When things are quiet on the Blog, you can be sure that things are hopping behind the scenes! NEXUS is deep into rehearsal for the much-anticipated premiere of the legendary Steve Reich’s new Mallet Quartet. Watch for it on April 29th here in Toronto under the auspices of Soundstreams Canada.
What do Ling Lun, Antonio Stradivari, Robert Moog, Harry Partch and Pat Metheny have in common? They have all built musical instruments that have had a profound influence on the music which followed. Pat Metheny’s music and his playing style is unique, complex and masterful. Yet, it is accessible, fun and beautiful. He has gone… Read more »
It’s January 15, 2010 (Japan time) – the last day of my 2-week residency at the Showa Academy of Music. This has been my seventh such residency since 1998 – the third time at the school’s new campus facility in Kawasaki. The old campus was in Atsugi, about another 40 minutes southwest away from Tokyo… Read more »
It has been a long time since I last saw the Mummers Parade on New Year’s Day in Philadelphia. It was probably when I was in the 6th grade or so. This year, on a whim, I asked Ruth if she would like to go to Philadelphia for New Year’s day and she said, “yes,”… Read more »
Allan Kozinn has an excellent article on percussion in Sunday’s New York Times (December 27th). It is called Percussionists Go From Background to Podium, and he talks of the major percussionists and percussion ensembles at work today. Check it out here.
Just before Christmas, I turned the page of the art calendar on my desk and was surprised to see a piece called The Bird’s Concert, (circa 1600) by Frans Snyders. Of course, I immediately thought of Bill Cahn’s piece The Birds that features the calls of Snyders’ birds plus a few dozen more! You can… Read more »
December is a time of celebration. And NEXUS has plenty to celebrate! This month we have confirmed several new dates – (and more are under discussion, so check back for updates!) In the New Year, you will find NEXUS performing in Ontario, Canada in March. In April NEXUS will be performing the Canadian premiere of… Read more »
Dosa, Sambar, Indian coffee, and badam kheer; Ta Di Thom Num, moras, teermanams, and korvai ; humility, warmth, caring, and love. These are all enduring memories I have of the beloved Ramnad V. Raghavan. Raghavan passed away last week in Chennai, India at the age of 82. He taught mrdangam and South Indian music at… Read more »
Press Release: The Canadian percussion group NEXUS announces the departure of founding member Robin Engelman.
By now you will have seen Robin Engelman’s blog post announcing that he will be leaving NEXUS. As you can imagine, it has been an emotional week. As a founding member of the group, Robin has been with NEXUS since the very beginning, and his wife Eleanor was the group’s administrator for decades, too. NEXUS… Read more »
NEXUS in rehearsal at Walter Hall for their Nov. 23rd concert at the University of Toronto.
Will you be within driving distance of Toronto this coming weekend? We hope you will join us for two upcoming NEXUS concerts in the heart of downtown. On Saturday evening November 21st, NEXUS performs in the MacMillan Theatre (80 Queen’s Park), presenting the Canadian premiere of Eric Ewazen’s Eternal Dance of Life
On October 31, 2009 I had the pleasure of performing in the John Cage Symposium at Bard College, located in Annanndale-on-Hudson, New York. Along with Bob Becker, Russell Hartenberger, Garry Kvistad, and special guest, Jason Treuting of So Percussion, we immersed ourselves in a program of Cage’s music for percussion instruments, including the piano, played… Read more »
George Lawrence Stone’s Stick Control for the Snare Drummer first appeared in 1935. With a terse two-page introduction followed by a mere 21 pages of what he called “practice rhythms”, Stone unleashed a new and powerful method of technical development for all styles of drumming. The “HOW TO PRACTICE” page alone is worth the price… Read more »
Dear Bob, It was great to talk to you the other day, and have the opportunity to hang out with you while here in Banff. Thanks again for your willingness to answer some questions for my doctoral dissertation and larger project to collect anecdotes and interviews from various important senior/accomplished percussionists in our field. Your… Read more »
