April 27 - East Longmeadow High School (with Gerry’s Music)
East Longmeadow, MA
Coordinator: Jim Provost, 413-534-7402

May 12 - North Alabama Percussion Festival
Austin High School - Tanner, AL
Coordinator: Clay Sloan, 256-777-0901

May 22-25 - Seminole High School
Seminole, FL
Coordinator: Chip Wood, email: slote4@aol.com

June 6-7 – Easton Area MPS Regional
Easton Area High School - Easton, PA
Coordinator: Carol Lutte, email: luttec@eastonsd.org

June 8 - Memphis MPS (Amro Music - Otto Compton)
University of Memphis - Memphis, TN
Coordinator: Otto Compton, email: alan@amromusic.com

June 15 - Houston MPS
Clear Brook High School - Houston, TX
Coordinator: Chris Retschulte, email: cretschulte@houston.rr.com

June 26 - Reno MPS (Music & Arts Center - Sam Santistevan)
Location TBD - Reno, NV
Coordinator: Sam Santistevan, email: ssantistevan@musicarts.com

June 27-30 - Bands Of America Summer Symposium
Illinois State University - Bloomington, IL
Coordinator: David Collier

July 14-16 - University of Alabama Percussion Camp & Clinic
University of Alabama - Tuscaloosa, AL
Coordinator: Neal Flum, 205-348-9440

July 23 - Texas Bandmasters Association
San Antonio, TX

July 25-29 – 16th Annual UMass MPS Camp
University of Massachusetts - Amherst, MA
Coordinator: Thom Hannum, 413-549-8066

August 2-5 – 34th Annual West Chester University Marching Band Workshop
West Chester University - West Chester, PA
Coordinator: John Villella, 610-431-3311

Mr. Hannum is the founder and director of his MOBILE PERCUSSION SEMINAR which offers clinic and workshop programs for high schools and colleges of all ability levels. For more information call 1-800-292-3758, or visit the website at www.percussion.org.

Drew Duthart Joins the Pearl Family!

Pearl Corporation is proud to welcome the newest addition to its Marching and Educational Artist family: Drew Duthart!

Born in Motherwell Scotland in 1963, Drew started playing under the instruction and guidance of Alex Duthart around the age of nine and joined the local pipe band called Newmains and District. He played there until the age of fourteen at which point he moved to the world renowned Shotts & Dykehead pipe band. It was during his 5 years there that he achieved every drum corps prize that was to be won and also won the worlds juvenile solo drumming at the age of fourteen.

After Shotts, Mr. Duthart went to the British Caledonian Airways pipe band which is now the Power of Scotland and played there until moving to Ontario in 1986. Since moving to Ontario, Drew has played with the Metro Toronto Police pipe band as the lead drummer for almost 11 years, achieving all the North American titles both with the drum corps as well as on the solo circuit.

After a short hiatus from the pipe band world Mr. Duthart returned to play with the Peel police pipe band and now the Scottish-Lion 78th Frasers where he has led the drum corps for the past three years.

GAV33

Here is what Professional Players are saying about Adams Glockenspiels:

"The new Adams Artist Model Glock has opened up a whole new world of musical possibilities for the orchestral glockenspiel. Finally, somebody has combined the best attributes of vintage bells with "state of the art" features. This instrument is the perfect combination of top quality, great-sounding steel bars with resonators, an extended range, reversible damper pedal system all on a height adjustable frame. Its sound is comparable to my Deagan Roundtops, but easier to play. The extended range means no more octave shifts! The reversible damper pedal allows for some interesting new approaches to the standard bell repertoire. This feature is especially helpful when performing parts intended originally for keyboard Glock. (Messiaen, Dukas) It's the instrument of choice, whether your an established pro or just starting out." -----Sam Bacco-Nashville Symphony Orchestra, Nashville RecordingStudios

"I've successfully received my new marimba, xylo and glock and have to make a point of saying that they are world class. I am extremely pumped up. In particular, the glock is like a Ferrari, just miles and leagues ahead of any other glock out there. No contest. It is the one instrument I purchased sight-unseen, and it is totally outrageous. Amazing".-----Matthew Duvall-Eighth Blackbird

The following is a collection of basic drumset beats that cover the three main areas of popular music, jazz, rock, and Latin.  There are several things to remember when practicing these or any grooves for that matter.

Before you set out to learn a new pattern or groove you must start to build a concept for the music, this will help you understand all of the elements of the style, not just the drum part.  I can't stress enough how important listening is.  I like to say that drumming is 50% technique and 50% concept and that concept comes primarily from listening to players live or on recordings.  Remember, you play like what you listen to.

Here are a few more things to consider........

1. Keep solid time
   • This simply means to pay attention to your time keeping.
   • Practice with a drum machine or metronome
   • Counting out loud while learning the new beats will help a lot.
2. Make it feel good
   • This is really a matter of listening to what is going on around you and fitting in musically.  Especially listen to the bass  player.
   • Balance..... the balance between limbs can really affect the feel, for example, if the hi-hat is too loud in a rock groove or the bass drum too loud in a Latin groove, it can sound (feel) very uncomfortable, even if the time is steady.  Feel has to be realized, mostly through listening to the masters of all the different styles.
3. Play with energy and purpose
   • It is very common when learning a groove or beat to play it kind of timidly.  This, of course, won't work because the drummer is the backbone of any group, so play with some spirit and enthusiasm.
4. Have Fun
   • This is actually the most important element of music.  If you aren't having fun, forget it because the music will always suffer.

