The Canadian Brass back in February, NEXUS members were busy with the Canadian Brass, recording the stirring arrangements of Robin Engelman. Robin blogged about it here. You can check out the excellent reviews of the recording – as well as an interview with Robin and Chuck Daellenbach of the CBrass – here. Enjoy!
NEXUS prepares for Japan!
If you are a percussionist, you might do a double-take when you see the Kobe Port Tower in Kobe, Japan. It is designed to look like a tsuzumi, a traditional Japanese hand drum! And NEXUS will be seeing it soon. After a remarkable 3 months with sell-outs in Toronto, Minnesota and New York State, NEXUS… Read more »
Oodles of Doodles – ca. 1973
In 1973 NEXUS was involved in a 2-week residency at York University, just outside of Toronto. Several of us (at least Bob and I) stayed at Robin’s farm house in King City. One afternoon (or evening?) we had some time to kill and as we sat around Robin’s desk we took turns creating doodles on… Read more »
Another Sell-Out for NEXUS
Mitch Miller (1911-2010) Remembered
It was with sadness and no small amount of nostalgia that I heard the news last night that Mitch Miller had passed away yesterday at the ripe age of 99. In the 1970s and 1980s Mitch was a frequent guest pops conductor of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. He always seemed to enjoy returning to his… Read more »
NEXUS teams up with Steve Reich and So Percussion at Woodstock Beat
Click on the link below to see a Press Release about the NEXUS concert on July 31, 2010, at 2010 Woodstock Beat concert in Woodstock, NY. Reich Wodstock Beat 2010
From the Archives #6: The Roots of NEXUS
In 1988, Carolyn McMaster of the Lawrence Journal-World in Kansas interviewed Bob Becker. The article describes some of the most important roots of NEXUS. Here are some excerpts: “In 1984 NEXUS played a memorable concert in Amsterdam – six nonstop hours of pure improvisation. Bob Becker remembers the event as an improvisational high point. The… Read more »
“Creative Music Making” at the Eastman Summer Percussion Institute
On July 14, 2010 I facilitated a “Creative Music Making” workshop for 23 participating students as part of the week long Eastman Summer Percussion Institute directed by Michael Burritt. The 2-1/2-hour workshop focused on freeform improvisation, and was based on my book, “Creative Music Making” published by Routledge Books in 2005. Each of the participants… Read more »
NEXUS on the Cover of the July 2010 issue of Percussive Notes
NEXUS is featured in the July 2010 issue of “Percussive Notes”. The article by Daniel R. Smithiger. Click HERE to view a PDF file of that article.
Review in the LaCrosse Tribune: Nexus a big hit with Beethoven crowd
Click here to read the Review in the LaCrosse Tribune – July 7, 2010.
NEXUS performs at 2010 Minnesota Beethoven Festival
Click on the link below to see a Press Release about the NEXUS concert on July 6, 2010, at the Minnesota Beethoven Festival in Winona, Minnesota. Minnesota Concert July 2010
NEXUS in Woodstock NY with Steve Reich
You couldn’t ask for a better Day Trip opportunity than the NEXUS concert on July 31st in “the most famous small town in the world”, Woodstock, New York. Featuring NEXUS, Reich and at the Ojai Festival in California, the audience’s cheers forced three curtain calls and the reviewers used phrases like “one of the peak… Read more »
Letter to the Editor
Every so often I read an article in one of the local or national newspapers that motivates me to respond with a letter to the newspaper’s editor. A number of these letters in the past have gone to local newspapers responding to articles about the Rochester Philharmonc Orchestra. In my capacity as a past member… Read more »
NEXUS performs at the Festival in the Square in Toronto
Saturday, June 26, 2010 – Concert at The Shops at Don Mills – Toronto, Ontario, Canada Photos by Lorraine Dillard
A RAINY DATE WITH NEXUS
A BIG Thank You to those of you who came out for a rainy-day outdoor concert on June 26th! Fortunately, the stage was covered. Unfortunately, the audience area was not. A few hardy souls sat with umbrellas, and there were some covered areas to one side where others took refuge. NEXUS “carried on regardless”,… Read more »