Born on June 22, 1947 in Allentown, Pennsylvania, Bob Becker holds the degrees Bachelor of Music with Distinction, and Master of Music (Performance and Literature) from the Eastman School of Music where he studied percussion with William G. Street and John H. Beck, and composition with Warren Benson and Aldo Provenzano. As an undergraduate he… Read more »
Posts By: Bob Becker
Bob Becker and Yurika Kimura – PASIC concert tour
Japanese marimbist Yurika Kimura and I will present a Showcase Concert on Saturday, November 16 at PASIC 2013 in Indianapolis, IN. Prior to and following the PASIC concert, we will make a short tour including appearances at the following venues (for more details check my Events page, which gives information about all of my upcoming non-NEXUS… Read more »
What is a Xylorimba?
(Are the overtones tuned differently in various ranges of its keyboard?) The term ‘xylorimba’ clearly refers to some kind of hybrid instrument, but it depends on who is using the term, and when. Even the word itself is a composite: xylo is the common Greek root meaning ‘wood’; and rimba is an arbitrary clipping of… Read more »
Xylophone vs. Marimba: more thoughts.
In April, 2013 I received an email from Jesse Strauss, a student at Belmont University, asking for my thoughts about an article by Vida Chenoweth in which she reached some conclusions about the terms ‘xylophone’ and ‘marimba’. I have discussed the distinctions that differentiate these terms in clinics, as well as in the Xylorimba article… Read more »
Malletech unveils new Bob Becker BBSD snare drum stick at PASIC 2012
Malletech introduced its new PhD (Premium high-Density) line of concert snare drum sticks last week at PASIC 2012 in Austin, TX. The three new models are made from Honduras rosewood, and were designed by Tony Cirone, Michael Burritt and me respectively. The specs for my model, shown in the details below, are: 17 3/16 inches… Read more »
Recent composing
I had a very intense spring season, with NEXUS performances in California, Arkansas, Georgia, Ohio and New York, as well as extended solo tours of my own in Ohio, Indiana and Arizona. Usually I am unable to compose while traveling, and also I find it difficult to work creatively on writing projects without having at… Read more »
2014 Events
March 7, 2014. Workshop, Royal Conservatory of Music, Toronto, ON. Host, John Rudolph. April 15, 2014. Guest soloist/composer with RU Percussion Ensemble, Radford University, Roanoke, VA. Host, Rob Sanderl. April 18 – 19 , 2014. Workshops and concert performance with Lamar University Percussion Ensemble, Beaumont, TX. Host, Travis Fife. April 21, 2014. Guest soloist, Oak… Read more »
2013 Events
January 16, 2013. Percussion clinic and masterclass, Cleveland State University, Cleveland, OH. Host, Tom Freer. January 19, 2013. Clinician and Featured Performer for Ohio Day of Percussion, Wright State University, Fairborn, OH. Host, Jerry Noble. For more information contact: jernoble3@yahoo.com. January 25, 2013. Xylophone clinic and orchestral masterclass, Royal Conservatory of Music, Toronto, ON. Host,… Read more »
2012 Events
February 27, 2012. Xylophone workshop and masterclass, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA. Host, Jim Babor. March 20 – 21, 2012. Clinician and guest performer with TU Percussion Ensemble, Troy University, Troy, AL. Host, T. Adam Blackstock. March 28 – April 2, 2012. Residency with workshops and concert featuring compositions by Becker, G. H…. Read more »
Answers to questions about the beginning of NEXUS
In December, 2011 I received a request from Yale graduate student Victor Caccese to answer a few questions about how NEXUS began and developed. VC: Mr. Becker, I mainly wanted to ask you about the start of NEXUS with your first performances in 1971. Even though all of its members have accomplished a great deal… Read more »
The Drag/Ruff Dilemma
In May, 2011, John Wooton sent an email to many of his drumming friends and colleagues. In it he posed some questions about how to name a basic and historic rudiment. One of the first to respond was Dennis Delucia. There has followed a very interesting and entertaining email debate and discussion about this topic,… Read more »
Answers to questions about New-thaan
In March, 2010, I received a request from graduate student Bruce Salyers to answer some questions about my drum solo New-thaan, which is included in NEXUS Portfolio for Snare Drum, published by HoneyRock. Bill Cahn recently posted his answers to similar questions about some of the pieces in Portfolio, and so I thought it might… Read more »
September in Japan
I spent nearly the entire month of September, 2010 in Japan. I arrived in Osaka on the 5th and immediately began rehearsals with NEXUS and the Hyogo Performing Arts Center Orchestra. Maestro Yutaka Sado conducted the program, which featured NEXUS performing Toru Takemitsu’s From me flows what you call Time, and Gustav Holst’s The Planets…. Read more »
2011 Events
April 4 – 5, 2011. West African Drumming clinic and soloist with OBU Percussion Ensemble, Ouachita Baptist University, Arkadelphia, AR. Host, Dr. Ryan Lewis. Click here for more information. April 7, 2011. Guest soloist/composer with Eastman Percussion Ensemble, Eastman School of Music, Rochester, NY. Host, Michael Burritt. April 19 – 23, 2011. Workshop and soloist… Read more »
Tenth Annual Ragtime Xylophone Institute, 2010
The tenth anniversary session of the Bob Becker Ragtime Xylophone Institute was held from August 2 through 7, 2010 at the University of Delaware in Newark, DE. This year’s participants, left to right in the photo, were: Mike Correa, Paul Bernard, Dwayne Corbin, Chris Hogan, Ryan Lewis, Bob, Harvey Price, Julia Ross, Mike Franklin, Sam… Read more »
