In demand session percussionist, Taku, is a busy guy. Along with our friend Kenny Aronoff, he performed as part of the house band on the John Lennon 75th Birthday Celebration at Madison Sq. Garden in NYC. The show was broadcast worldwide on CBS.
Here's a nice shot of Kenny and Taku playing one of our Custom Dry Copper Tambourines!
Be sure to catch St. Louis Principal Percussionist Will James at the Midwest Band & Orchestra Clinic-10:30am on Thursday December 17th in McCormick Place - Room 179.
Will will cover good sound production concepts on mallet instruments, snare drum, tambourine & cymbals.
Click here to download Will's presentation hand out.
Vic's "Solo Timpanist" is an iconic timpani book that contains some of the best etudes written for the student timpanist. I was fortunate to have worked through this book in private lessons with Vic while a student at The New England Conservatory.
Boise Symphony Timpanist Bill Shaltis just posted a series of videos outlining the challenges of playing Vic's etudes. Not only is this a great way to gain some insight into the etudes themselves, but, it's a terrific way to check out our ChromaTone™ Bamboo Timpani Mallets!
Don't forget to catch Bill's Midwest Band & Orchestra Clinic presentation "In Tune With Your Timpani" on December 16th in Chicago!
WATCH ETUDE #1 from the "SOLO TIMPANIST" by Vic Firth.
It always encouraging to get positive feedback from dedicated percussionists and I was thrilled to get a very nice letter from my old friend George Mardinly. George and I met while Boston Symphony fellows at Tanglewood in the 80s, subsequently George had a professional career as timpanist of the Puerto Rico Symphony. He was a student of, and introduced me to, the great Fred Hinger. Fred was inspirational to scores of creative percussionists.
George is now a successful lawyer, but he still finds time to practice and perform in orchestras around his home in New Jersey.
Thanks for the nice comments George!
I first met percussionist Karen Ervin when she came to Boston in the early 80s with the National tour of "Pirates of Penzance". She astonished me with her non-stop virtuosic mallet playing throughout the show (it was a revamped Broadway production). We became instant friends, sharing a strong passion for all things percussion. Karen and her husband, Tom, also started one of the first dedicated percussion music distributors, Tre Music. How ironic that a few years later I would replace Karen on the "Pirates" tour! I have to admit, learning that massive mallet part was not easy. I had to lock myself away in a practice room for a full week! Speaking of practicing, here is a terrific piece that...
