I’ve been browsing among CBC’s Russell Hartenberger was the principal guest at the January 2009 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 John Wyre, co-founder of NEXUS. You can also… Read more »
After yesterday’s post about NEXUS’s birthday, it seems only fair to me that we post a vintage shot of Garry Kvistad too. Why should he escape unscathed! Here is a 1977 photo from Garry’s Woodstock Chimes website of he and his wife Diane at the Cincinnati Craft Fair the day his first Chimes of Olympos… Read more »
Today is NEXUS’ 38th Birthday! On May 22, 1971, the first NEXUS concert took place in Kilbourn Hall at the Eastman School of Music. The concert was organized by Warren Benson, and it was entirely improvised. The founding members were John Wyre, Michael Craden, Bob Becker, Bill Cahn, Robin Engelman, and Russell Hartenberger. Today’s members… Read more »
Here is another peek into the NEXUS archives, this time an article by Allan Kozinn in the New York Times of May 3, 1998. The article was headlined “Touring Percussionists Who Aren’t Really Offbeat”, and here are some highlights from Mr Kozinn’s piece: “ONE might have thought that five percussionists who wanted to band together… Read more »
Bill Cahn’s clinic, “Introduction to the Business of Music” will be of interest to anyone who wants to pursue a career in music. It is conducted as an interactive discussion, so the clinic can go in various directions, depending on the interests of the participants and the time constraints of the clinic (one to two… Read more »
It’s always fun to have a look online to see who is blogging about NEXUS. Melissa Hughes, a vocalist with the group SIGNAL, worked with NEXUS at Ojai Festival’s Steve Reich concerts in California last summer. “Melly’s Blog” talks about meeting NEXUS. Here are a couple of short excerpts:
Bob Becker presents a great lecture-demo called The Magic and Mystery of Cymbals. In it he explores history, terminology, special effects and techniques, choices of instrument, and even performance issues such as “misleading notation.” Bob has written a useful article (read it here)
What a great weekend of NEXUS concerts! I attended the one in downtown Toronto. You couldn’t find a happier introduction to a NEXUS concert than the new work by Gordon Stout, Prelude-Winter Song, which immediately showed NEXUS to be in exceptionally fine form.
From time to time I will be reminding our presenters that NEXUS has marketing materials available for your use, and that some financial aid is available to you from our sponsor Pearl/Adams if you wish to present a NEXUS educational event such as a clinic, workshop, or master-class.
I want to remind our Ontario presenters that the Ontario Arts Council is there as a huge help to NEXUS and YOU. The OAC’s Touring Office has helped NEXUS and our Ontario presenters with expenses many times over the years. With the Council’s touring aid NEXUS has been able to visit all parts of the… Read more »
NEXUS member Russell Hartenberger has also been a member of Minimalism and the Music of Steve Reich.
NEXUS is performing on the evenings of Friday April 3rd in Orangeville Ontario (ticket information here) and Sunday April 5th in downtown Toronto (tickets available here). Choose one, or go to both! Each venue gives plenty of scope for making a day of it. The attractive town of Orangeville offers a spring drive in the… Read more »
Spring is sprung, and the pale green sprouts in my garden tell me it is time for fresh starts. One spring task I always enjoy is the updating of the NEXUS Concert Summary. It is a little booklet that outlines where NEXUS has been over its 38 year history. Let me share some of these… Read more »
NEXUS member Garry Kvistad is into chimes. He is the founder and CEO of From me flows what you call Time by Toru Takemitsu. How did this come to be? Allow me to share with you the oft-repeated “landfill lawnchair tale”. In the early 1970s Garry was teaching at Northern Illinois University and while there… Read more »
This week, the American Bandmasters Association has been enjoying its annual convention in College Station, Texas. About a year and a half ago, NEXUS found itself in Tulsa as the featured guest at the Oklahoma Bandmasters convention. NEXUS performed and presented workshops. There are Bandmasters Associations across North America in both the United States and… Read more »
