Articles and Interviews
Revolutionary Drummer Boys
Recently I saw in the local newspaper that there was going to be a guided tour dealing with the American Revolution at the Mount Hope Cemetery in Rochester. Of course, there are a number of luminaries buried there - Susan B. Anthony (women’s rights leader), Frederick Douglas (antislavery advocate), and Col. Nathaniel Rochester, the founder of the city in the early 1800s.
Article for “The Instrumentalist” - June 1999 Issue
“The Instrumentalist,” a magazine serving the music education marketplace, contacted me in 1999 about the possibility of writing a short article on the subject of percussion performance at the high school level. Since my college degree was in ‘Public School Music’ and since I had regularly been invited to coach high school percussionists or to present workshops on helpful performance …
“NEXUS on Tour” [1987] by Bill Cahn
!["NEXUS on Tour" [1987] by Bill Cahn](http://www.nexuspercussion.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/pth/tn-nexus-1971-a.jpg)
When I received an invitation from Percussioner International to write an article on the subject of my choosing, it seemed to me only natural to want to write about the ensemble which has exerted such a major influence on my life, NEXUS, the Toronto-based percussion …
Klezmer Xylophone
Recently I received an inquiry from Jon Singer, a percussionist in Brooklyn, NY. He had a copy of my 284-page discography, “The Xylophone in Acoustic Recordings. “ Jon had just met with Arnie Lang who was a student of Billy Gladstone. Arnie remembered Gladstone playing a …
Robin Engelman - An Interview (1996)
The following interview with Robin Engelman took place in Toronto in August, 1996. This is the first time it has been published.
Bill Cahn: Do you see any ’sea’ changes or ‘environmental’ changes in the world of music happening right now. If you do can do define what they are? If …
Bob Becker - An Interview (1996)
The following interview with Bob Becker took place on July 30, 1996. This is the first time it has been published.
Bill Cahn: Do you see any “sea changes” happening now and if so what would you say they are and what are their characteristics?
Russell Hartenberger - An Interview (1996)
The following interview with Russell Hartenberger took place in two sessions: first in Toronto in August, 1996 and the second in Ottawa on January 10, 1998. This is the first time it has been published.
Bill Cahn: Let’s begin by addressing the issue of art being in service to something - in other words, art for art’s sake, as opposed to art for some other personal or social goal.
Letter to the Editor
Every so often I read an article in one of the local or national newspapers that motivates me to respond with a letter to the newspaper’s editor. A number of these letters in the past have gone to local newspapers responding to articles about the Rochester Philharmonc Orchestra. In my capacity as a past member of …
History of NEXUS - 1990 to 1998
click on the link below to see a listing of NEXUS performance venues and programs
History of NEXUS - 1968 to 1989
click on the link below to see a listing of NEXUS performance venues and programs
The Musical Journey of a Lifetime - China - May 1984
It’s certainly true that travel is the best education. One important lesson to be learned is that “there are many pathways” - other people in other places do things differently. It’s in reconciling those differences with one’s own past experiences and expectations that the learning takes place. The question, “why do they do that?” leads naturally to the …
John Wyre Interviewed by Bill Cahn
The following interview took place at John Wyre’s home in Norland, Ontario on August 2, 1996. This is the first time it has ever been published.
Bill: What do you see as the current musical environment? What kinds of things are going on that are likely to influence the course of music?
John: In my perception …
Marimba Question - Jan. 27, 2009
I recently received an email from a student at Florida Gulf Coast University asking,
1) What marimba music should be in every musician’s library? and
2) What do you consider to be a work that has helped the Marimba become more accepted in the music community and why?
Here is my reply.
In response to your request, I …
“Creative Music Making” - Book
Q. How did you come up with your book, Creative Music Making?
A. As decribed in the book, Creative Music Making is a practical process to develop musicianship through freeform improvisation. The process is simply based on my experience in creating improvised music with NEXUS. The group’s first few years of concerts consisted entirely of freeform improvisations, for which each player …