Beakerthovens 9th

This one's for you, Parksie

Steady Decline

"Most people reach their mental peak between the ages of 35 and 40, then begin a steady decline that speeds up in the years before death"

Having just attending my 20th high school class reunion (you do the math), I was glad to read that in the news today.

Looks like I've got two good years left. I'd better get that application for Jeopardy in while there's still a chance.

Mental skills fade earlier than thought - Aging- msnbc.com:

Josh Knight plays Cloud Forest

Here's a video of Josh Knight, a DMA student at OU, playing my piece Cloud Forest. Josh is a former student and is one of only two people other than me to play the piece (as far as I know). That will hopefully change soon. I'm finalizing the score and parts and will make it available on my website in the next week or two. Thanks to Josh and the quartet for putting this up on YouTube!

Summer Summary

School is back in session at UCA. That was a fast summer! It was a good one though. I went to Boston and New York and Atlanta, wrote a piece for Texas Christian University's percussion ensemble, attended my 20th high school reunion, hung out with friends old and new, and redecorated my house (or at least part of it). I'll get some pictures together and share the magic of the summer soon (for the 3 of you that might be interested).

In the meantime, here's a few things that I have enjoyed this summer.

Entourage - I finally gave in and watched all the episodes. One day, I watched twelve in a row. Once you get past the first season, everything really comes together. You gotta love Ari. He has the courage (or the stupidity) to say what the rest of us think :)

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - Funny show. Low budget, character driven insanity. Danny Devito is the best!

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog - Joss Wheedon continues to be the man. Neil Patrick Harris, Cap'n Mal, Felicia Day, and Moist are funny (and heartbreaking).

The Guild - Speaking of Felicia Day, The Guild is a little something she put together. Talk about low-budget character driven insanity, this is it. Second season coming soon (with a slightly higher budget).

Mirah - Check her out. I especially like the Advisory Committee CD, but it's all worth listening to. I've got a couple of new ones that I've barely had a chance to check out.

Elvis Costello - has been amazing me since the 80's (and amazing others since the 70's). Both his old and new stuff continue to blow me away.

1964 The Tribute - You can't see the Beatles in concert anymore, but you can see these guys. It's a great concert and a recreation which is both eerily accurate and moving. They tour a lot, so check them out when they stop in your town.

A Long Way Down - A great book by Nick Hornby. Give it a read!

This is your brain on bass!

More inspiration for composing!

Weird Fluid And Subwoofer: Cornstarch Water Subwoofer = Amazing Physics Video

Dear Dr. Parks

This may not be what you had in mind, but I hope that it brings you some small joy as I finish my composition for percussion ensemble. Perhaps the contents of the video will inspire me to create the finale I have been searching for.

Mallets

Pro-Mark has an ad for the new Autograph Series mallets (including mine) in the latest Percussive Notes.

5 Days...5 Concerts

The past week has been incredibly busy. Three orchestras and five concerts in five days (with all the rehearsals that go with them...plus my job, of course).

The first was the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra Broadway Pops concert on Friday and Saturday nights. It was the usual mix of Lloyd Weber, Sondheim, Les Mis, Wicked, Mama Mia, etc. The singers from Broadway that came in were really excellent. If you want to look them up, search for Teri Hansen, Leah Hocking and Aaron Lazar. Teri and Leah did a spectacular job on the Wicked medley and Aaron does a pretty mean Jean Valjean and Phantom.

Then off to Pine Bluff to play Harlem by Duke Ellington for jazz band and orchestra (which I really enjoyed) plus Three Dance Episodes from On the Town and Gershwin's Cuban Overture.

Then on the children's concert the following day, we did some Smetana, some Handel, some Stravinsky, some Debussy, and many other things that are just a blur in my memory.

Finally, last night with Conway Symphony we did Overture to Candide and Shostakovich's 9th Symphony.

A lot off driving, and a lot of rehearsing, but somehow none of the rehearsals conflicted (although I only made in back for the CSO rehearsal Sunday night with five minutes to spare).

Now, it's time to get back to practicing the Ewazen marimba concerto. I'll be doing that at the Montana Day of Percussion in about a month along with a clinic and a performance with their percussion ensemble. If you're in Bozeman, be sure to stop by.

Storms

There were some pretty rough storms in Arkansas last night. Everything is ok here in Conway and in Little Rock, but about an hour up the road, it's a different story. Incredibly powerful tornadoes destroyed a lot of property and caused many fatalities. An aunt of one of my students was injured (concussion, broken bones) in a building collapse in Clinton. We were on alert here for hours, but by the time the storm got here it was just high winds and small hail. So, we're fine here, but the destruction just up the road is unbelievable.

Just a week ago, what the weather people call a "wind event" took down 120 feet of the privacy fence in our back yard. When I say "took down" I really mean destroyed, as in "Cloverfield" destroyed. Our neighbors lost part of their roof in that "event" and there was damage to fences, roofs, trees, etc., all over town.

It's winter, right? I'm ready for a nice, quiet snow flurry.

GONGGONGGONGGONGGGGGGGGGG

I recently visited Immaculate Conception School in North Little Rock where Liana teaches music to the K-5 classes. I spent all day playing some marimba, derabucca, riq, talking drum, and, most importantly, THE GONG. These kids love a gong more than I can tell you. I don't have any photos of the day, but a lot of the students drew some pictures and wrote thank you letters. Thanks to them, you can get some idea of what the day was like

Here's a drawing of me and my marimba by Meredith R.

























They have a large collection of Orff instruments at ICS, so the marimba wasn't completely unfamiliar to them.

The most popular instrument of the day was probably the derabucca...oh, except for the GONG, of course. I'm pretty sure that I could have done a thirty minute gong solo for each class and it would have been the greatest day of their lives. They REALLY love the gong!!

Here's a picture of me and the gong by Kaitlyn R.
Just to give you an idea of the scale, the gong I took that day was 28 inches in diameter. I'm taller than I look. Oh, and that's Kaitlyn herself standing beside me.

100 people banging a drum

This film is beautiful, and funny, and inspiring, and heartwarming. It will make you feel old.....and young. I find myself wanting to watch it over and over. Check it out!

PASIC 2007

I've got a little catching up to do on the blog. Let's start with PASIC.



















I had a great time at PASIC this year. I premiered a new work for solo timpani by Halim El-Dabh, my new marimba mallets launched with Pro-Mark, I met a lot of people who are playing the pieces that I've written, and I got to see a lot of my classmates at the reception in honor of John Beck and his 49 years at Eastman.

Halim's new piece, In search of Three Goddesses, is a great new work for timpani. I premiered it on October 31st at the end of a VERY long session. Moving all those timpani around after each piece makes for a lengthy concert. I still had a good crowd and the piece seemed to go over very well. I was very excited that Halim was able to be at the performance. Here's a pic of me with Halim after the final concert of the day.
















The reception for John Beck was an amazing experience. The room was packed with people who have been part of percussion history over the past half decade (or longer). Even Louie Bellson stopped by to congratulate JB.

















My former classmates Rob Bridge, Brian Bennett and Conrad Alexander listen in amazement and disbelief at the fantastical tales of Dr. John W. Parks, IV and his magical tambourine.


















Speaking of which, another big event at PASIC was something I like to call "The Attack of the 50 Foot Parksie". There's a picture out there of me with it (them), but until said attacker forwards it to me, I cannot share it with you.

UPDATE!!! The picture has arrived. For those of you that weren't there, let me assure you that this involved no trick photography. It is indeed a giant picture of John at the Pearl booth.