March 17
A short break at home and then off to St. Louis, Missouri. After arriving on campus, it took three cell phone calls and two “asking people”, to find the building at the University of Missouri where our masterclass was scheduled to take place. It was worth the effort and Calvin the hotel limo driver finally got rid of us.
Don Parker is doing a terrific job with his kids and our masterclass with them was interesting and fun. Chris Braswell, Tim Gilfoy, Josh Davis, Michael Brasher and Don himself performed Lou Harrison’s Bomba for Percussion Quintet. We had an interesting discussion about fermatas and G.P’s. after their performance. Two Rituals for Percussion by Malloy Miller and Bob Becker’s arrangement of An Indian Story were played. It was strange hearing An Indian Story after so many years, but Tim Gilfoy did a great job on the solo.
Our set up in Sheldon Hall was cramped, but the sound was good and our new program is, fortunately, adaptable to most spaces. After our sound check/rehearsal, we waited for Calvin for an hour. He had gone back to the University to pick us up. After the concert, our host Katharine Lawton Brown took us to an Irish pub in downtown St. Louis. It was St. Patrick’s Day and the area was alive. Some of us stayed whilst others opted for a sedate and quiet hotel bar. Katharine was a singer and met her husband, a flutist, when they were both in the Army band in D.C.
The next day, Calvin’s twin brother also a limo driver for the hotel, took us to the airport for our flight to Muncie, Indiana via Chicago.
