A Short History of the Percussion Section of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra – 1922 to 1995 By William L. Cahn Part 2 – 1930 to 1959 The 1930s By the year 1930, the medium of silent movies encountered a rapid decline in popularity due to the advent of “talking” pictures with sound tracks. The Eastman… Read more »
A Short History of the Percussion Section of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra – 1922 to 1995 By William L. Cahn Part 3 – 1960 to 1979 The 1960s The 1960s was a decade of many changes in the orchestra’s percussion section. In 1962 John H. Beck became the timpanist of the Civic and Philharmonic orchestra’s… Read more »
A Short History of the Percussion Section of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra – 1922 to 1995 By William L. Cahn Part 4 – 1980 to (1995) The 1980s By the year 1980, the Rochester Philharmonic orchestra was presenting the following programs: a classical subscription series (broadcast regularly on local radio and occasionally on local television),… Read more »
Read a review of the concert HERE. Another review can be found HERE.
A Short History of the Percussion Section of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra – 1922 to 1995 By William L. Cahn This article was originally published in “Percussive Notes” magazine, Vol.30, No. 8, June, 1992. New opportunities for NEXUS, including a new major work for NEXUS by Toru Takemitsu, “From me flows what you call Time,”… Read more »
NEXUS enjoyed a wonderful night at LPR on Bleeker Street yesterday, and e-mails are coming in from some of those who were lucky enough to enjoy this International Night of Awesome(ness). Garry Kvistad created some instruments for last night’s performance, and that reminded me of his Baschet. Like all the NEXUS members, Garry has lots… Read more »
Click here to see what the New Yorker has to say about the upcoming International Night of Awesome(ness) June 18th, 7 p.m. at Le Poisson Rouge, 158 Bleeker Street – with NEXUS, So Percussion, Meehan/Perkins Duo, Mantra Percussion, Akros Percussion Collective, Tigue and Siren. What an incredible night it will be! NEXUS will be performing… Read more »
I’ve been reading ‘”Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman! (Adventures of a Curious Character)”. Physicist Richard Feynman (1918-1988) was a Nobel laureate, and he also happened to be a drummer, and one of the most entertaining characters I’ve ever “met” between the covers of a book! Our own Lorrie Dillard (who has created a great many… Read more »
NEXUS has gone through years of repertoire for solo percussion, ensemble percussion, band and orchestra with percussion, and percussion with chamber groups of all sizes. To this day, virtually every piece has presented problems to solve requiring the construction of instrument support stands or even of instruments themselves, not to mention special kinds of sticks… Read more »
Much of the time that I have spent as a percussionist, even dating back to high school days in the 1960s, has been devoted to problem solving – not “how do I play that?” but rather, “how do I make it easier to play that?” Addressing this problem has often required more than simply practicing… Read more »
I had a very intense spring season, with NEXUS performances in California, Arkansas, Georgia, Ohio and New York, as well as extended solo tours of my own in Ohio, Indiana and Arizona. Usually I am unable to compose while traveling, and also I find it difficult to work creatively on writing projects without having at… Read more »
The Story of George Washington’s Drummer Boy Mount Hope Cemetery in Rochester, New York is the burial place of Alexander Millener, who served in the Continental Army as a drummer boy attached to George Washington’s Life Guard. After the War he was a farmer living at Adam’s Basin [now, Ogden, NY]. He died at… Read more »
Now here’s a fitting cake for NEXUS, who celebrates their 41st Birthday today. (The cake is a creation of The Twisted Sifter. You can see more of their inspired bakegoods at www.TheTwistedSifter.com. This one is 3 layers of red velvet cake with cream cheese filling, covered in red and white fondant. The drum sticks are… Read more »
After hearing NEXUS perform at Percussion Rochester, Tim Wagner wrote to us with an interesting question. Tim is a film technician from the George Eastman House museum and archive in Rochester, NY and also a charter member of the Carousel Organ Association of America, a group dedicated to the preservation and enjoyment of these outdoor… Read more »
