Percussion Rhythms from Bali, Africa and Cuba at HSU

 Three HSU percussion groups lead a rhythmic tour from Bali to West Africa and the Cuban Carnival in their shared concert on Sunday April 17 in Fulkerson Recital Hall. 

 The Percussion Ensemble performs “Ketjak,” a contemporary work by Japanese composer Akira Nishimura, based on the Balinese Monkey Chant that traditionally accompanies enactment of the Sanskrit epic story, the Ramayana. Seven percussionists play multiple instruments, including two sets of tubular bells.

 “This virtuosic piece captures the deep emotion of the Monkey Chant in a dramatic percussive orchestration that pushes the seven-player ensemble to the limits of their technique and musicality,” said Ensemble director Eugene Novotney. 

 Then the HSU West African Ensemble performs a suite of traditional Mandeng drumming using all indigenous instruments, including djembe, dundun and balafon.

 Finally, the World Percussion Group presents the driving beat of “Conga Mozambique,” an arrangement of Afro-Cuban Comparsa music. A horn section playing traditional melodies adds to the authentic Cuban Carnival sound.

 The HSU Percussion Ensemble, West African Ensemble and World Percussion Group perform on Sunday April 17 at 8 p.m. in Fulkerson Recital Hall on the HSU campus. Tickets are $8, $5 seniors and children, free to HSU students with ID, from HSU Box Office (826-3928) or at the door.  Directed by Eugene Novotney, Howard Kaufman and Joe Bishop. Produced by HSU Music department.

Calypso Band Greatest Hits Plus Marimba and We Got the Beat 

 A youth group’s return, a marimba classic and some of the Calypso Band’s greatest hits are featured in an all-percussion concert on Saturday December 5 at the Van Duzer Theatre. 

 We Got the Beat is a group of student percussionists (grades 2 through 7) from Fresno. They perform all over California, and last played at HSU in April 2012. “They bring energy, excitement, and a high level of musicianship,” said HSU percussion professor Eugene Novotney, “and will fill everyone’s hearts with the joy of music.” 

 The Humboldt State Marimba Band performs “Omphalo Centric Lecture,” a marimba quartet composed by Australian percussionist Nigel Westlake. Premiered in 1986, this piece is played regularly around the world. Describing it as “captivating” and “mesmerizing,” Novotney said “it explores the beauty of the sound of the marimba in its full range and capacity.” 

 The concert’s first half concludes with the World Percussion Group morphing into a 30-piece samba band playing Samba Maracutu from Northern Brazil, on instruments from the region.

The second half belongs to the Humboldt State Calypso Band, which gears up for its 30th anniversary this spring with some of its greatest hits from past shows, as well as new tunes never heard before at HSU. Included in the mix are three Panorama classics as well as the band’s signature high-energy Calypso dance music. 

 The all-percussion concert is Saturday December 5 at 8 p.m. in the Van Duzer Theatre at HSU. Tickets are $10 general, $3 students, seniors and children from the HSU Box Office (826-3928) or at the door.  Directed by Eugene Novotney and Howard Kaufman. “We Got the Beat,” directed by Brenda Myers, also plays a pre-concert set beginning at 7:30 p.m.

Media: Eureka Times-Standard Urge, Mad River Union, North Coast Journal, Humboldt State Now

Calypso Band & Percussion Concert Notes

Notes by Humboldt State percussion program director Eugene Novotney

The concert will start with a energizing set by the youth percussion group, We Got the Beat. We Got the Beat is a fun and interactive, hands-on, musical experience for young student musicians from 2nd to 7th grade based in Fresno, California.

 Led by percussionist Brenda Myers, "We Got the Beat" performs on a wide variety of percussion instruments and in many musical styles. They have performed throughout the state of California for events such as the California Music Educator’s Convention in Sacramento, the National Association of Music Merchants Trade Show in Anaheim, the Big Fresno Fair, and at the Oakland Day of Percussion with Pete Escovedo. They bring energy, excitement, and a high level of musicianship, and will fill everyone’s hearts with the joy of music.

In addition to starting the show, WGTB will be presenting a pre-concert set at 7:30pm as the crowd enters the theatre.

 The HSU Marimba Band will follow WGTB, and they will be featuring a truly virtuosic marimba piece entitled, Omphalo Centric Lecture, composed by the Australian composer Nigel Westlake. This piece is both captivating and mesmerizing, and it explores the beauty of the sound of the marimba in its full range and capacity.

 The first half of the show will conclude with the World Percussion Group, directed by Professor Howard Kaufman. The WPG will be presenting an authentic arrangement of Samba Maracatu from Northern Brasil on all traditional instruments. This arrangement is as good as it gets, and will feature a 30+ piece samba band playing authentic instruments from Brasil filling the room with pulsating sound.

The second half of the concert will showcase the festive island sounds of the Humboldt State Calypso Band. This fall, the Calypso Band is gearing up for their 30th anniversary by playing their “greatest hits” from the past 30 years of shows at HSU, as well as some new tunes never before heard at HSU.

The band will feature three Panorama compositions on this show - Ray Holman’s, “If We Really Want,” Boogsie Sharpe’s, “Misbehave,” and Andy Narell’s, “Coffee Street” - as well as a full mix of Calypso dance music. Many student steelpan soloists will be featured throughout the evening, and the Calypso Band’s performance is guaranteed to get you up on your feet!

