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A Page of Madness

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Film accompaniment has intrigued NEXUS ever since NEXUS created the chilling score for the Academy -award winning film “The Man Who Skied Down Everest”. They have created the film score for the NFB’s “Inside Time” about the bank robbing “Stopwatch Gang”, and for their 25th anniversary they undertook an unusual film project with Atom Egoyan… Read more »

From shimmering to turbulent: An Unusual Evening!

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It was a great pleasure to hear two NEXUS premieres last night: the world premiere (performed by 2X10 and NEXUS) of Norbert Palej’s Virgiliana and the Canadian premiere (performed by NEXUS and 5 actors) of the new revival of John Cage’s “lost work” The City Wears a Slouch Hat. NEXUS performed Palej’s strong response to… Read more »

Reminder Toronto concert this Wednesday

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Just a reminder that NEXUS will be performing at the New Music Festival on Wednesday evening this week, January 23 at 7:30. Admission is FREE. The concert takes place at Walter Hall in the Edward Johnson Building at  80 Queen’s Park, Toronto, ON, M5S 2C5   NEXUS will be performing with the dynamic piano duo 2X10,… Read more »

Marimbist, Ritsuko Matsumoto – January, 2013

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One of the wonderful aspects of being a musician is the ability to meet musicians from other places and to share ideas. I first met Ritsuko Matsumoto in August,1998 when she traveled from her home in Japan to participate as a contestant in the Leigh Howard Stevens International Marimba Competition and Festival at the Eastman… Read more »

Bill and Bob and All About Cymbals

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Did you know that NEXUS has a wealth of informative workshops and website information on Cymbals? Bob Becker has an excellent lecture-demonstration called  The Magic and Mystery of Cymbals which is described in detail here .  You can also find Bob discussion of the cymbals he used (and why — with photos) at a performance… Read more »

A rare chance to hear The City Wears A Slouch Hat

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NEXUS will be performing at the New Music Festival ina new 3-movement work entitled “Vergiliana” that they have jointly commissioned from composer Norbert Palej. The piece will be in homage to Cage and his influential contributions to percussion and piano music. NEXUS worked directly with Cage many times – their performances of Cage’s seminal work… Read more »

NEXUS premieres new Norbert Palej commission January 23rd

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NEXUS will be premiering a new work by composer Norbert Palej at the New Music Festival in Toronto on January 23rd. The concert will be in the University of Toronto’s Walter Hall at 7:30 p.m. The piece has been commissioned by NEXUS and the piano duo 2X10, and is entitled “Vergiliana”. There are three movements:… Read more »

Melodic Snare Drumming

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Bob Becker has a great clinic available called Melodic Snare Drumming and Rudimental Arithmetic.  Melodic Snare Drumming is a conceptual approach to playing snare drum that involves physically hearing or imagining a melodic accompaniment while performing. Bob says the idea “is in fact very old, and for centuries was the system through which military-style drumming… Read more »

Monkeys In The Attic

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Jackie Burroughs in Monkeys in the Attic

Here’s an unusual bit of early NEXUS history. The Internet Movie Database references John Wyre and NEXUS providing the soundtrack for a 1974 film “Monkeys in the Attic: A Film of Exploding Dreams”. The film won the  Prix Khalimer as well as Best Foreign Film at the Toulon Film Festival in  France in 1974. Written,… Read more »

Great Weekend at Bard College

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Thanks to everyone for the great turn out at the Fisher Center, Bard College, for this weekend’s revival of “The City Wears a  Slouch Hat”, John Cage’s 1942 radio play. The evening was a great success. It was called “John Cage: On & Off the Air! ” and it was designed to spotlight Cage’s fascination… Read more »

NEXUS’ score for “Inside Time”, 2007

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If you have been following our blog posts this week, here is a more recent example of NEXUS’ film work: “Inside Time” an awarding-winning film by Jason Young from the National Film Board of Canada, 2007. You can view the whole thing by clicking here, or if you choose, skip through, finding parts of the… Read more »

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