Yaya Diallo (Mali), Nego Gato (Brazil), Francis Crayner (Ghana), Mickey Kachingwe (Zimbabwe), Ibou Cissoko (Mali), and Maurice Haltom (Ithaca NY). Other notable musical studies include private studies with master marimbist and vibraphonist Dave Samuels (Spyro Gyra) and jazz drumming greats Grady Tate and Bob Rummage (Mose Allison, Glenn Miller Big Band). Tripp also performed in the film Red River Moon and created and recorded parts of the soundtrack (2013).



Tripp’s ongoing dedication to bringing arts to underserved communities has led to him being recently named a finalist for LeXenomics 2012 and 2013 Most Encouraging Kentuckian Award, being nominated for the Governor's Award for Community Arts, Kentucky Arts Council’s most prestigious annual award (2011), and a Lexington United Way Award for Volunteerism in the Arts (2010). Over the course of his nearly 30 year career, he has been the recipient of numerous grants, scholarships and awards for a wide array of artistic endeavors from receiving the John Philip Sousa award as a high school student and subsequent full scholarship to attend the School of Music at the University of Kentucky for applied percussion and composition, and continuing over the years to include grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, Southern Arts Federation, Alternate Roots, the Andy Warhol Foundation and several grants and awards from the Kentucky Arts Council for his educational programs and original compositions.