The @Percussion Podcast

The @Percussion - Episode 43 Poovalur Sriji

043 - Poovalur Sriji

 

While traveling in Texas this spring, Ben sat with a previous teacher from UNT: Poovalur Sriji.  Sriji specializes in the Indian drum mrindangam, which he began studying at a young age.  At UNT he teaches a course that introduces Indian music traditions to students, culminating in a concert of new compositions created throughout the course.
We really enjoyed chatting with Sriji, and would love to chat with him again soon.

Topics: Indian music, thoughts on teaching, "Are you too Hard on Yourself?" from mindful - the "should," "shouldn't," and "perfectionism"

0:00 Intro and hello
1:21 South Indian Course and Bridge Ensemble
11:44 Sriji’s musical training, math, and early career
20:04 Indian music in the U.S.
23:11 Laurel: the word “should,” “shouldn’t,” and “perfectionism”
38:37 Emotional attachment to student successes
55:18 Megan’s experience playing on an A.R. Rahman concert in Chennai, India
1:01:37 Cross cultural experiences / Dave Brubeck and Joe Morello in India in 1958
1:06:10 Wrap

 

The @Percussion - Episode 42 Theodore Milkov

042 - Theodor Milkov

The awe-inspiring Theodor Milkov joined us from Athens, Greece for this episode.  He's a member of Athens' symphony orchestra, teaches, and is has developed virtuosity on the marimba in a way unique to any other player. Lucky for ALL OF US, he will perform at PASIC 2016. We can't wait.

Topics: technique, Facebook questions, Leigh Howard Stevens, 5 active percussion blogs 

 

0:00 Intro and hello
1:34 Current Projects
5:18 Caleb Pickering: Can you expand on your program transparent fluidity and your approach to moving around the instrument? Also, do you have any plans to coming to the U.S. in the coming years?
13:23 Rotation, Moeller technique, working with non-percussionists, etc.
23:30 Ben: Leigh Howard Stevens
37:07 Choosing a grip based on your hand-type, not skipping steps, natural movements
47:58 Laurel: Active online percussion blogs
1:00:54 Marimba repertoire recommendations and new music by Greek composers
1:07:06 Wrap

 

The @Percussion - Episode 41 Keith Brown

041 - Keith Brown

This week we sat down with Keith Brown, one of the percussion teachers at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville.  Though he's known Laurel since she was a toddler, there's not too too much sentimental talk.  Mostly we investigate pedagogy, growth, and mentoring.

Topics: drumset, Notes to Myself by Hugh Prather, questions

0:00 Intro and hello
1:14 Teaching at UT-Knoxville and juries
10:41 Drumset transcriptions
16:25 Jeff Mulvihill: Is there really any difference in how you listen and hear the big band from the drums to leading the big band as the director from the front?
22:21 Rodney: How would you suggest overcoming nervousness and blanking at solo ideas when playing with a jazz group, especially when you are relatively new at drumset?
25:24 Should classical percussionists study drumset?
32:38 Laurel: Notes to Myself by Hugh Prather
44:54 Keith’s History of Jazz Courses
1:00:03 What artists and teachers have had the biggest influence on you and how have you incorporated that into your own playing and teaching?
1:03:24 Ted Jackson: What is the most important thing you teach your students:
1:04:03 Wrap

The @Percussion - Episode 40 Michael Burritt

040 - Michael Burritt

We're lucky that Megan snagged Mike Burritt for this week's episode. As Professor of Percussion and Chair of the Woodwind, Brass, and Percussion Department at Eastman, and established composer, there was much to talk about. And joke about.

Topics: questions from Facebook, using 3D imaging to recover the oldest recordings, YouTube stars

0:00 Intro and hello
1:21 Game of Thrones banter
3:47 Ted Jackson: With everything you do, how does it bring you joy in different ways - teaching, performing, composing, etc.?
7:08 Casey: Preserving Vinyl Records
17:55 Ben Fraley: When you compose a piece, what is the first decision you make? Is the the form, instrumentation, theme, etc?
24:25 Megan: You-Tube Stars – Top three + drummer Casey Cooper
31:40 You-Tube video scam stories
38:30 Micah: How do you approach learning a big piece like a Vinao solo for the first time?
41:09 Ted Jackson: Could you explain how important your mentors were to you and what you learned from them? Gordon Stout, Herbert Flower, John Beck, and Paul Yancich
50:44 Will Marinelli: What have been some of the most significant changes you have seen develop in percussion pedagogical fields over the past decade?
1:01:05 Upcoming projects
1:04:56 Wrap

The @Percussion Podcast - Episode 39 Jason Haaheim

039 - Jason Haaheim

Jason took a roundabout but awe-inspiring route to his seat as the Principal Timpanist for the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra.  Not only is he a thoughtful musician, but a multi-patented nanotechnologist to boot.  We talk science, timpani, auditions, and more in this episode.

Topics: The Met, Elliot Carter pieces for timpani, James Levine, Star Trek

 

0:00 Intro and hello

1:02 Current operas at the Met

3:20 Nanotechnology

6:28 Strass’ “Elektra”

8:41 Lucas Garner: Following the news of Maestro Levine’s retirement from the orchestra due to health issues, can you speak on what it was like to work with him?

14:23 Jade Hails: What’s the difference between playing timpani in a symphony versus playing timpani in an opera?

