NEXUS, the Toronto-based percussion group, is now in its 36th year of performances in solo recitals and with symphony orchestras worldwide.  On August 11, 2007 the ensemble performed “A Night At the Movies,” a unique concert featuring classic silent films accompanied by live original music.  The program was part of the Toronto Summer Music Festival presented at the University of Toronto’s Walter Hall.  The program included the following:

“A Page of Madness” (1926) - A Pioneering Japanese Silent Film,
Tienosuke Kinugasa’s milestone film, with its sympathetic story of mental illness was presented with a live musical accompaniment composed by NEXUS member, Bill Cahn.  The hour-long score performed by the percussion quintet, NEXUS, enhanced the emotional impact of this challenging avant-garde movie which not only employs features of the classical Japanese arts, but also utilizes pioneering film techniques - stylized images, flashback scenes, double-images and rapid cuts between scenes.

“Whispering Medley” - arranged by Bob Becker
Featuring two popular songs from the 1920s - “Whispering” and “When You're Smiling” - this music-only segment spotlighted the xylophone virtuosity of NEXUS member, Bob Becker, whose solo performance in his own arrangement for NEXUS dazzled the audience. 

Silent-Film-Era Hand-Painted Slides
Accompanied by NEXUS playing Bill Cahn’s arrangement of the 1919 hit song “Fluffy Ruffles,” the movie screen in Walter Hall treated the audience to  dozens of silent film era hand-painted slides, each carrying its own message, all to the amusement of the viewers - “Ladies, please remove your hats” , “Please do not throw cigar butts onto the stage’, etc.

“Teddy At the Throttle” - a Mack Sennett Comedy (1916)
Made at the height of the silent film era this film features a very young Gloria Swanson along with Wallace Beery and “Keystone Teddy” the dog, who leaps into the cab of a moving locomotive to warn the engineer and save Gloria from being run over on the tracks. The musical accompaniment was arranged for NEXUS by Bill Cahn and features popular music from the silent film era - 1896 to 1916.

"In matters of color, nuance and dynamic range, Nexus offers a stunning virtuoso spectacle. Even more astonishing is the depth of musicianship and superiority of ensemble these five virtuosos brought to bear."           - San Francisco Chronicle

Nexus acknowledges the support of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council.

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