It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of NEXUS founding member Robin Engelman. As the message came to us, ‘Robin left “On Tour” yesterday afternoon, Friday, February 26.’ As John Wyre said, Robin brought “enormous authority to his performance and to his life.” A memorial page is being created on Robin’s website… Read more »
On November 7, 2015 the collection of disc phonograph records listed in this index below was delivered to the Center for Mallet Percussion Research at Kutztown University, c/o the Kutztown University Foundation located at 15200 Kutztown Road, Kutztown, PA 19530. To read more about the Archive CLICK HERE: Notes on the Archive Included in the… Read more »
After posting the information about the publication of “Time Zones” (see my preceding blog post), I received the following response on Facebook from Lee Gurst, whom I have known since high school days in Philadelphia, at which time I greatly admired his concert snare drumming. Lee studied with Philadelphia Orchestra percussionist, Michael Bookspan, one of… Read more »
I’m excited and pleased to announce that Bachovich Music Publications is now publishing my “Time Zones – Five Concert Pieces for Snare Drum.” The compositions are intended to be added to the repertoire for solo percussion recitals, and the five pieces were composed to be complimentary, so that any number of them – from one… Read more »
Just to keep you in the loop, here’s what’s happening: 1) Three NEXUS albums are now on CD Baby!! Details below. 2) We have a brand NEW NEXUS album to be released soon! See below. 3) NEXUS members are in residencies in Columbus OH, Fredonia NY, and Philadelphia. See below. 4) Russell is heading to… Read more »
Pierre Boulez, composer and conductor, passed away on January 5 at the age of 90. It is said that conductors live long lives due to their intense mental and physical activity during performances. His compositions are still considered by many to be avant-garde due to their complexity. Composer Edgard Varèse has attributed this attitude to… Read more »
Isn’t that great?! We made it onto the CD Hotlist’s Top Picks for December! Check out this GREAT review: “The percussion quartet Nexus has prepared two suites of arrangements for this recording: the first is a set of six compositions by the famous outsider composer Moondog; the second is a suite of seven songs by… Read more »
From Chimalong Junior to Chimalong Panacea, it’s all about children and music. In the early 1980s when Diane and I started our family, there were no high-quality musical instruments on the market for children that I was aware of. So I had an idea to take the musically tuned tubes from our line of Woodstock… Read more »
If you are a fan of internet radio, you can now hear one of our new Persian Songs tracks featuring Sepideh Raissadat on Radio Airplay: “Vajd; Ta Dami Bissayam” (“Ecstasy; A Moment of Ease”). The lyrics for this beautiful piece were written by Sheykh Bahayi (1547-1621). The piece was composed by Reza Ghassemi and arranged… Read more »
A few years ago Russell Hartenberger put together a chart which shows the network of connections between timpanists and members of NEXUS. For anyone who might be interested, here it is; enjoy!
On Sunday November 15 Kaz, Aya, Nonoka, Michael Burritt and I flew back home from the San Antonio PASIC to Rochester by way of Charlotte, NC. The three visitors from Japan were our guests for a few days. It was a very clear dark night when we finally arrived at my house, and as we… Read more »
On November 11, my 69th birthday (whaaat!) I flew to San Antonio for the 40th Percussive Arts Society International Convention, the annual gathering of about 6000 percussionists/drummers from all over the world. After checking in to my hotel I contacted Kazunori Meguro (‘Kaz’), who had just arrived from Tokyo and who was staying at the… Read more »
Saturday, November 7th was the date for the opening of the new Center for Mallet Percussion Research at Kutztown University – a 4-1/2-hour drive into central Pennsylvania. I arrived at the University’s Schaeffer Auditorium around noon and met with Dr. Frank Kumor, the Assistant Professor of Percussion Studies, and Dr. Willis Rapp, the retired professor… Read more »
November 2015 was a month filled with lots of diverse and intense musical activities. It started on October 31 – Halloween – with a concert by ROCdrummers at the David F, Gantt Community Center in Rochester, NY. It was the first-ever performance by the after school drum ensemble comprised of public school students. The kids… Read more »
NEXUS recently performed in Toronto with the Toronto Children’s Chorus. The concert took place in the magnificent St. Anne’s Church, which was founded in 1862 and reconstructed in 1920 in the style of the Byzantine Revival. The church interior is decorated and painted with murals by artists who were members of Canada’s famous Group of… Read more »
