More honours: Bill and Ruth Cahn for music education

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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 »

Russell Hartenberger receives the 2017 Leonardo da Vinci World Award of Arts!

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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 »

NEXUS in Potsdam

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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 »

Unusual Instruments – Log Drum

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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 »

Heading to sunny SUNY-Potsdam

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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 »

Bob’s interview with Greg Giannascoli

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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 »

San Jacinto College, Pasadena TX – see you soon!

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San Jacinto College Central has invited us for a March residency that’s going to cover a LOT of ground! The emails have been flying about the concert programming and it’s going to be a lot of fun, with fanfares and ragtime and Bob Becker’s “Palta” arranged for steel band – it’s going to be great.

Broadway, CIA and Timpani

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  Every so often I have the pleasure of playing timpani with a full orchestra. This was the case recently when I played with the Northern Dutchess Symphony Orchestra led by Kathleen Beckmann. This concert featured the Broadway star Craig Schulman. The program included big hits from many different Broadway shows, including Les Misérables and The Phantom of the… Read more »

Coming Up! Texas and New York!

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The NEXUS members never sit still. Even a winter “respite” has taken Russell to the Sacher music archive and its Steve Reich Collection in Basel, Switzerland; Bob’s heading out on U.S. tour dates; Garry is heading to warmer climes to the south. Bill and Ray are hardier types enjoying brisk temperatures and a multitude of… Read more »

Woodstock, the Most Famous Small Town in the World

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On Friday night Jack DeJohnette played a spectacular piano concert at the Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild to an overflowing audience. He called it the Concert for Inner Peace. Jack is known as one of the very finest jazz drummers on the scene today, but his first instrument was piano and his range of styles and his… Read more »

Steve Reich’s 80th Birthday Parties

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On October 3, 2016, Steve Reich celebrated his 80th birthday. This festive occasion was the catalyst for a year-long tribute to the man who has been acclaimed as “our greatest living composer” (New York Times) and “the most original musical thinker of our times” (The New Yorker). A quick glance at the concert section of… Read more »

Mohonk Concerts

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Brubeck Brothers Band

Diane and I attended a day of jazz at the Mohonk Mountain House yesterday with friends. We saw two absolutely amazing concerts and had a wonderful dinner at this historic resort right here in the Catskill Mountains. One concert was a trio led by the fabulous Janice Siegel of the Manhattan Transfer with pianist John… Read more »

Blackearth Percussion Group Retrospective at PASIC 16 in Indianapolis

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The Blackearth Percussion Group was conceived in 1971, formed in 1972 and disbanded in 1979. It was inspired in part by Jan Williams’ New Percussion Quartet of Buffalo and named after a small farm town in central Wisconsin. I was one of the original group members at age 22, along with my brother Rick Kvistad… Read more »

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