The venerable Japanese composer Toru Takemitsu (1930 – 1996) is best known as a serious classical composer, and, to a somewhat lesser degree, an innovative creator of music for film. Although largely unknown in the west, his work in the popular song medium spans most of his creative life, and includes music for theatre and… Read more »
In November 2015 thirteen boxes filled with an archive of about 1000 78-rpm disc records were delivered to the Center for Mallet Percussion Research at Kutztown (PA) University. The purpose was to establish a permanent residence for the archive and to make its contents accessible to anyone interested in pursuing research on the performers and… Read more »
In today’s digital electronic world it’s rare to find recordings that are not highly processed, edited and even over-dubbed. All eleven pieces on the NEXUS Ragtime Concert LP (1976) were recorded using the direct-to-disc process – a method that required each full side to be performed in a single take. That’s six pieces in a… Read more »
I must brag a little and say we get a lot of fan mail from people who love Woodstock Chimes. I cherish every letter but recently got one that made all the blood, sweat and tears through the years worthwhile. It was beautifully handwritten by an 8-year-old boy living on the West Coast. Here is… Read more »
In a recent blog post (Dance of the Octopus and Red Norvo) I lamented the fact that some recordings with interesting repertoire are no longer available. In 1996 the CBC invited several musicians to create short improvised pieces for use on their Weekender radio show. At the time, Weekender was broadcast for several hours on… Read more »
For the past several years, I have given presentations to classes of future leaders here in the Hudson Valley at the invitation of the Ulster Leadership Development Institute. This twenty-five-year-old program is sponsored by the Ulster County Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Chamber Foundation. It is coordinated by the foundation’s Executive Director, Ingrid Kulick. Through the nine months of the program,… Read more »
It has been an incredibly busy spring for NEXUS members. After our March and April residencies in Houston TX and Potsdam NY, June 5 took us into Reich, Rhythm and Repetition” Symposium in Toronto. Russell has been on tour with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in Europe,
May was certainly a month of honours for NEXUS members! Bill and Ruth Cahn were both recognized by the Rochester Philharmonic Youth Orchestra at their final concert of the season on May 14th at Roberts Wesleyan College near Rochester, NY. Bill is a founding member of NEXUS and apart from his many astonishing performing accomplishments… Read more »
EXCITING NEWS! NEXUS founding member Russell Hartenberger has received the Leonardo da Vinci World Award of Arts from the World Cultural Council!! We have always known that Russell is an extraordinary musician, colleague and friend, but these wonderful words express beautifully just HOW extraordinary! “Russell Hartenberger is considered a musical visionary and one of the… Read more »
One of my favorite tasks is sitting down each year and updating our list of awesome reactions to NEXUS. We love receiving your comments, whether online, by email, or in a review, and we thank you for loving what we do! Here’s the update to our “Reactions” list:
In 1974, I performed with the Blackearth Percussion Group at thethe State University of New York at Potsdam. The instructor in charge was, yes, Jim Petercsak. Professor Petercsak is a legend in the percussion world whose teaching has produced hundreds of fine musicians currently performing and teaching throughout the world. The NEXUS concert consisted of… Read more »
Wooden boxes with carved tongues are musical instruments found all over the world. They go by lots of names such as Log Drums, Slit Drums, Kulkul and Teponaztli, to name a few. In this video, I demonstrate some of these instruments from my collection which have a range of sizes and styles. They are universally… Read more »
Did you miss us? Yes, we had some technical issues with our blog, but all is “good to go” once again, thanks to our tech wonder Alex Kessaris. Coming up is our residency this weekend at SUNY-Potsdam with a concert on Friday evening (April 21st) in Hosmer Hall, start time 7:30 pm. As part of… Read more »
GG: Hi Bob, I am writing a book with a series of interviews with the important marimba and xylophone artists of the 20th century and I would be honored if you would please answer the questions below. It is some biographical information but mainly about what you studied to get better and, as time went… Read more »
