I am often asked the meaning of the word nexus. It is from a Latin root meaning “tie”, and basically indicates a connection or bond among the members of a group or series. Some of us came across this term in the early 1970s while reading Harry Partch’s book Genesis of a Music. Partch speaks… Read more »
NEXUS has a concert coming up that is taking them back to their “Improv” roots. Improvisation. It always has that “edge”. It’s unpredictable. Exciting. Unexpected. Sometimes improbable! We all know about history-making drum solos, guitar licks, jazz sessions, and even comedy sketches on shows like “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” All based on improvisation. There… Read more »
Russell Hartenberger‘s musicality as “so solid you can always hang your hat on it.” It’s fitting, then, that Russell offers a workshop called “Rhythm and Time in Music”. Useful to non-percussionists and percussionists alike, Russell takes a historical look at Western music rhythms, then explores non-Western cultures to compare them. Intriguingly, he says the workshop… Read more »
NEXUS will be starting work on a new recording featuring the music of John Cage in late January of 2009. Keep an eye on our website for more information about this exciting new recording!
Hello from New York City, where I am performing with the Paul Winter Consort at the 29th annual Winter Solstice Concerts in the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. The first performance occurred last night before a sold-out audience of over 3000. It was great to perform with fellow percussionists Jamey Haddad and Cafe. I… Read more »
Wishing you a Wonderful Holiday Season and a Great 2017! Click here for info on this amazing photo. You won’t believe when it was taken!
It’s December and every shop surrounds us with heavenly voices. Concerts abound featuring beautiful choral music. It surprises people to hear that NEXUS has some very interesting choral material in their repertoire. Past concerts have seen NEXUS sharing the stage with the Amadeus Choir, the Elora Festival Singers, the MacMillan Singers, and the Toronto Children’s… Read more »
Q. How did you come up with your book, Creative Music Making? A. As decribed in the book, Creative Music Making is a practical process to develop musicianship through freeform improvisation. The process is simply based on my experience in creating improvised music with NEXUS. The group’s first few years of concerts consisted entirely of… Read more »
I want to tell you about Bill Cahn‘s workshop entitled “Creative Music-Making.” Bill has given it a subtitle – “Four Simple Steps to Cultivating the Inner Musician” – and it is designed for any age, professional and amateur alike, experienced or “never tried it”. Completely interactive, the workshop provides an opportunity to TRY THINGS –… Read more »
Nancy Uscher is currently Provost of the California Institute of the Arts. The following correspondence involved questions from her daughter, Alessandra Barrett, now a student at CalArts, regarding the term “minimalist music” and my association with the composer Steve Reich. December 1, 2008 Dear Bob: I think I mentioned that Alessandra (my daughter) had decided… Read more »
Q: What was involved in creating the NEXUS label and doing your first CD? A: The idea for creating our own ‘NEXUS’ CD label emerged when Ray Dillard and I were on a long drive in a rental truck transporting NEXUS instruments between concerts in Queensland, Australia in 1988. In that year personal computers were… Read more »
The holidays are upon us! In every corner of the globe there are celebrations – I’ll give you a list of a “baker’s dozen” at the end of this post. It has set me to thinking about the FAMILY and POPS repertoire in the NEXUS programme collection. “An African Celebration” is a joyous programme with… Read more »
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 »
Bob Becker’s blog mentions George Hamilton Greene‘s grave in Woodstock’s Artists’ Cemetery. (For a nice winter view of this peaceful place, click John Cage, Peter Schickele and many others have premiered new works. Drumtalker. Woodstock has several other famous percussion inhabitants too: Brazilian-born Cyro Baptista who began his work in North America with a scholarship… Read more »
I admit I’m a “newbie” when it comes to John Cage. I know of the man, of course, but had never really heard his work. I knew about the 4 minutes and 33 seconds of silence; – I certainly hadn’t heard that! And I’d seen any number of send-ups of “prepared pianos” (a Cage innovation)…. Read more »
