VIVA 21ST CENTURY – Harmonic Canon...

On Saturday, December 27, 2014, I was featured on WPRB 103.3 FM (New Jersey) on Marvin Rosen’s Classical Discoveries VIVA 21ST CENTURY. I performed Steve Kornicki’s Harmonic Canon Streams (2006). Listen here: [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/202589408″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /] Click Here for more information about composer Steve...

Yamaha Appoints New Product Manager

On December 15, 2014, I began my tenure with the Yamaha Corporation of America as the Product Manager of Percussion. You can read the announcement here. This has been a new transition for me. Previously, I taught at CSULB in the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music as the Director of Percussion Studies. I applied for the job last year and didn’t get it. I plan on writing more about this transition in the future. Thanks for your continued support.

University Percussion Group wins Competi...

On May 2, 2014 the BCCM/CSULB University Percussion Group won the 2014 California Percussive Arts Society College Percussion Ensemble Competition. This is the second year in a row that they have won the competition. The ensemble performed Sun by Baljinder Sekhon and Quad Helix by Clay Condon (PAS California Ensemble Program) and was awarded a new Yamaha Grand Symphonic Series Maple Snare Drum for placing first. Thank you Yamaha Percussion! The group competed against 4 other colleges, including Chapman University, San Jose State, Fresno State and San Joaquin College....

Percussion Paints Pictures

Over the past 17 years, I have been a member of the Long Beach Symphony Orchestra Percussion Ensemble. During this time, we have performed over 400 shows for the 2nd and 3rd graders in the Long Beach Unified School District. The LBSO commissioned Lynda Sue Marks  to write the show entitled Percussion Paints Pictures. The current ensemble is Lynda Sue Marks and Gary Long (percussion) with Jamieson Price. This show is one of the highlights of my year. Watching the 2nd and 3rd grade kids reaction to the music is priceless and I can’t wait for my kids to see the show...

Snare Drum Warm-Up Part 2

In September, I shared my updated snare drum warm-up. It was my hope to start the conversation about creating a unified warm-up that hit all the basic building blocks on snare drum in a 10-15 minutes. I would love to hear if anyone has been using it and if it has worked. I found over the past 6 months, that it has helped me focus and prepare for my practice session along with getting me warm. I also feel that while I enjoy using the warm-up I needed a metronome to keep me honest and continue to push me. So, I decided to program my metronome with the different lines so I...

Long Beach Symphony Kids Concerts

On January 22 and 23, 2014, I was fortunate to perform the Long Beach Symphony Orchestra’s Symphony Concerts for Young People at the Terrace Theater. The program, entitled “An English Exhibition,” included: Star Spangled Banner, Trumpet Voluntary, Pomp and Circumstance No. 1, Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, Mars (from “The Planets.”). I am always grateful to play with the LBSO and I especially enjoy playing for all of the 5th Graders from the Long Beach Unified School District. Thanks Lynda Sue Marks and the staff of the LBSO for...

Concert Programming

I am always looking for ways to improve the concert-going experience. As artists, I think we need to find a better way to attract and retain an audience. We need to think about concert programming and how to put pieces together that will be interesting to the audience and help our students learn about musicality and programming. I have always disliked going to percussion concerts and/or recitals and watching percussionists move equipment in between pieces. For this reason, I generally choose to have three parts on my percussion ensemble programs with minimal (or no)...

Kopetzki Marimba Concerto

It has been a busy couple of weeks. I performed my Faculty Recital on Friday, January 31 and then I performed the Eckhard Kopetzki Marimba Concerto with the CSULB Symphony Orchestra on Friday, February 7. It was an honor to work with conductor Johannes Müller-Stosch and the students of the orchestra. Below are some photos from the concert. Thanks to Carolyn Bremer for the beautiful photos....

Faculty Artist Recital – Friday, J...

My upcoming Faculty Artist Series at the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music @ CSULB will be presented on Friday, January 31, 2014 at 8pm in the Gerald R. Daniel Recital Hall. I have decided to perform the first half of the concert without a break. (More about that in a separate post on programming). The program will be: Red Arc/Blue Veil – John Luther Adams A Minute of News – Eugene Novotney A New Collaborative Piece with Martin Herman Pitch Drop – Dave Gerhart Warm It Up – Tom Osborne Kembang Suling – Gareth Farr Concerto for Marimba –...

New Release: Tempo Distortion #4 –...

I am proud to announce that I have a new single that was released on iTunes and CDBaby. The piece is called Tempo Distortion #4 and was written by my friend and composer Steve Kornicki. Tempo Distortion #4 is a conceptual study in simultaneously occurring patterns in different tempi for solo marimba and pre-recorded and processed marimba sounds. Check it out and let me know what you think. Thanks for your continued support.