You would think everything would be kinda laid back in the summer months. But not for the NEXUS guys! Fresh from the NEXUS concert in Rockport Massachusetts, everyone is off in various directions. Bob is down in Virginia, making music. Russell is preparing for the July Creative Music Making program. Garry has been busy blogging… Read more »
NEXUS has always been a groundbreaking ensemble and Saturday night, June 4th was no exception. We had the honor of being the first percussion group to play at the 35-year-old Rockport Chamber Music Festival in the spectacular Shalin Liu Performance Center in Rockport, Massachusetts. One feels like a 3-D component of a Norman Rockwell painting… Read more »
Another wonderful review of our Rockport Music Fest concert in Massachusetts – this one from the Boston Musical Intelligencer. Be sure to go read the entire piece by Fred Bouchard. Here are a few excerpts : “…these four seasoned sages of stickwork were flipping their hickories to Q-tipped heads as they faced each other in… Read more »
Last week (on June 2nd and 3rd, 2016) the Toronto Symphony performed the complete music from Maurice Ravel’s ballet Daphnis and Chloé (1912). I was invited to play cymbals, which have an extensive individual part that is twelve pages long – something unusual in the symphonic percussion repertoire. I was familiar with the second suite… Read more »
On April 9, I had the tremendous pleasure of speaking to an audience of 800 attendees of the TEDx Makers conference at Monmouth University in New Jersey. It was an honor to be among 30 “Makers” chosen to talk about what we had created. In my case, I talked about the quest to hear ancient… Read more »
Ours was the first all-percussion concert in the 35 year old history of the Rockport Music Festival in Massachusetts – and what a wonderful review from Boston Classical! Be sure to go read the entire piece by David Wright.
A beautiful “Robin Engelman Life Celebration” was hosted by the Engelman family this past weekend for friends and family. Eleanor Engelman announced that Robin’s papers and historical materials are going to be housed at Northwestern University – wonderful news. Guests came from Hamburg Germany (the “official photographer” for the event, at Robin’s request), from Texas,… Read more »
We can’t wait for our June 4th concert in the beautiful Shalin Liu Performing Arts Center in the intriguing waterfront town of Rockport Massachusetts. We hope you will join us there, and take in some other concerts in their Summer Chamber Music Festival. The concert is at 8 pm and there will be a pre-concert… Read more »
On Friday, April 1 Ruth and I walked into an antique shop in Caledonia, New York, and I was almost immediately drawn to a colorful item sitting on one of the tables; it was a very nice rope snare drum. The shop’s proprietor told me that it was brought into the shop by a Civil… Read more »
On April 10, 2016 a celebration for Russell Hartenberger was held in Walter Hall at the Faculty of Music of the University of Toronto for Russell’s retirement. In attendance were many of Russell’s colleagues, former students and friends, including special guests, Janet and Alan Abel.
Last night’s concert of Steve Reich’s music was extraordinary. At its conclusion, the full house was on its feet with a gigantic roar. And no wonder! The musicians were intensely focused and absolutely devoted to this music. And happy little onstage smiles could be seen throughout, too.
If you follow us on Facebook (and we hope you do!) you have been treated to a play-by-play of these busy weeks. Steve Reich is here in Toronto celebrating his 80th with Soundstreams. The birthday gala is on Thursday evening at Massey Hall, and Bob, Russ and Garry will share the stage with Steve
From time to time I receive questions regarding specific passages for percussion in the orchestra and chamber music repertoire. Question: Can you shed some light on Stravinsky’s notation at rehearsal “29” in “Les Noces” in the caisse claire/tambour sans timbre part? Response: I assume that this question is about the rolled-chords (vertical wavy lines)… Read more »
Here is a blogpost I made on the Cambridge University Press site. Check it out HERE.
Cover Art! When Bill was producing his Solo Percussionist album, he saw this angel image in black and white in a book on musical instruments that identified it only as “from a Book of the Hours, made in Milan for the Sforza family ca. 1494”. The book credited the British Library – so he contacted… Read more »
