Robin Engelman, one of the founding members of the world renowned percussion ensemble Nexus, died on Feb. 26, 2016 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, after a nine-month battle with pancreatic cancer. He is survived by his wife of 55 years, Eleanor, two children, and three grandchildren.

Inducted into the PAS Hall of Fame with the other members of Nexus at PASIC ’99 in Columbus, Robin told Percussive Notes, “Staying together for thirty years is an accomplishment worthy of rumination if not of pride. Only someone of a certain age, in possession of certain experiences, can appreciate that. It is fortunate that I can still eagerly anticipate a Nexus performance and that I have come to understand and accept what I can and cannot do, and what my colleagues can and cannot do, whilst knowing that all of us are always doing the best we can do.”

Born in Baltimore, Maryland on March  21, 1937, Robin and his family moved to Westminister, Maryland when he was in 8th grade. After graduating from Westminister High School, where he met his future wife in the high school orchestra, Engelman studied percussion and composition with Warren Benson at Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York. After graduation, Engelman performed with the North Carolina Symphony, New Hampshire Music Festival Orchestra, the Louisville Orchestra, the Milwaukee Symphony (where he met Nexus co-founder John Wyre), and the Rochester Philharmonic (where he met Bob Becker and Bill Cahn). In 1968, he became the principal percussionist of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, a position he held for four seasons.

On May 22, 1971, Engelman joined Becker, Cahn, and Wyre for an improvised concert in Kilbourn Hall at Eastman in Rochester, New York. This first Nexus concert was organized by Benson, who was then teaching composition at Eastman. Russell Hartenberger and the late Michael Craden joined the ensemble soon after.

For almost four decades, Engelman was active with Nexus all around the world as a performer, composer, arranger, and conductor. Two of his compositions,“Remembrance” and “Lullaby for Esme,” and four of his arrangements of Toru Takemitsu songs (originally written for mixed chorus) have been recorded by the ensemble. His inimitable performance style, musical conception, and sharpness of thought and expression helped define the character of Nexus.

by Lauren Vogel Weiss

In a 1999 interview, Engelman was asked how Nexus should be remembered by percussionists in the 22nd century. “With caution!” he replied, eyes twinkling as a smile spread across his face. In 2009, Engelman decided to leave the ensemble due to ongoing vision difficulties. “It is impossible to adequately express my gratitude for the friendship and music of my colleagues in Nexus,” Engelman wrote in an email to his peers. “Their willingness to explore any idea has been an inspiration to me for 39 years.”

In addition to his time with Nexus, Engelman taught percussion at the Eastman School of Music, York University, and the University of Toronto, where he also directed the contemporary music and percussion ensembles. He won a Toronto Arts Award and the Banff School’s Donald Cameron Award. Engelman also created pioneering work with Toronto’s New Music Concerts contemporary music ensemble.

His interest in rudimental and military drumming dates back to 1976 when he obtained a bicentennial field drum from Patrick Cooperman, and he soon made himself an expert on historic instruments, especially drums and fifes. In 2002, Engelman was the Artistic Director of “The Drummer’s Heritage Concert” at PASIC 2002 in Columbus. The once-in-a-lifetime gathering of 230 drummers from all over the world was captured on a DVD available from PAS. Engelman made sure to include representatives from five styles of drumming—ancient, Swiss, Scottish, show band, and contemporary—from the Revolutionary War to modern times. “I was afforded the honor and pleasure of working with and hearing some of the most accomplished field drum artists in the world,” he said. There will be no formal funeral or memorial service. In lieu of flowers, the family requests people to support an arts organization they love in his honor.