Yamaha Orchestral Percussion Seminar Gives Students Real World Experience
BUENA PARK, CA (June 24, 2005) — A diverse group of 18 percussionists from their teens to their 30s came together in Santa Barbara, Calif. in late April to attend the annual Yamaha Orchestral Percussion Seminar (YOPS) at the Music Academy of the West. With the help of Yamaha instruments and visiting Yamaha artists, the participants got valuable instruction – and a taste of a pro percussionist’s life.
Percussion clinics at the seminar included guidance from Yamaha artists Don Liuzzi, Principal Timpanist with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Tim Genis, Timpanist for the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) and the Boston Pops Orchestra, Carmelo Gulotto of the Italian National Radio Symphonic Orchestra, Ted Atkatz, Assistant Timpanist with the Chicago Symphony, a Music Academy of the West faculty member and one of the seminar’s original architects, and Will Hudgins, percussionist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
Liuzzi shared his insight into the art of timpani, tambourine and snare drum playing. Atkatz focused on the musical and mental preparation for an audition, using his own experiences and excerpts from Bartok and Ravel to illustrate his points. Gullotto explored the experience of a European orchestral audition, and explained how percussion instruments used by European orchestras differed from those found in America. Genis and Hudgins brought their combined experiences from the BSO to focus on not only their experience of playing together, but also discussed the techniques required from one of the most revered music organizations in the world.
Seminar attendees put this advice to use in the five-day event’s Mock Audition, which concluded with Indiana University doctoral student Kristen Lou taking first prize along with a Yamaha Concert Snare Drum, stand and case valued at more than $1,000. Lou currently holds positions with the Lafayette (Ind.) Symphony Orchestra and Terre Haute (Ind.) Symphony Orchestra, and also plays with the Columbus (Ind.) Philharmonic Orchestra and the Evansville (Ind.) Philharmonic Orchestra.
Second place saw a tie between master’s degree candidate William Shaltis and undergraduate Matthew Prendergast, both of the Boston Conservatory.
Shaltis was a finalist in the PASIC 2004 Timpani Competition, and a participant in the International Timpani Competition in Paris, France (2001). He has performed as a percussionist with the Lansing (Mich.), Jackson (Mich.), and Battle Creek (Mich.) symphonies, as well as timpanist with the Detroit (Mich.) Symphony Civic Orchestra and the Capital City Brass Band (Mich.). This summer, Shaltis will be attending the Aspen Music Festival.
Prendergast was recently granted a percussion fellowship to attend the Tanglewood (Mass.) music center for the 2005 summer season. Last summer, he was chosen as the sole percussion winner of the 2004 Yamaha Young Performing Artist competition; as a member of the 2004 Division II World Champion Spartans Drum and Bugle Corps, he took part in Drum Corps International’s individual and ensemble competition, where he won the solo mallet percussion category.
Everyone at the seminar celebrated with a final concert on the evening of April 28. All three top winners also received a complete set of Yamaha Keiko Abe mallets/sticks with a Yamaha mallet bag.
“This is such an opportunity for these young men and women to get some hands-on instruction from some pretty big names in percussion,” says Troy Wollwage, marketing manager, percussion, Band & Orchestral Division, Yamaha Corporation of America. “Yamaha welcomes opportunities that are valuable to inspiring musicians in its continuous support of music education at the instructional level, where it is needed most.
“The Music Academy of The West is such a wonderful place to study,” he adds. “The atmosphere is very relaxing and emphasizes learning in an environment that is both productive and fun. We expect this event to draw more aspiring percussionists from across the country to attend.”
Only a handful of comparable percussion events are held each year nationally. The annual seminar was first held in Illinois in 2003, and 2005 marks the first collaboration between Yamaha and the Music Academy of the West in producing a percussion seminar.
“It was a tremendous success, and we couldn’t have done it without the contribution of Yamaha,” says Miwa Gofuku, coordinator, Artistic Operations and Alumni Relations, Music Academy of the West. “Of course the instruments Yamaha provided for our use throughout the week were very useful. So far, everyone wants to come back and do it again! I know this is the beginning of a long and fruitful relationship between the Music Academy of the West and Yamaha.”
