Candice Hill (b. 1980)
About
Candice Hill grew up in Columbia, MO and started playing drums in middle school, with heavy influence from her dad (also a drummer). Swing-era music was a favorite of hers while growing up. Candice attended Missouri State University for undergraduate work in percussion performance, then Northern Illinois University for grad school, where she studied music performance with steelpan as her main instrument. Candice studied with Liam Teague, who has paved the way in performing steelpan in jazz styles, classical and other genres.
Candice moved to Kansas City in 2008 to persue a career in performance and private/group lesson teaching. She started a band called the Candice Hill Band, performing a mix of jazz and latin standards, with reggae and calypso, and has performed for multiple festivals and venues. CH Band is made up of steelpan and percussion, drums, bass, guitar and piano. A favorite venue for the band is The Phoenix in downtown Kansas City, where jazz and mixed/fusion genres are welcome and celebrated. She also plays drums for Kathleen and the ONS Band, and subs drums for various groups performing jazz, classic rock, blues, rock, and more. Candice teaches private lesson in steelpan, all areas of percussion, high school drumline, and is an active percussion adjudicator.