In many visits by NEXUS to music schools, conservatories and universities all over the world, both during my time as Principal Percussionist in the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and after, I have been regularly approached by students asking for advice on auditioning for orchestras.  In my current position as an adjunct teacher at the Eastman… Read more »

From time to time it is good to be reminded how percussion has always been a part of the daily rhythms of Life. I came upon this 1938 photo in our family’s album from a fishing village in Nova Scotia. My grandfather, Billy Tom Feltmate, is on the right, shovelling earth around his newly dug… Read more »

I have just finished participating in an amazing four day percussion institute at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, right across the state line from St. Louis. According to the SIUE website, the campus is “situated on 2,660 acres of beautiful, forested woodland atop the bluffs overlooking the natural beauty of the Mississippi River’s rich bottom… Read more »

Thursday evening, June 9th, marked the 2011 presentation of the Premier’s Awards for Excellence in the Arts. Composer R.Murray Schafer was one of this year’s recipients. The multi-talented Schafer was honoured for his internationally-acclaimed “achievements as a composer, educator, environmentalist, literary scholar, visual artist and provocateur”. Schafer is a prolific composer and has written works… Read more »

While some of the NEXUS team are catching a bit of rare down-time here and there, others are off on recording sessions and tours in various locales. It is hard to keep track of them but Bob Becker wrote to me today from California, and Garry Kvistad is near St. Louis MO as part of… Read more »

NEXUS celebrates its 40th birthday this coming weekend! Entering its 41st season, NEXUS is looking back at a tremendously satisfying 40th season that began with their exciting new commission from Steve Reich,

I recently received an email from a student working on a DMA project.  The email contained questions about “Afrodditty,” a piece that exists in two related versions – 1) a timpani solo in “Six Concert Pieces for Solo Timpani” (Meredith/Hal Leonard Pub.), and 2) a snare drum solo in “NEXUS Suite” (HoneyRock Pub). The two… Read more »

It’s back home again after a week of vacation in Massachusetts – Stockbridge (Red Lion Inn), the Old Deerfield Inn, Sandwich Village on Cape Cod (Daniel Webster Inn), and three days in Boston, where Ruth and I heard absolutely no live music (but plenty of Kenny G’s saxophone in almost every restaurant, cafe, and elevator;… Read more »

Recently I received an inquiry from Jon Singer, a percussionist in Brooklyn, NY.  He had a copy of my 284-page discography, “The Xylophone in Acoustic Recordings. ”  Jon had just met with Arnie Lang who was a student of Billy Gladstone.  Arnie remembered Gladstone playing a ’78-rpm record in a lesson.  The music consisted of… Read more »

Click HERE for a PDF file with details! I am happy to announce the Southern Illinois University Percussion Institute to be held in Edwardsville from June 13 – 16.  I will be joining Daniel R. Smithiger (SIUE Faculty, Percussion), Miles Vandiver (SIUE Jazz Faculty, Drumset), Jason Long (Coordinator of Percussion, Webb City High School) and… Read more »

Luke Quinton gave NEXUS and the Austin Symphony under Peter Bay’s direction a wonderful review today, at Austin360.com Here’s what he wrote: “Toronto’s Nexus percussion ensemble brought some mysticism to the Austin Symphony’s performance on Friday night. With two sets of chimes hanging from the upper balcony, Nexus seemed to expand the size of the… Read more »