Spring 2001 Newsletter

SYNCHRONICITY: ALL IN THE FAMILY

In 1997 my brother Garah approached me with an idea that the two of us had thought about for years. Prior to 1997 we had performed together only once before at The Juilliard School on a percussion ensemble concert; that's if you don't count the rock and roll band we both played in when I was twelve and he was eighteen years old. We always wanted to do more performing together. What if we created our own performance opportunity where we could play music that we really loved. Garah had written an untitled piece for both of us, later to be named "Plead The Fifth", and we began to practice it together as a duo. We didn't have any concerts booked or impending performance opportunities but we began to play together on a regular basis anyway. From this beginning three years ago SYNCHRONICITY was born.

In 1998 the duo had it's first performance in Ridgewood N.J. and has since performed at the Manhattan School of Music, the Queens College Aaron Copland School of Music, Western Connecticut State University and has concerts for the 2001-2002 season in the San Francisco bay area and Greenville, South Carolina. The duo also has performed many children's concerts in the tri-state area. Recently the group performed workshops and assemblies centering on the strong connection between impressionistic art and impressionistic music with a full program of Ravel and Debussy.

Although the duo is relatively new, both Garah and I have busy performance and teaching schedules. Garah has performed as a recital soloist throughout the United States as well as Weill Recital Hall, Merkin Hall, and The Spanish Institute here in New York City. He was a featured soloist on both WQXR and WNYC radio. Garah is organist and choir director of the Church of the Annunciation in Oradell N.J., and also has a thriving piano studio that keeps him incredibly busy. I have been freelancing in New York since graduating from Juilliard in 1989. I have played in all the major concert halls in New York with the American Symphony Orchestra, Manhattan Philharmonic, New York Chorale Society, and Masterwork Chorale. I have been performing as a drummer and percussionist steadily on Broadway for as long and am currently playing Les Miserables and Annie Get Your Gun. I have performed throughout the U.S. as well as Europe and the Far East.

SYNCHRONICITY has recently completed their first compact disc titled "Like Minds". Finding material for this particular instrumentation that we both feel good about has been quite challenging. Transcriptions have played a large roll in creating interesting possibilities for the duo and Garah has written some wonderful pieces for the group. Some of our repertoire is specifically written for piano and percussion, and in the case of the composer John Psathas we feel we have found a great resource for the type of music we like to perform.

SYNCHRONICITY'S musical palette encompasses a wide range of musical styles, as can be heard on our CD. Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring", "West Side Story", Debussy, Psathas, Vazquez, and original compositions all share equal time on the disc. These are the kinds of pieces we love to perform. The group hopes that it's unique and exciting blend of classical and jazz-fusion music will find a new and adventurous audience.

Gregory C. Landes
gnclandes@earthlink.net

ETHOS' 2001 NEW YORK SERIES IN THE WORKS

After two very successful seasons, Ethos Percussion Group is eager to continue its annual New York Concert Series in 2001. Each concert in the series has featured at least one world premier composed for Ethos (funded by a grant from the Jerome Foundation), as well as a guest artist or ensemble. The 2001 series began on February 21 with a performance at Merkin Concert Hall featuring composer/percussionist Robert Levin and his ensemble, the Rhythm Monsters. Mr. Levin is a recognized authority on the music of Ghana, having spent considerable time in Kopeyia, as well as having studied with master drummers from Ghana while earning degrees from Wesleyan University and Yale. The series will continue with the annual New York City Day of Percussion at the Aaron Copland School of Music, Queens College, on March 17. This event will feature workshops by Bobby Sanabria, Daniel Kennedy and Michael Mossman, as well as performances by Ethos and the Talujon Percussion Quartet. The Day of Percussion is a collaborative production by Ethos, Talujon, Queens College, the Colden Performing Arts Center, and the Percussive Arts Society. The final concert for the 2001 series will be on June 11 at Merkin Concert Hall. The composers and guest artists for this event are still to be announced, so stay tuned to the Ethos website (www.ethospercussion.com) for details.

WESTERN NEW YORK DAY OF PERCUSSION

The Maelstrom Percussion Ensemble is hosting its second Western New York Day of Percussion and Maelstrom & Master Drummers Concert on March 31 and April 1, 2001. The Day of Percussion will take place at Villa Maria College of Buffalo on March 31st from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm. The Maelstrom & Master Drummers Concert will be at the Tralfamadore Cafe in Buffalo on April 1st at 7:00 pm. Guest artists for both events include Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez, the V-MAX mallet duo from Montreal, and Bernard Woma of the National Dance Company of Ghana. Also on the Master Drummers concert will be a berimbau/copoiera ensemble. Additional clinicians for the Day of Percussion will be announced shortly. For more information, contact Maelstrom at 716/759-6713 or by e-mail at baccurso@earthlink.net

GANESH KUMAR: GANJIRA EXPERT

Ganesh Kumar is a world renowned percussionist from India who specializes in the performance and instruction of South Indian Carnatic percussion instruments including the ganjira, mridangam, and ghatam. Mr. Kumar studied with the great guru, Sri T. H. Subash Chandran, and received the "Best Ganjira Artist" award from the Krishna Gana Sabha and Indian Fine Arts Society. Ganesh has performed with many leading Indian musicians including Smt M. S. Subbulakshimi, Dr. M. Bala Murali Krishna, and Dr. L. Subramaniam. He has also participated in a number of international music festivals in Russia, Japan, Germany, Kuwait, France and the United States.

Ganesh recently completed a six month residency in the United States through the 2000-2001 Fulbright Fellowship Award. While in the United States, Ganesh had the opportunity to teach and perform in the New York and New Jersey area, primarily at the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College. Mr. Kumar appeared as a guest artist with Michael Lipsey, the Queens College Percussion Ensemble, the Talujon Percussion Quartet, Glen Velez, Subash Chadran, Gordon Gottlieb, and Alessandra Belloni with I Giullari Di Piazza along with many other musicians and ensembles. Percussionists, who were fortunate enough to study with Ganesh during his brief stay in the United States, learned basic ganjira technique and traditional South Indian rhythmic patterns. Ganesh plays the ganjira with such fluidity and speed when performing, but has the ability to clearly demonstrate technique on the instrument while instructing beginners. It takes years to master the ganjira and an experienced player can produce the same number of sounds and tone colors as a standard drumset on this amazing Indian tambourine.

Ganesh's interests are predominantly in South Indian percussion, but heis also interested in combining the ganjira with other styles of music. Afro-Cuban music has influenced Ganesh and he is developing ways of playing Afro-Cuban rhythms on the ganjira. Eventually, Ganesh would like the ganjira to become an important instrument not only in Indian music, but also in other forms of world music. He hopes to continue expanding the use and popularity of the ganjira and enjoys performing on the ganjira in nontraditional situations. Ganesh plans to continue his musical career at home in India and will hopefully return to the United States once again to perform and share his talent with us.

Jennifer Caputo
jenncaputo@netscape.net

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