The Summerglen Files

Greetings! Lately here at Summerglen, we’ve been working on 2 big summer projects: Trombone Ensembles for students, and our original CD (tentatively titled It All Started in the Middle of the Road). Both the students and our new material are truckin’ right along, and we’ve created Facebook pages for each of them, so that you [...]

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2010 has been the year of the solo percussionist here at Summerglen. While I’ve been holing up in my studio playing the David concerto and making trombone tips videos, Andrew has been composing and gigging up a storm! Here are some videos of Andrew performing two of his own compositions: one for snare drum, and [...]

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Ugh. Today I’ve begun a huge transition in my trombone playing–from focusing on ensemble work to honing my skills as a solo player. For the past few years, I’ve centered my attention on strengthening my sightreading abilities, building my understanding of many different musical styles, and developing solid technique that I can incorporate into any [...]

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It’s time! This evening at 6pm, Andrew will present his solo percussion recital, clinic, and book release celebration at 2112 Percussion here in Raleigh. It’s going to be a great time, but first we have to get through the rest of the day… Any gig requires a substantial amount of work and planning to be [...]

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I’m happy and relieved to announce that my drumset method book, Building Grooves: A Beginner’s Guide To Drumset Control And Coordination, is finally done! Seven years of writing, testing, and teaching have all come together into 44 pages of groove! The official release date for the book will be January 14, 2010. I’ll be having [...]

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Marching season is officially over: we’ve worked 5 competitions, pushed through 3-1/2 months of rehearsals, and given silly awards and hot pizza to everyone in the percussion and brass lines. After growing accustomed to the hustle and bustle of marching season, it can be straight up weird to see a relatively empty November calendar! What [...]

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Welcome back for part 3 of our “Watch the Marching Band Grow” series here on the Summerglen Blog! For the past two weeks, we’ve been working a lot with the band on musical unity and emotional expression. And at this weekend’s performance at the Capital City Band Expo, the kids did the best they’ve ever [...]

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Welcome back to our “Watch the Marching Band Grow” series here on the Summerglen blog. This video was shot at Millbrook’s second competition of the 2009 season–the West Johnston Invitational this past Saturday, October 10th. At their last competition, the band had some problems with tempo. The reason is simply because playing outdoors can turn [...]

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Last night, Andrew and I went to see Kiriku, a group that our friend described as “the best handbell ensemble in the world”. After just a couple of songs, we knew just what he meant! The members of Kiriku are all excellent musicians, and their musical sensitivity and communication were phenomenal. I especially enjoyed the [...]

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