December 7, 2008 The past three weeks have been almost non-stop travel, beginning with a concert at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MassMOCA) in Williamstown, MA and ending at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks, AK. In between, was a solid week of workshops, clinics and concerts in southern Michigan, including stops at University… Read more »
Percussion Events Registry Company 3815 Comanche Trail Bedford, TX 76021-3114, USA Email Lauren Vogel Weiss at: perc@ont.com Phone: (817) 354-3815
January 10, 2009. Workshops (Rudimental Arithmetic and Cymbals) and concert with UofM Percussion Ensemble, Minnesota Percussion Association Day of Percussion, Anoka, MN. Host, Bojan Hoover. Information HERE. January 31, 2009. Workshop and concert with Ensemble á percussion Sixtrum, University of Montréal, Montréal, PQ. Host, Robert Leroux. March 3, 2009. Performance of Reich: Music for 18 Musicians, Alice… Read more »
For those of you who are fans of George Hamilton Green’s music, here’s a picture of his (and his wife’s) gravestone in the Artist’s Cemetery in Woodstock, New York.
The following excerpt is from an interview with Shannon Wood, originally published in the Artist Insight section of the July, 2005 issue of Mallet Shop Quarterly. MSQ: Two names come to mind when one thinks of virtuoso xylophone playing: the late George Hamilton Green and Bob Becker. Bob has raised the bar of xylophone soloing… Read more »
Hi Bob, Following are the questions I’d like you to answer. You may take your time – the paper isn’t due until December 11th, 2007. As a percussionist, you often play music and musical instruments from around the world. What are your thoughts on performing music that is not part of your culture? This is… Read more »
I really want to thank you for doing this with me. As you will see from my questioning I tried to take a perspective of the “Bob the Performer” and “Bob the Composer” and combine the two. If you find that you answer one question in a previous answer and want to omit a question… Read more »
The following interview was conducted at the request of the Percussive Arts Society, and appeared in the August, 1996 issue of Percussive Notes. LHS: Let’s get this important question out of the way in the very beginning. Everybody who knows anything about xylophone knows you are not only the greatest living xylophonist, but also the… Read more »
Lahara, 1977, drum solo (with melodic and drone accompaniment). Published in 2003 by Keyboard Percussion Publications. Palta, 1982 (revised 1998), tabla or drum set solo, with accompaniment by six percussion, piano and bass. Recorded by NEXUS on Dance of the Octopus (CBC Musica Viva). UrbhanaMudra, 1990, four percussion, choreography by Joan Phillips. Commissioned by INDE… Read more »
(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 »
Compositions by Bob Becker Prisoners of the Image Factory (4:25) Bob Becker Noodrem (6:18) Bob Becker Mudra (13:10) Bob Becker Turning Point (7:17) Bob Becker There is a Time (27:18) Bob Becker
Percussionists who perform in symphony orchestras form a relationship with their instruments that is esoteric, often arcane, and little understood by other musicians and the general public. Although most people have seen and heard cymbals, gongs and bells, for example, very few have had the experience of listening to one of them intimately and intently… Read more »
The following short article was written in response to a request from the Sabian cymbal company. The questions were: “How do you deliver a peak performance? How do you prepare for a concert?” An edited version of the article, along with answers to the same questions by Vic Firth, Evelyn Glennie, Ney Rosauro, John Wooton… Read more »
Brief history of the modern Turkish cymbal and etymology of terms. Discussion and demonstration of basic types of crashes, special effects with two plates, techniques for suspended cymbals, and options for selecting and combining cymbals. Discussion and demonstration, using excerpts from the symphonic and contemporary repertoire, of approaches to performance issues such as misleading and/or… Read more »
I have to say, it’s becoming more and more difficult for me to think of things to say about playing the xylophone these days. Even though it’s an instrument that I still play fairly regularly on NEXUS concerts, it’s not something that I spend much time with outside of that context. It’s interesting to me… Read more »
