Baljinder Sekhon’s Places and Time...
In 2014, I put together a consortium for solo steel pan and percussion ensemble. I had always wanted to work with Baljinder Sekhon after hearing and performing his music with my percussion ensemble. Passageways is written for solo steel pan (tenor – Low C) and 5 percussionists. The steel pan player uses chop sticks, mallets and extended techniques of the side of the pan to add to the complex texture of the piece. After the consortium, Baljinder arranged a recording project and I recorded Passageways with the Los Angeles Percussion Quartet. On April 27, 2018, Innova...
Westside Pan Festival 2017
On March 29, 2017, Drew Holt and Cabrillo High School hosted the 10th Annual Westside Pan Festival at the Cabrillo High School Auditorium. The concert featured steel pan virtuoso Victor Provost and the steel bands from Stephens Middle School, Cabrillo High School and the CSULB Steel Drum Orchestra. The program included works by Victor Provost including Cocolobo, Samba Ouro Verde and a arrangement of Kitchener’s Rain O Rama.
Content Marketing Institute University 2...
Since joining Yamaha as the Percussion Product Manager in 2014, I have been on a path to improve my knowledge of business and marketing. I just completed a great online training program offered by the Content Marketing Institute. The training session was taught by Joe Pulizzi and Robert Rose. The 12 modules are supplemented with books, handouts and videos. This was an excellent training session and I am looking forward to reading Joe Pulizzi’s Epic Content Marketing.
Enkor International Music Competition 20...
Last year, I had the honor of judging the Enkor International Music Competition. The jury is made up of 500+ members from 70+ countries on 6 continents. I was selected to judge the 2016 ENKOR Int’l Percussion Competition and I will be judging chamber music in 2017.
Passageways by Baljinder Sekhon
Thank you to everyone who participated in the commission project. Here’s the list of participants: Andy Akiho, David Beery, Mark Berry, Ron Brough, Sean Connors, Stan Dahl, Elizabeth Delamater, Amanda Duncan, Matt Ehlers, Ricardo Flores, Dave Gabrielson, Adam Groh, Ian Grzyb, David Hall, Greg Haynes, Scott Herring, David Johnson, John Kilkenny, Jason Koontz, John Lawless, Bob Ledbetter, Ryan Lewis, Dave Longfellow, Colin Malloy, Robert McCormick, Tony McCutchen, CJ Menge, Brad Meyer, William Moersch, Oliver Molina, Eugene Novotney, Michael Overman, Louis...
Caribbean Holiday Celebration 2016
Concert Program
Passageways at University of Kentucky
On April 10, 2016, I had the opportunity to perform Baljinder Sekhon’s Passageways with the University of Kentucky Percussion Ensemble, conducted by Matthew Geiger. James Campbell has been the director of percussion at UK for over 30 years and it was an honor to perform with his ensemble. During my residency, I also presented my lecturer called “The 21st Century Percussion: Today, Tomorrow and the...
Gabriela Ortiz Aroma Foliado CD
Gabriela Ortiz is a significant composer from Mexico. A couple of years ago, I was fortunate to play on Gabriela Ortiz’s CD called Aroma Foliado. I played percussion on the first track, Elegía (1991). The CD was nominated for a Latin Grammy and featured a lot of great performances. Be sure to check out the final track which features a piece for steel pan and two harps. Below is the personnel listing and the program notes for the piece. Be sure to check out the sample tracks on the Southwest Chamber site. PERSONNEL 1. Elegía (1991) 15:38 Elissa Johnston, Sharon...
Long Beach Symphony Set-Up
From the Ground Up: Building a Long Beach Symphony POPS! Concert. Long Beach Symphony POPS! concerts are fantastic orchestra dinner picnics featuring 300 dinner tables of 10. Groups are encouraged to bring picnics and favorite libations or to arrange for catering at their tables before and during the performance. This is unlike any other concert that I play and I make a cameo in this video 2:34....Follow
Gear I Love
IronWorks CD
