Author: John

by Rick Mattingly Javier Nandayapa remembers a time in 1989 when Marimba Nandayapa was scheduled to play a concert at a police department building in Mexico City. There were five musicians in Marimba Nandayapa; there were three people in the audience. Javier, who had just started playing with the group, was angry that the concert…

by Rick Mattingly Bobby Hutcherson’s career didn’t get off to a very promising start. Although he hadn’t been playing very long, he and a friend who played bass entered a music contest. His friend marked the bars on Hutcherson’s vibraphone with a marker so he would know what notes to play. But, as Hutcherson told…

by Lauren Vogel Weiss From jazz to calypso, steel band, and world music, Andy Narell has made the steel pan his life’s calling. As a performer, composer, and educator, he brings the music of the pan to people all over the world. I was very moved,” he says about receiving the news that he was…

by Lauren Vogel Weiss Richard Weiner was an integral part of the “Cleveland sound” for almost a half-century, during which time he served as principal percussionist of the Cleveland Orchestra. From the delicate jingle of the tambourine to the roar of the bass drum, he provided the perfect “color” on top of the shimmering strings…

by Robyn Flans Reflecting back on his life, drummer/percussionist Joe Porcaro knows that one decision above all others was life-changing: he needed to move from Hartford, Connecticut to Los Angeles. “I got to the point in my life where I knew I couldn’t go any further,” Porcaro explained. “I was doing a lot of symphony…

by Lauren Vogel Weiss One of the newest members of the PAS Hall of Fame, Peters, unfortunately, will not be able to accept this honor in person, as he passed away on October 28, 2017 at the age of 82. But his music lives on, through his recordings with the Dallas Symphony and Los Angeles…

by Lauren Vogel Weiss Timpanist of the New York City Opera. Timpanist of the American Symphony Orchestra. Timpanist of the San Francisco Symphony.  Timpanist of the San Francisco Opera Orchestra. Any of these positions would look impressive on a percussionist’s resume. But what if, in a field traditionally dominated by men of European-American origin, the…

by Rick Mattingly Jacksonville Symphony percussionist Kevin J. Garry recalls his first concert at Oberlin Conservatory of Music: “While playing glockenspiel on a wind ensemble piece by Joseph Schwantner, my hands had shaken so badly that the colored label tape on my mallets looked like a solid band of color. I left the concert extremely…

by Lauren Vogel Weiss When one thinks of a marching drumline, sounds of booming bass drums and staccato snare drums come to mind. But in the 1980s, one drum corps instructor reimagined the sounds that could be created on a field—from soft scrapes on cymbals and gongs to symphonic-based percussion instruments. That creative, but unorthodox,…

by Rick Mattingly Upon entering Le Conte Junior High School in Los Angeles, Frank Epstein applied to the school orchestra—but not as a percussionist. He wished to be a pianist. “Since there were five of us pianists, it was suggested that three of us play percussion,” Epstein recalls. “The conductor—who was an oboist—stuck a pair…