I’ve been browsing among CBC’s “Concerts On Demand” on their Radio 2 site. It’s too bad they don’t leave concerts available indefinitely. The NEXUS concert at the Cool Drummings Festival of 2007 was a great one, and was available for about a year at the CBC site, but sadly no longer. However there are some other great percussion concert “finds” available if you want to have a listen. Our own Russell Hartenberger was the principal guest at the January 2009 Shattering The Silence Festival, Acadia University’s contemporary music festival. This year’s focus was percussion and the festival presented an array of masterclasses, lectures, and student concerts. Their gala event featured all of the stars of the festival and you can hear Russell playing on Steve Reich’s Marimba Phase, as well as Bone Alphabet by Brian Ferneyhough, Disturbances Of Circadian Rhythm by Derek Charke, Nuovo Gamelan 2009 by Bob Bauer and Ellen Taaffe Zwilich’s Trio For Cello, Violin and Piano. (You will recall that Ellen has also written a very fine piece for NEXUS entitled Rituals).

You also won’t want to miss the concert featuring the extraordinary Glen Velez on frame drum and Egyptian Riq tambourine and Mexico’s Tambuco percussion ensemble. You should especially check out the pieces “For John”, beautiful tributes to the late John Wyre, co-founder of NEXUS.

You can also hear a 2008 Soundstreams concert featuring percussionists Beverley Johnston, Ryan Scott, Richard Moore, and Liam Teague, as well as The University of Toronto Percussion Ensemble playing pieces by Alice Ho, Bruce Mather, George Antheil, Beverley Johnston, Liam Teague, and Michael Colgrass. Liam Teague’s steel pan work always amazes.

“Wired Percussion” is the title of a fourth concert you can hear featuring works by John Cage, Scott Wilson, Kaija Saaiaho and Rolf Wallin performed by the McGill Percussion Ensemble and Aiyun Huang.

Enjoy!