Steve Houghton
Internationally renowned jazz drummer, percussionist, clinician, author, and educator, Steve Houghton initially received acclaim at age twenty as the drummer with Woody Herman's Young Thundering Herd. Since then he has shared stage and studio with luminaries Gary Burton, Clay Jenkins, Shelly Berg, Toots Thielemans, Christian McBride, Toshiko Akiyoshi,Freddie Hubbard, Lyle Mays, Diana Krall, Billy Childs, Rosemary Clooney, Peggy Lee, Pat LaBarbara, Arturo Sandoval, Joe Henderson, Karrin Allyson and Maureen McGovern.

As band leader Houghton's discography includes: The Manne We Love: Gershwin Revisited (TNC), a recent release of John Williams' charts for big band and quintet, initially recorded by Shelly Manne on Capitol in 1965, the Steve Houghton Quintet Live @ the Senator (Jazz Compass), Windsong (SHPERC Records), Remembrances (Warner Bros.), and Steve Houghton Signature (Mesa-Bluemoon). In total Houghton attributes more than one hundred recordings to his credit as a participating artist. As a classical percussionist, Houghton has performed with the Boston, and Philadelphia Pops orchestras, as well as the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. He frequently appears as a soloist with numerous orchestras and wind ensembles throughout the world.

As an author, Houghton's publications boast more than thirty educational books, videos and DVDs including Kid's Drumset Course, Essential Styles- books 1 & 2 (Alfred ), The Ultimate Drumset Chart Reading Anthology, Play and Teach Percussion (GIA), and The Drumset Soloist, and his latest project, Rhythm Section Workshop for Jazz Directors is a DVD-book series that addresses the entire rhythm section.

Houghton is currently associate professor of percussion and jazz at Indiana University-Bloomington, and is on faculty at the Henry Mancini Institute. In addition to his academic duties, he presents yearly clinics and master classes to students around the world. Houghton is Vice President of the Percussive Arts Society ( PAS) and endorses Pearl Drums, Adams percussion, Zildjian cymbals, Vic Firth sticks and mallets, and Remo World Percussion products and drumheads.

John Kinzie Joins the Pearl Family!
Pearl Drums and Adams Musical Instruments are proud to welcome the newest addition to its Concert and Educational Artist family: John Kinzie.

John Kinzie is currently the head of the percussion division of the Lamont School of Music at the University of Denver. He teaches percussion and timpani performance as well as percussion ensemble, master classes, and percussion pedagogue and repertoire. Mr. Kinzie is the principal percussionist of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, a position he has held since 1985. Prior to his appointment with the CSO, Mr. Kinzie was principal percussionist with the Toledo Symphony Orchestra, a position he won at the age of 19. He also performs with the CSO chamber group, “Once Upon a Time,” a group formed to inspire the imaginations of young schoolchildren and to excite them about music.

Mr. Kinzie was born in Pittsburgh and began his musical studies on the piano at the age of five. When band was introduced in the schools, he quickly switched to the drums. Mr. Kinzie received scholarships to the University of Toledo and the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he studied with Robert Bell, Richard Weiner, and Paul Yancich. He has appeared with the Colorado, Strings in the Mountains, National Repertory Orchestra, and the Grand Teton music festivals, where he continues to perform each summer. Mr. Kinzie has been a featured soloist with the Toledo Symphony, Colorado Music Festival, Yale School of Music, Grand Teton Music Festival and the Colorado Symphony Orchestra on numerous occasions, most recently performing the premiere recording of Libby Larsen’s “Marimba Concerto: After Hampton”, and performing Martin Bresnick’s “Grace”, a double marimba concerto with Robert Van Sice. Mr. Kinzie can also be heard on Bridge Records with two recordings of George Crumb’s music. The first included a promotional tour culminating at Carnegie Hall and the more recent recording was nominated for a Grammy Award. He is an artist/clinician for Pearl Drums and Adams Musical Instruments. John is married to Karen, a violinist with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra. They have four boys; Ryan, Karl, Grant, and Reid.

The Northwest Percussion Project is an annual one-day HANDS-ON experience for students in 5th grade through high school and their teachers. This is an opportunity for percussionists of all levels to come together and learn about essential percussion techniques and skills from some of the area's finest instructors in a fun and exclusively HANDS-ON environment. Read on to learn more about this great opportunity!

Events for the day included: Technique Workshop, Timpani Workshop, Mallet Percussion Workshop, Drumset Styles Workshop, Concert band Percussion Workshop, Hand Percussion Workshop, Drum Tensioning, and a Mass Percussion Ensemble.

March 10th is the date for next year’s event and it will include some new offerings based on the feedback from participants. Visit northwestpercussionproject.com for more details.

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To find out more about Quentin DeWitt visit QuentinDeWitt.com