Garry recently posted on YouTube three excerpts from a concert called Super Percussion, presented as part of the Tokyo Music Joy festival in 1988. It was the fourth annual Music Joy festival, produced by Toru Takemitsu and Koinuma Music, and sponsored by the Seibu-Saison Group in Tokyo. The four-day festival was organized around a jazz… Read more »
Naples (Florida) Daily News, March 31, 2005 (download PDF) This was a unique review for me – my tailor received a better write-up than I did!
On April 1, 2010 I was able to spend a day at the Malletech Company facilities in Neptune, NJ. I had discussions with Leigh Stevens regarding the new Malletech rosewood snare drum stick line, and in particular the design for my signature model (these should be appearing soon). We also discussed some new publications, and… Read more »
Reviews of Music On The Moon (download PDF) Reviews of my orchestra piece, Music On The Moon, from Toronto, ON (Esprit Orchestra) and Norfolk, VA (Virginia Symphony).
The Virginian-Pilot, May 4, 1997 (download PDF) This is a review of a concert by one of the earliest incarnations of The Bob Becker Ensemble, a group organized to perform my chamber percussion repertoire. At this time the group consisted of pianist Nikki Stoia, marimbist Christopher Norton and soprano Barbara Hannigan. Those three performers stayed… Read more »
Last year (2009) percussionist Daniel Smithiger asked the members of NEXUS to answer a number of interesting questions for an interview now posted on the Percussive Notes magazine. Below are my answers to a few of Daniel’s questions. DS: Of what things are you most proud, in the accomplishments and history of NEXUS? BB: I… Read more »
During the week of February 14, 2010 I made visits to two schools in the University of Wisconsin network – UW Stevens Point and UW Madison. I was lucky with the weather as I had to connect through Detroit going and coming back, and at this time of year in the northeast, the more airports… 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 »
February 15, 2010. North Indian Drumming workshop, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Stevens Point, WI. Host, Robert Rosen. February 16 – 17, 2010. Guest soloist with the University of Wisconsin-Madison percussion ensemble. Compositions and arrangements by Becker and others. Madison, WI. Host, Anthony Di Sanza. Click HERE for more information. April 16 – 18, 2010. Guest… Read more »
My name is Gene Koshinski, Professor of Percussion at University of Minnesota Duluth. I am currently finishing a document as my final step to completing my doctoral degree at The Hartt School in Hartford, CT. The title of my paper is: “From West Africa, through Vaudeville, to the Concert Hall: The Evolution of Two-Mallet Keyboard… Read more »
This year (2009) the Bob Becker Ragtime Xylophone Institute was held from July 27 through August 1. It was our ninth year for this annual event held at the University of Delaware in Newark, DE. The participants, pictured in the photo (left to right) were: Bob, Warren Dewey, Valerie Vassar, Zachary Nandapurkar, Harvey Price, Doug… Read more »
From July 7 through 10, 2009 I was a featured clinician and soloist for the First International Belgian Percussion Festival, held in Hasselt, Belgium. This was a very ambitious event, with a large international faculty. Besides myself, other clinicians included Marinus Komst, solo timpanist of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra; David Searcy, principal timpanist with the… Read more »
During June 13 through 22, 2009 I took part in the Roots and Rhizomes residency organized by Steven Schick and held at the Banff Centre for the Arts in Alberta, Canada. Banff is located in the heart of the Canadian rockies, and must be one of the most spectacular locations in the world for this… Read more »
On May 24 I again joined forces with Peter Soave, She-e Wu and the Northwestern University Percussion Ensemble, this time at the new Pritzker Pavilion in Chicago’s spectacular Millennium Park. Besides the Frank Gehry-designed pavilion itself, the park contains Anish Kapoor’s magical polished steel sculpture, Cloud Gate. Just before our rehearsal, I was surprised to… Read more »
