Last year (2024) I continued my work on setting text by the American author Conrad Aiken (1889 – 1973). I chose verses from three poems included in his epic collection Time in the Rock: LXV, XLI and XCI, and then edited them to suit the structure of the music I was imagining. References to light,… Read more »
We have come to our final history post, celebrating our fifty years in music. We are posting this on May 22, 2022, which is (TA DA!) our 51st birthday!! It has been astonishing for all of us to look back at where we began and where we have been. Needless to say, Covid threw dismay,… Read more »
AN UNUSUAL BEGINNING We had an unusual start to 2017. Bill had an unexpected knee injury and had to take time out to heal. We were grateful that Ray Dillard was able to step into the breach for our Texas week in Houston at San Jacinto College with Mike Mizma – interesting clinics and a… Read more »
SEPIDEH RAISSADAT and PERSIAN SONGS Our remarkable collaboration with Iranian vocalist Sepideh Raissadat began in 2014. Russell Hartenberger created several new arrangements for NEXUS and voice and entitled the suite “Persian Songs”. It was premiered at the Open Ears Festival in Kitchener Ontario, reprised at a Walter Hall concert in Toronto, and then we… Read more »
1993 KROUMATA AND AMADINDA IN BUDAPEST In Spring’93 the New York Times pointed out that “Canada takes the spotlight at this year’s Budapest Spring Festival”. We were honoured to represent Canada along with the Canadian Brass, Trio Lyrika, flautist Robert Aitken, pianist Katja Cerovsek and violinists Corey Cerovsek and Erika Raum. (In ‘92, Erika had… Read more »
1975: DIFFERENT MUSIC We continued performing our George Hamilton Green ragtime arrangements. Bob Becker was totally smitten, and says, “I was tracking down all of it”. For two appearances, we played rags and also our improvisation at the famous (or infamous) Bohemian Embassy coffeehouse in Toronto which (thanks to founder and long time CBC performer… Read more »
For your enjoyment, the NEXUS performance of “Bolero – Spanish Dance No.5“ is now on YouTube! You can access it HERE. “Bolero – Spanish Dance No. 5” by Moritz Moszkowski, performed by NEXUS with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra in 1992 on “The Story of Percussion in the Orchestra” (NEXUS CD#10306). Featuring Bob Becker on xylophone…. Read more »
GUESS WHAT! NEXUS is celebrating its 50th season! To celebrate, over the coming year we’re going to bring you snapshots of each year in our career. We have been posting weekly on our Facebook and Instagram feeds: Fifty years, fifty weeks! Every now and then, we will amalgamate the latest posts and place them here… Read more »
It’s Spring – and a LOT is happening. Russell Hartenberger has been at Virginia Tech workshopping his new piece “Magic Time” commissioned by Escape Ten. Tonight (May 4th) is the premiere. The duo is performing “Magic Time” on marimba with a quintet (the Virginia Tech Percussion Ensemble ) performing on tuned cymbals newly created for… Read more »
With the 21C Music Festival about to begin (January 16-20), we are so lucky to be based in Toronto where we can take in its awesome line-up featuring the great Terry Riley and our friends and fellow-percussionists, Sō Percussion.
Here in Canada, we celebrate Thanksgiving on Monday, October 8. What more fitting time to give a BIG THANK YOU to all of you who contributed to our Kickstarter Campaign for Drumming At 50. September was definitely exciting – if a bit nerve-wracking! We were fund-raising for our Video Recording with Sō Percussion and friends… Read more »
Epic. Exhilarating. Revolutionary. Iconic. Words that describe Steve Reich’s monumental DRUMMING. Russell Hartenberger had a thought. And now that thought has evolved into an exciting project, backed 100% by Steve Reich: We have joined with the wonderful Sō Percussion to create a videography of DRUMMING in celebration of the piece’s 50th Anniversary!
From Sept. 4 through 6, NEXUS will be kicking off Ithaca College’s school year with a series of exciting events. All PRESENTATIONS (INCLUDING THE Sept. 6th CONCERT) ARE FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC as well as to the Ithaca students. We are thrilled that Gordon Stout, (marimbist, composer, and educator – lucky Ithaca College!),… Read more »
If you’ve followed us on Facebook, you’ll know it’s been a busy and varied summer. Bill has been involved in Eastman’s Summer Horizons with young music students in his wonderful program “Creative Music Making”. We will be presenting that program at Ithaca College in early September, so stay tuned, as it will be open to… Read more »
Thanks to Lauren Vogel Weiss for her article on our busy spring in the PAS Rhythm/Scene newsletter, June issue. She covered our performance with guest Frank Cassara with the Northern Dutchess Symphony Orchestra at the Culinary Institute of American under the baton of Kathleen Beckman; our Princeton University appearance with SōPercussion celebrating Steve Reich with… Read more »
