Author: Hillary

by Megan Arns For more than four decades, Michael Burritt has shaped our modern percussion landscape in significant ways as a performer, educator, and composer. His immeasurable influence can be heard around the world through his performances and compositions and seen in the success of generations of his students in many areas of percussion. This…

by Lauren Vogel Weiss During Thomas “Tom” Gauger’s tenure with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the BSO was considered to have one of the finest percussion sections in the world, thanks to Tom and fellow PAS Hall of Famers Vic Firth, Frank Epstein, and Arthur Press. The BSO’s percussion legacy is well-documented through the orchestra’s many…

by Rick Mattingly Peter Erskine recalls playing with Giovanni Hidalgo at PASIC ’97: “When Giovanni sat in with my trio,” Erskine says, “I felt like I was playing handball with God. It was truly mind-expanding. Any time you play with a great conga player, there can be a tremendous amount of rhythmic excitement, but Giovanni…

by Robyn Flans Celebrated, studied, revered, and respected, Steve Smith is a drummer one listens to for pleasure and inspiration, a visual performer who inspires awe and motivation, and an instructor whose wisdom comes from a teacher who is an eternal student. The Massachusetts born-and-bred musician has a visceral recall of the moment his life…

by Lisa Rogers Stuart Saunders Smith and Sylvia Smith have been described as a “power couple,” defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as “two people who are each influential or successful in their own right.” Sylvia and Stuart have individually and collectively contributed to the fabric of music and percussion through composition, education, performance, and…