Author: John

by Lauren Vogel Weiss Portraits in Rhythm, a collection of 50 snare drum etudes published four decades ago, can be found on music stands around the world. The book is on audition lists for All-State Bands as well as college and universities in over a dozen states. When the book was written, the author was…

by Rick Mattingly ‘I’ve been through the mill, from drum pad on up to soloing,’ comments Warren ‘Baby’ Dodds in his landmark recording Talking and Drum Solos. ‘That takes in every bit of it. Drum pad is where you start. No bass drum at all, just a pad. No snare drums. Sticks. From pad…to drums,…

by Lauren Vogel Weiss The New York Times ranked him ‘among the great composers of the century’ and the Village Voice hailed him as ‘America’s greatest living composer.’ This past May he was awarded the Polar Prize from the Royal Swedish Academy of Music, and last year he received the Praemium Imperiale for Music Award…

by Lauren Vogel Weiss “It’s important to grab on to any opportunity that comes your way, but you also need to practice the art of creating your own opportunities.” Evelyn Glennie is a percussionist of many firsts: first full-time solo percussionist in the world; first to perform a percussion concerto at London’s Royal Academy of…

by Rick Mattingly  “There are kids out there today who are playing drums for the pure love of it. That’s what’s behind the whole music business, and I think some of these large corporations forget that.” About a half hour before he was to give a drum clinic in Louisville, Kentucky in 1977, Roy Burns…

by B. Michael Williams “Amazing, gratifying, humbling,” is how Mickey Hart describes the experience of joining the ranks of the PAS Hall of Fame. “Being with all the greats—Tito [Puente], Baba [Olatunji], Buddy Rich, Gene Krupa, Louis Bellson. These are my teachers, my mentors, the brother and sisterhood. I ride on the shoulders of giants,”…

by Frederic Macarez As a Jacques Delécluse student at the Paris Conservatory (1979–81), then as his colleague at the Orchestre de Paris (1987–99), and also as a friend, I have shared with him many great moments of percussion, of music, and of life during almost 30 years. I am very happy and proud of this,…

by Lauren Vogel Weiss Stanley Leonard is best known as the principal timpanist with the Pittsburgh Symphony, a position he held for almost four decades. But he is also a prolific composer and a dedicated educator. From over 50 PSO recordings to compositions such as “Circus,” Leonard has left an indelible musical footprint for musicians,…

by Gordon Gottlieb Anyone in sports (or any other endeavor) who’s got someone in their life they refer to as “coach” is a fortunate person. It suggests that someone has had a mentor, a guide, an inspiration, a leader, and at the very least, a coach. Walter Rosenberger has several nicknames (Walt, Rosie), but Coach…

by Rick Mattingly At his PASIC ’95 performance, Jack DeJohnette started with the cymbals, rolling on each one in turn and then combining rolls and crashes, building in intensity, swelling and retreating in the manner of ocean waves. Gradually he started incorporating the drums—a tom roll here, a snare crack there. Soon he was bouncing…