the official blog of the Percussive Arts Society

“Glennie can coax the barest whisper out of a cymbal, triangle, or marimba, allowing her listeners to experience the silence from which her music emerges. She can also lay into her instruments with the force of a football player, pounding out hundreds of fast, rhythmic notes in less than a minute... From almost inaudible pianissimos to ear-splitting sforzandos on keyboards, drums, and cymbals, she pulls listeners deep into her percussive soul.”

This is an excellent article spotlighting one of our world’s greatest percussionists. Enjoy this spotlight article from the April 2002 issue of Percussive Notes.

“‘Ionisation’ was written by Edgard Varèse between 1929 and 1931. Although not the very first piece written for percussion ensemble it is probably the most well known and most influential, and therefore deserves our scrutiny.”

This article from the July 2015 issue of Percussive Notes is one of many “Terms” articles compiled by Michel Rosen. We’ll be highlighting several more of these valuable resources in future R!S Blog Throwback Thursday posts.

This is an excellent interview of one of the most influential orchestral percussionists in history. As we look back and remember his passing just a couple years ago, enjoy this article from the Winter 1978 issue of Percussive Notes.