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.