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2004 Fall Newsletter Day of Percussion 2005 March 20, 2005 marks the next OPAS Day of Percussion. This year’s event will be held at the University of Toronto in the MacMillan Theatre. Mark this day in your calendar and come celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Ontario Percussive Arts Society. Our host will be U of T Faculty member John Rudolph. Plans are all ready underway and a list of possible clinicians has been put together. The OPAS Day of Percussion that has not been held in the Toronto area for quite some so please take advantage of this "GTA" opportunity. PASIC 2004 The Percussive Arts Society's International Convention is fast approaching and will take place November 10-13, 2004 in Nashville, Tennessee. More information can be found online at www.pasic.org. This year's event will feature percussionists from the Toronto area including Bob Becker, Ray Dillard and the members of NEXUS (Bob Becker, Bill Cahn, Robin Engleman, Russell Hartenberger and Garry Kvistad) with Fritz Hauser. The Toronto Tabla Ensemble will also be featured. It is very gratifying to see Ontario based artists at the biggest percussion event of the year. If you aren't able to attend PASIC this year, it will be a little closer next year in Columbus, Ohio. Attending PASIC will be one of the greatest percussion events that you will ever see! Nexus Fritz Hauser, drum set artist from Switzerland, will be holding a
clinic in the percussion studio at the University of Toronto on Tuesday,
November 9 from 10:00 am to 12:00 am. All percussion students are welcome.
He will then perform a concert at the Music Gallery in Toronto with
members of Nexus that night at 8:00 pm. He will also be performing a
concert with Nexus at PASIC in Nashville on Friday, November 12. For more
information, please see: Nexus will be performing a concert in Walter Hall of the Faculty of Music, University of Toronto as part of the Faculty Artist Series on Friday, December 10 at 8:00 p.m. Included in this concert will be the world premiere of Christos Hatzis' Four Rituals for Percussion Quintet, Choir and Audience. By Russell Hartenberger Yamaha Canada: Job Opening Yamaha Canada Music Ltd., distributor of Yamaha musical instruments, is seeking a Sales Consultant (Ontario) & Product Specialist (Percussion) for their Band & Orchestral Instruments Department. Based in our Toronto Head Office, the ideal candidate will have a strong background in Band and Orchestral Instrument sales and marketing as well as an extensive background in Concert and/or Marching Percussion education, product knowledge and marketing. Strong written and spoken communication and presentation skills in English - bilingual English/French an asset. A self-starter, you are capable of working with minimal supervision and possess creative problem solving skills in order to meet objectives and support the success of our dealer network. Familiarity with common MS Office Applications, a valid driver's licence and reliable vehicle, and the ability to travel and commit significant time to the success of this career position are essential. Yamaha offers a competitive salary and bonus package with a comprehensive benefit and pension plan. Candidates should submit a resume and cover letter outlining how their unique experience, skills and talents will meet the demands of this position. Submit Resumes in Confidence to: Baroque Timpani Update The issue of the OPAS Baroque Timpani was discussed at a meeting of the Executive on May 29, 2004. The chapter has a set of Baroque Timpani (26" & 28"). Ian Turnbull secured these drums to be available to any member in good standing and are at present in the studio at the University of Western Ontario. Bryan Malito will pick up these drums for use in the fall at the University of Windsor, Ontario. The University of Windsor will be responsible for their care and maintenance. Please contact the OPAS President if you would like to borrow these drums for a concert or recital. By Jay Boehmer Merriam Music The Merriam School of Music in Mississauga is pleased to announce the
beginning of a Percussion Ensemble Program. This innovative new ensemble
will be under the direction of Anthony Giles, our new Percussion
Department Head. Anthony is really excited about all of the possibilities
that a Percussion Ensemble presents. Thanks to Mark Joseph Getting to know…Richard Burrows In our last newsletter I did a review of Jamie Drake's Final Recital at the University of Toronto. OPAS member Richard Burrows, a classmate of Jamie's, also performed in some of Jamie's ensemble pieces. I was recently in touch with Richard. I thought that you might be interested in some background information and what he is up to this fall. Graduated in June 2004 with a Masters in Music, Percussion Performance from the University of Toronto. Honours BMus 2002 from Wilfrid Laurier University majoring in Performance with a minor in Psychology. In the summer of '02, Richard participated in the Yamaha Percussion Masterclass with Nebojsa Jovan Zivkovic in Germany. After taking lessons with Zivkovic, he asked Richard to join his International Marimba Ensemble for a tour of Germany. Burrows played solo and chamber works composed by Zivkovic throughout southwest Germany. The tour ended with a concert at Frankfurt International Theatre. Current projects: Richard is a founding member of TorQ percussion quartet. They will be travelling to Luxembourg in February 2005 for the International Percussion Ensemble Championships. TorQ will be having a concert of their competition repertoire in Janurary 2005 at the University of Toronto. (There will be more details to follow.) Richard will also be performing with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra Education Programme with fellow percussionist Don Kuehn. This duo will perform at schools throughout Toronto. Thanks to Richard Burrows Percussion Database I am pleased to announce that our "Member-at-Large", Danny Glowala, has agreed to take on a short-term project. The goal is to create a page on the OPAS website with contact information about all the colleges and universities in Ontario with a percussion program. If you are working at such a school, please contact Danny via email dglowala@primus.ca to make sure that he gets the most up to date information for the Ontario University and College Percussion Database. Newsletter Deadline The next OPAS newsletter will come out in February 2005. Please send any articles, reviews, concert announcements or other information to Jay Boehmer by February 1, 2005. Please feel free to email any upcoming concert or clinic information to my attention as I am able to send out bulk emails to OPAS members through the PAS website. This service is great…just make sure that you keep the membership staff up to date on your current email and surface mail addresses. |