For more information, write Yamaha Corporation of America, Band & Orchestral Division, 6600 Orangethorpe Avenue, P.O. Box 6600, Buena Park, CA 90620; send e-mail infostation@yamaha.com; or visit www.yamaha.com/band.
(From L - R) Yamaha's Troy Wollwage, Ted Atkatz, William Shaltis, Matthew Prendergast, Will Hudgins, Carmelo Gulotto and Kristen Lou. |
Liuzzi shared his insight into the art of timpani, tambourine and snare drum playing. Atkatz focused on the musical and mental preparation for an audition, using his own experiences and excerpts from Bartok and Ravel to illustrate his points. Gullotto explored the experience of a European orchestral audition, and explained how percussion instruments used by European orchestras differed from those found in America. Genis and Hudgins brought their combined experiences from the BSO to focus on not only their experience of playing together, but also discussed the techniques required from one of the most revered music organizations in the world.
Seminar attendees put this advice to use in the five-day event’s Mock Audition, which concluded with Indiana University doctoral student Kristen Lou taking first prize along with a Yamaha Concert Snare Drum, stand and case valued at more than $1,000. Lou currently holds positions with the Lafayette (Ind.) Symphony Orchestra and Terre Haute (Ind.) Symphony Orchestra, and also plays with the Columbus (Ind.) Philharmonic Orchestra and the Evansville (Ind.) Philharmonic Orchestra.
Second place saw a tie between master’s degree candidate William Shaltis and undergraduate Matthew Prendergast, both of the Boston Conservatory.
Shaltis was a finalist in the PASIC 2004 Timpani Competition, and a participant in the International Timpani Competition in Paris, France (2001). He has performed as a percussionist with the Lansing (Mich.), Jackson (Mich.), and Battle Creek (Mich.) symphonies, as well as timpanist with the Detroit (Mich.) Symphony Civic Orchestra and the Capital City Brass Band (Mich.). This summer, Shaltis will be attending the Aspen Music Festival.
Prendergast was recently granted a percussion fellowship to attend the Tanglewood (Mass.) music center for the 2005 summer season. Last summer, he was chosen as the sole percussion winner of the 2004 Yamaha Young Performing Artist competition; as a member of the 2004 Division II World Champion Spartans Drum and Bugle Corps, he took part in Drum Corps International’s individual and ensemble competition, where he won the solo mallet percussion category.
Everyone at the seminar celebrated with a final concert on the evening of April 28. All three top winners also received a complete set of Yamaha Keiko Abe mallets/sticks with a Yamaha mallet bag.
“This is such an opportunity for these young men and women to get some hands-on instruction from some pretty big names in percussion,” says Troy Wollwage, marketing manager, percussion, Band & Orchestral Division, Yamaha Corporation of America. “Yamaha welcomes opportunities that are valuable to inspiring musicians in its continuous support of music education at the instructional level, where it is needed most.
“The Music Academy of The West is such a wonderful place to study,” he adds. “The atmosphere is very relaxing and emphasizes learning in an environment that is both productive and fun. We expect this event to draw more aspiring percussionists from across the country to attend.”
Only a handful of comparable percussion events are held each year nationally. The annual seminar was first held in Illinois in 2003, and 2005 marks the first collaboration between Yamaha and the Music Academy of the West in producing a percussion seminar.
“It was a tremendous success, and we couldn’t have done it without the contribution of Yamaha,” says Miwa Gofuku, coordinator, Artistic Operations and Alumni Relations, Music Academy of the West. “Of course the instruments Yamaha provided for our use throughout the week were very useful. So far, everyone wants to come back and do it again! I know this is the beginning of a long and fruitful relationship between the Music Academy of the West and Yamaha.”
For more information, write Yamaha Corporation of America, Band & Orchestral Division, 6600 Orangethorpe Avenue, P.O. Box 6600, Buena Park, CA 90620; send e-mail infostation@yamaha.com; or visit www.yamaha.com/band.
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