NEXUS
Bob Becker – Bill Cahn – Robin Engelman – Russell Hartenberger – John Wyre
Announces . . .
the distinguished percussionist and entrepreneur
Garry Kvistad
will join the ensemble in October 2002
NEXUS, the Toronto-based percussion group now in its 31st season of solo and symphony appearances is pleased to announce the addition of Garry Kvistad to the internationally acclaimed percussion group. The percussion group was formed in 1971 and has continued with the original personnel until now. John Wyre, one of the founding members, has recently announced his decision to leave Nexus to pursue other interests. The other original members are Bob Becker, Bill Cahn, Robin Engelman and Russell Hartenberger.
According to Russell Hartenberger, “Garry has been a long-time friend of Nexus. He has appeared with Nexus at various times over the years as a guest. It is a very natural transition for him now to be a regular member of the group.” Kvistad has been performing and recording with NEXUS members Bob Becker and Russell Hartenberger since joining Steve Reich and Musicians in 1980. Kvistad, along with Becker and Hartenberger, is one of 18 musicians to win a Grammy award for the 1998 Nonesuch recording of Steve Reich’s “Music for 18 Musicians”.
In addition to performing, Kvistad is the founder and CEO of Woodstock Percussion, Inc., makers of Woodstock Chimes. He is a 1995 winner of Ernst & Young/Inc. Magazine’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award for the Southern New England Region and served as a New York state delegate to the 1995 White House Conference on Small Business. He earned his BM from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and MM from Northern Illinois University, which honored him with its Distinguished Alumni Award in 1993. In the 1970s, he joined the faculties of Northern Illinois University and the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music, during which time he co-founded the Blackearth Percussion Group. Kvistad has served as timpanist with the Chicago Grant Park Symphony, a Tanglewood Fellow, and percussionist with the Cabrillo Music Festival Orchestra. The Balinese Gong Kebjar Gamelan ensemble, Giri Mekar, which he formed in 1987, is in residence at Bard College. Garry serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Woodstock Guild and the Byrdcliffe Arts Colony, Woodstock, NY, and as a member of the Board of Advisors of the Catskill Center for Conservation and Development, Arkville, NY.
Since their first all improvised concert in 1971, NEXUS has been captivating audiences with an eclectic mix of music drawn from all over the Globe. Their virtuosity and innovative programming have inspired compositions from some of the greatest composers of our time. Garry’s first concert with Nexus will be on September 27, 2002 at a Faculty Artist Concert at the University of Toronto where Nexus is Ensemble-in-Residence. John Wyre and Garry will both perform on this concert that features several new works by members of the group and an improvisation for which Nexus is so well known.
NEXUS member Bill Cahn said, “in every way Garry is the right person to join with us on our music-making journey; he is a wonderful percussionist whose positive personal chemistry with each NEXUS member has already been established in previous collaborations. He’ll hit the ground running.”