22:30 Elliott Carter’s “Eight Pieces for Four Timpani”

35:14 Jason’s unorthodox path to a career in the Met

39:55 Solo timpani repertoire … or not

46:22 Deliberate practice

53:14 Recording as a method of deliberate practice

1:02:33 Hobbies 

1:05:27 Nanolithography

1:07:38 Wrap

The @Percussion Podcast - Episode 38 Kyle Acuncius

038 - Kyle Acuncius

Kyle recently relocated himself in the land of some of the best food on earth: Thailand.  There he is Artist/Professor of Percussion at the Mahidol University in Bangkok and Principal Timpanist of the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra.  He and Megan first met in high school, and in this episode share common experiences since then.

Topics: timpani playing and practice, international auditions, Stalacpipe organ and archeoacoustics, and the Amman Symphony Orchestra

0:00 Intro and hello
1:20 Orchestra season in Thailand
3:13 Audition process for the orchestra
7:00 Casey: Stalacpipe organ at Luray Caverns, Archeoacoustics
15:46 Ecomusicology
17:32 Robbie Garza: Do you prepare and study your parts and scores differently with new music compared to the more standard orchestral repertoire?
19:54 Toby Grace: What do you look for in your choice of timpani mallets?
24:25 Josh Franz: Is there a language barrier for you in Thailand?
29:14 Jeff Mulvihill: Are the auditions in Asia as competitive as they are in the U.S.?
34:33 Moving overseas and the experience of living abroad
48:08 History of the Amman Symphony Orchestra
59:28 Will Marinelli: What is the most difficult aspect behind the scenes at your job in Thailand?
1:04:15 Thai food, ant larva soup, fish brains
1:10:20 Wrap

The @Percussion Podcast - Episode 37 Michael D'Angelo and Zack Browning

037 - Michael D'Angelo and Zack Browning

 

This week both Michael and Zack were visiting Ben at FAU as special guests for his percussion ensemble concert. This episode is all about interviewing those guys: if you're like us, you'll think Michael is cool and that Zack Browning is a composer you should have known about a looooooong time ago.

0:00 Intro and hello
1:28 Ben’s percussion ensemble concert and guests
4:11 Zach’s piece with a robot
5:18 Mike’s winning of a drumset competition when he was 12
9:38 Mike’s “Click Theory” video
15:31 Ted Jackson: Could you both explain the most important mentors in your life and what you’ve learned from them?
23:03 Mike’s “Advice for a college music student”
28:40 Zach’s travels to Ireland and Taiwan
30:56 Zach’s pop influences, the challenge of incorporating world music
47:17 Megan: Rhythm! Scene April - WGI World Championships and Rhythm X, Panorama, Laurel’s article, Elements of Composition, TMEA, You-Tube Stars, R!Solo, etc.
54:13 Current projects
59:50 Wrap

 

The @Percussion Podcast - Episode 36 Facebook Questions

036 - Facebook Questions

In this no-guest episode, we answer questions from Facebook about jobs, practicing, degrees, and pedagogy.

0:00 Intro and hello
0:40 Weather and motivation
3:49 Dustin Woodard: What do you do outside of percussion when you need a break?
6:22 Paul Millette: What were the reasons you had for picking the grad schools that you did?
18:18 Ivan Trevino: Megan - What is the one really important thing you learned about your job that you didn’t learn in school?
32:00 Brandon Arvay: Casey - Are there noticeable differences between your previous job and current job?
33:11 Carlos Johnson: What are some of your favorite episodes you have shot thus far? Most funny, thought-provoking, etc? Who are some guests you’d like to have on next?
41:02 Graham: What are some things you do to establish yourselves in a new job, whether you just moved to a new place or started a new teaching gig?
48:31 Whistler: What advice can you give to an undergrad student that is split between wanting pursue percussion performance or music education for graduate school?
51:21 Wrap

The @Percussion Podcast - Episode 35 Kate Burns

035 - Kate Burns

With us today is Kate Burns, duo partner of our very own Ben Charles.  They stopped by JMU during a Virginia concert and masterclass tour.  Though there were shenanigans in the forms of cooking, card games, and sight-seeing, we found time to record an episode.

Topics: Keiko Abe, musicians' anxieties and ways to cope with them, commissions

0:00 Intro and hello
1:05 Megan’s percussion/dance collaboration project
5:45 Kate and Ben’s duo project
8:02 David Pegel duo commission, communication in the commission process
17:52 Ben: Keiko Abe
22:47 Kate’s experience studying with Keiko Abe
25:07 Favorite Keiko pieces, pedagogical value, etc.
32:55 Chamber music playing
38:55 Laurel: Nervousness vs. anxiety / techniques for overcoming them in music
55:08 Visualizing and playing in a new space
1:01:13 Pre-performance rituals
1:04:49 Lucas Garner: Do you own a marimba? If so, how and when did you go about purchasing it? When do you recommend a student purchase an instrument of their own?
1:13:19 Wrap

The @Percussion - Episode 34 Bill Cahn of NEXUS

034 - Bill Cahn

We sat down with Bill Cahn, one of the founders of NEXUS.  What a joy it was to hear stories of triumphs and shenanigans, some involving Robin Engelmann, who passed earlier this year.


TOPICS: Fife and drum corp, The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron, NEXUS, questions

0:00 Intro and hello
1:30 Robin Engelman’s passing
5:35 Nexus / ducks calls and “Xylophonia”
9:58 Being in school with Steve Gadd
12:37 Eastman School of Music
15:29 Story of the founding of Nexus
19:42 Working with Stravinsky, Varese, and Cage
26:50 Russell Hartenberger’s “The Cambridge Companion of Percussion”
29:49 Bill’s percussion blog
30:50 Megan: Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps
39:35 Bill and Ruth’s “Music for a Revolution” school program
42:21 Evolution of drumming styles
49:47 Casey: How have you seen percussion change over the years?
57:41 Laurel: “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron
1:13:40 Wrap