Steel Drum Composition: Samba de los Cha...

Last February, I wrote a new steel drum piece for my trip to the University of Texas at Austin called Samba de los Changitos. It was published and released by Box Fish Music at PASIC 2012. It is now featured on the front page of the Box Fish Music website. For a live recording of the CSULB Steel Drum Orchestra, click...

Weekly Review – March 24, 2013

We are preparing for two big concerts this week at CSULB. On Tuesday, we are performing Steve Reich’s Drumming. On Thursday we are hosting the Mira Costa Percussion Ensemble on the CSULB Percussion Ensemble concert. I am looking forward to both concerts. Next week is Spring Break and I plan to get a lot done.  RT @drumchattr: Here are some new works for snare drum by Casey Cangelosi and David Reeves. Check them out on http://t.co/nLDyHiFnx4. Here’s a good tip. Happy Friday! Charge Your Phone Faster by Switching to Airplane Mode Before Plugging In...

Weekly Review – March 17, 2013

This past week, I hosted Dr. Eugene Novotney and  the HSU Calypso Band. We performed 4 concerts (2 at Cabrillo High School and 2 at CSULB). With over 60 steel drummers on one stage, this was the one of highlights of my musical career. I was extremely proud of my students and I can’t wait to do this again! Stay tuned for the video and audio from the concerts. Besides the steel drum concert, the percussion studio is working toward two concert at the end of March. The University Percussion Group is performing Steve Reich’s Drumming on March 26 and the CSULB...

What are you listening to?

I have been wanting to compile a listening assignment for my percussion students and I decided to use Spotify so everyone would have access to it. (If you would like to check it out, click here. You have to be a registered user of Spotify, but you can sign up for free. If you are not familiar with Spotify, I would highly suggest you check it out). When choosing tracks for this playlist, I wanted to include a large variety of material. The idea for this assignment came to me when sitting in a recent master class. The guest artists were asking the audience members if they...

Weekly Review – March 10, 2013

March is a busy month for the percussion program at CSULB. The HSU Calypso Band will be here soon (March 14) and my students are working hard preparing for the concerts. We are also working on Reich’s Drumming and the percussion ensemble concert at the end of March. Thanks to Omar Razo and Christina Wilson for designing the flyers for the Steel Drum and Reich concert. (See below) Tomorrow is Cynthia’s Birthday. On Saturday, we had a foodie day in LA. Now that we have two kids, these foodie days don’t happen on a regular basis, so it seems like we try and...

Weekly Review – February 24, 2013

Last week, I moved into my new office and I am continuing to unpack and organize. I have been wanting to build a mallet rack ever since I saw it in Michael Udow’s office at UofM. This week, I hung the mallet rack in my new office and I still have room to grow! The UPG is continuing to work on preparing Steve Reich’s Drumming. On Tuesday, Mike Robbins came to work with the group. On Friday, I performed Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 with the South Coast Symphony in Laguna Niguel. The group was a mixture of pros and community members. This was the first time I...

Weekly Review – February 10, 2013

This week was one of the busiest weeks I have had in a long time. In addition to my CSULB teaching, I did a recording session with Southwest Chamber, 12 school concerts with the LBSO Percussion Ensemble, 2 steel drum gigs at Newport Villas, and a performance with the LBSO Pops. I am very fortunate to be performing and teaching and I am thankful for every opportunity that comes my way. I am really enjoying Newsify. I decided to buy the full version and it is definitely worth it. Earlier, I said that I couldn’t see much difference between the paid and free version....

Weekly Review – February 3, 2013

After a busy week, it is great to get back to my normal schedule. The PAS SoCal DOP was a success. Thanks to all of the artists who shared their talent with the students and participants. Super ball mallets done! Thanks Carolyn Bremer for the supplies!! @ Bob Cole Conservatory of Music http://t.co/K5evGjbM @InnovativePerc@sheilaedrummer Can’t wait to check them out and try them on Saturday #NAMM2013 The SoCal PAS DOP is SUNDAY! For more information and schedule, please check out: below.https://t.co/KIBZ0cgn (@paspasic) Practice your drums like your life depends on...

Weekly Review – January 27, 2013

Only four weeks into the year, and it has already been a busy year. This week was the beginning of the CSULB Spring semester as well as the PAS SoCal Day of Percussion and 2013 LA International New Music Festival with SouthWest Chamber Music. I also found a great new app for iOS called Newsify. It is a Google RSS News reader for iPhone/iPad and if you read RSS feeds, I would suggest that you check it out. It puts your feed into a newspaper-like layout and connects with all of the social media websites. I was using NewsRack ($4.99) and this app is easier to use and looks...

Weekly Review – January 20, 2013

Here are my links that I have been reading this week. Today is Martin Luther King Day and the Presidential Inauguration. It also marks the beginning of the semester at CSULB. It is going to be a busy semester and I am looking forward it! Recently, I have been working on the repertoire for a set of concerts with Southwest Chamber Music and I am looking forward to the concerts. Finally, if you are in Southern California, please come and check out the PAS SoCal Day of Percussion at CSULB. Here’s something to try! Get Fit in 5 Minutes a Day with the Ultimate Body...