Russell has been busy! He has just completed a concert’s worth of new works to be premiered by NEXUS on June 13 at the Open Ears Festival in Kitchener, Ontario.
Russell’s Moondog Suite: “I’m not gonna die in 4/4 time.”
Raise a glass and a mallet to NEXUS on their birthday!
May 22nd is NEXUS’ 43rd Birthday! On May 22nd 1971, the first NEXUS concert took place in Kilbourn Hall at the Eastman School of Music.
Our Own Private Oberlin Conservatory Reunion at Carnegie Hall
I attended the May 5th concert of the New York Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall for a sold-out performance of Christopher Rouse’s Requiem. Chris Rouse was a classmate and friend of mine at the Oberlin Conservatory in the late 60s. Chris is now a preeminent composer. He’s won a coveted Pulitzer Prize, a Grammy award and… Read more »
“Persian Songs” and cheerful pieces: a new suite by Russell Hartenberger
Russell is putting the finishing touches on his suite of arrangements of works by Reza Ghassemi, the award-winning Iranian novelist, musician and composer. Russell’s suite will be premiered by NEXUS at the Open Ears Festival in Kitchener-Waterloo on June 13th. Ghassemi is adept in classical Iranian music and is a master of the Persian… Read more »
NEXUS premiering new suites by Russell Hartenberger
Russell Hartenberger has been hard at work on some wonderful new works that will be premiered by NEXUS on June 13 at the Open Ears Festival in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario.
True American Mavericks
My friend Stacey Bowers and I attended a concert at Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall which was called “collected stories: hero”. We especially went to see the second half of the concert which was a musical theater piece by Harry Partch (1901-1974) entitled “The Wayward” (1941-1943). Ever since I was in high school, which was a… Read more »
My Main Muses
Everyone has a muse (or muses) who have helped them find their own path. For me, that list includes teachers, coaches, leaders, artists, musicians, crafts people, friends and family. The American composer Harry Partch probably had the biggest influence on my musical thinking and yet there are many obstacles blocking his general acceptance. The… Read more »
Birthday wishes to Ray Dillard
This week, join us in wishing our Business Manager and Recording Engineer/Producer Ray Dillard a very happy birthday! In addition to his many and varied duties for NEXUS – everything from bill paying, banking, logistics, instrument loading, recording, and just general wonderful support – Ray records and advises other artists too, and has a busy… Read more »
Woodstock Chimes for Autism™ and Tyler’s Amazing Story
I am very excited about launching our new Woodstock Chimes for Autism Charitable Chime™ program, especially as World Autism Day approaches on Wednesday, April 2nd. A while back we were contacted by a family from Toronto whose eight year old son, Tyler, is high functioning autistic and has a passion for windchimes. We were thrilled… Read more »
NEXUS at Open Ears Festival in June
We are excited to share the news with you that NEXUS will be a part of the Open Ears Festival in June. This innovative art-and-sound festival in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, only happens every two years.
On Wings of Song – Performance
I am very excited that one of my compositions is programmed on the Sunday, March 30, 2014 concert of the Rochester Chamber Orchestra under the direction of David Fetler at the Hochstein School of Music. The Bach Children’s Chorus of Nazareth College will join the RCO in a performance of On Wings of Song with… Read more »
Goodbye Columbus
I recently spent several days working with high school and university students during the “High School Percussion Ensemble Festival” at Ohio State University in Columbus. Ohio State has always had a dynamic and impressive percussion department but professors Susan Powell and Joe Krygier have grown this department to an amazing level in the 14 years… Read more »
Calling all Crickets
From time to time I receive inquiries from percussionists – students and professionals – regarding instrument selection and repertoire. One such inquiry arrived recently seeking advice on the “cricket callers” (split bamboo) in John Cage’s “Third Construction.” Q: “I recently discovered your video of Nexus performing the piece in 1984. I would love to know… Read more »
A Well-Balanced Concert Event
On March 1st, Diane and I attended an amazing event at The Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine in New York City. It was a celebration of the installation of an exhibit of a massive 12 ton, two piece sculpture by the contemporary Chinese artist Xu Bing. The work completed in 2010 after two… Read more »
Creative Music Making 2014
On February 25 the final session of the Eastman School’s 2014 spring semester “Creative Music Making” course concluded with a free improvisation recital. The seven-week ALP course is open to all Eastman students – instrumentalists and vocalists – and it is structured to provide practical experiences for the participants in performing and teaching freeform music… Read more »
