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 »
On Saturday November 7, 2015 I’m in Pennsylvania to present a session on “The Xylophone in Acoustic Recordings 1877-1929” for the grand opening of the new Center for Mallet Percussion Research at Kutztown University.
The album features Sepideh Raissadat with NEXUS in Russell’s suite of Persian Songs by Reza Ghassemi, as well as Russell’s unique Moondog Suite where NEXUS is accompanied by Suba Sankaran for the song “I’m This, I’m That”.
We’ve been having a really wonderful fall. Our newly launched CD “Persian Songs” with Sepideh Raissadat has garnered a terrific review from The Wholenote magazine’s Andrew Timar. He calls it “an exhilarating listening experience”!
On Oct. 22, 2014 Ruth and I presented two 45-minute workshops for about 40 middle and high school students visiting Rochester as part of the Meritas education program. Meritas is a family of schools that support PreK-12 education through the organization’s unique approach to personalized learning, which prepares students to succeed at their top choice college… Read more »
ROC Drummers is a new after school hand drumming program that is intended to provide an opportunity for young participants to experience the joy of making music, while simultaneously gaining the acquisition of valuable life skills – setting and achieving personal goals, and working with others towards common goals. The program, which began on September… Read more »
We hope you will join us in Toronto for our concert with the Toronto Children’s Chorus at St Anne’s Church, 270 Gladstone. It is an afternoon concert, beginning at 3 pm. We are really looking forward to working once again with this exceptional group. The TCC has been around for almost as long as NEXUS… Read more »
Right here in the little village of Woodstock, NY, a major film festival is now in its 16th year: WoodstockFilmFestival.com. This season, I am happy to report that our 8-minute film, Chimes for Autism: Tyler’s Story, was accepted in the short documentary category and had two sold out screenings during the festival. There were five… Read more »
Tuesday September 29, 2015 Bill: Look Outside. What’s that large white thing on the front lawn? I didn’t see that yesterday. Ruth: It looks like a dead animal. Bill: Or is it somebody’s misplaced beachball? Let’s go out and see. Both: Wow! It’s a giant puffball. Let’s see what our mushroom book says about puffballs…. Read more »
To see a complete listing of performances by NEXUS from 1968 to 2018 – including dates, venues, programs – click on the links below: History of NEXUS 1968-1989 History of NEXUS 1990-1998 History of NEXUS 1999-2018
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Michael Rosen’s article on “Ionisation” in the July 2015 issue of PERCUSSIVE NOTES. After reading it, the memory banks in my brain started throwing out images of the past, along with an impulse to write about two of these images under the assumption that they might in some way be of… Read more »
In response to the request on NEXUS’ Facebook, here are a few more John Cage recollections. In June, 1984 NEXUS embarked on a major European tour lasting over two months. Our first stop on the trip was Amsterdam and the Holland Festival. We played two concerts there, including a monumental all-night improvisation in the Nieuwe… Read more »