The Humboldt State Calypso Band prides itself in maintaining an accurate and authentic connection to the roots of the steel band movement and the innovative musicians of Trinidad, the island on which this unique percussion phenomenon was born. The band is dedicated to the performance of traditional and contemporary music from the Caribbean, Africa, Brazil, and the United States.

 In addition to its regular performances at Humboldt State and throughout Northern California, the band has undertaken tours to San Francisco, Santa Cruz, San Jose, Santa Rosa, Sacramento, Stockton, Fresno, Oakland, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Eugene, OR and Seattle, WA. Founded in 1986 by the band’s director, Eugene Novotney, the Calypso Band is celebrating its 30th anniversary at Humboldt State this spring, and holds the distinction of being the first ensemble of its kind in the entire California State University System.

Percussion Ensemble & Calypso Band: Director's Notes

Notes by Eugene Novotney:

The featured work on the program is Ku-Ka-Ilimoku, composed in 1978 by Christopher Rouse on commission from the Syracuse Symphony Percussion Ensemble.

The composer writes: "In Hawaiian mythology, Ku is perhaps the most fundamental and important of gods, occupying a place similar to that of Zeus in Greek mythology or Odin in Norse legend. Ku is manifested in several forms: as Ku-Ka-Ilimoku he represents the god of war. Thus this work for percussion ensemble is best viewed as a savage, propulsive war dance. Hawaiian chants are often based on as few as two pitches, and Hawaiian percussion emphasizes short, repetitive patterns. Underlying this surface simplicity is a wealth of subtle rhythmic inflection and variation. I incorporated this diversity to great effect, creating a tightly knit, exhilarating work. Although indigenous instruments are not employed, the timbre of their voices is evoked. The dynamic power of the Western instruments adds an intense level of ferocity to the proceedings."

 This performance of Ku-Ka-Ilimoku will be accompanied by dancers from the Humboldt State University Dance Program presenting an exciting contemporary dance inspired by the folkloric rhythms and dances of the “Hula Kahiko” tradition. The dance is choreographed by dance professor, Sharon Butcher, and entitled, Standing Here, With Red-Feathered Gods.

 Other featured pieces on the program will include the classic work, Toccata for Percussion, by Carlos Chavez and Marimba Spiritual by Minoru Miki.

The first half of the show will conclude with a suite of traditional Mandeng Drumming from West Africa, and a special presentation by the HSU World Percussion Group of authentic Afro-Cuban folkloric music based in the traditions of the Yoruba people of Nigeria.

 The second half of the show will feature the festive dance music of the Humboldt State Calypso Band. For 29 years, the Calypso Band has been performing and entertaining local audiences, and has proven to be one of Humboldt County’s favorite and most enduring musical ensembles.

The Calypso Band is comprised of an orchestra of over 40 steelpans (or steeldrums) representing the full symphonic range. This spring, the Humboldt State Calypso Band toured Santa Rosa, Petaluma, Tomales, San Rafael, and Berkeley, California, entertaining hundreds of listeners, and sharing their authentic Caribbean sounds with their enthusiastic audiences throughout Northern California.

For their performance in the Van Duzer Theatre, the Calypso Band will feature several high-energy dance compositions from the Caribbean in their set, including two modern Panorama classics composed by steelband legend, Len “Boogsie” Sharpe, from the island of Trinidad – Misbehave and Woman is Boss.

For 29 years, the Humboldt State Calypso Band has prided itself in maintaining an accurate and authentic connection to the roots of the steel band movement and the innovative musicians of Trinidad, the island on which this unique percussion phenomenon was born. The band remains dedicated to entertaining audiences with spirit, authenticity, and respect.

HSU Percussion: Toccata, Canticle and A Woman’s Right to Drum

 HSU Percussion Ensemble breaks out all the instruments for classic works by Carlos Chavez, Lou Harrison and John Cage, and the World Percussion Group plays a traditional piece from Ghana that celebrates a woman’s right to drum, on Sunday April 19.

 Mexican composer Carlos Chavez combined Central American, Asian and European instruments in his 1942 Toccata for Percussion. “Musically, he combines exciting rhythmic passages and sudden dynamic changes with slower passages that employ exotic scales and timbres,” said Percussion Ensemble director Eugene Novotney. 

John Cage, who asked Chavez to compose the Toccata, is on the program with Second Construction  from 1940. Lou Harrison’s Canticle #3 adds flute and guitar to an array of percussion instruments. The HSU Marimba Band ends the set with folkloric music from Mexico, Guatemala and Africa. 

 Directed by Howard Kaufman, the World Percussion Group follows with a set that features “Takada,” Ghana’s traditional celebration of a woman’s right to drum. HSU student teacher Joe Bishop leads a suite of Mandeng drumming from West Africa. 

Percussion Ensemble and World Percussion Group perform on Sunday April 19 at 8 p.m. in Fulkerson Recital Hall. Tickets from HSU Ticket Office (826-3928) or at the door: $8 general, $5 seniors and children, HSU students with ID admitted free. Directed by Eugene Novotney and Howard Kaufman, produced by HSU Music Department.

Media: Eureka Times-Standard Urge, Mad River Union, North Coast Journal, Humboldt State Now.

Percussion Concert: Director's Notes

The HSU Percussion Ensemble will feature an exciting and diverse program of material presenting the listener with contemporary percussion compositions and soundscapes, as well as traditional drumming styles based in the music of Africa and Cuba.

The featured work on the program is Toccata for Percussion, composed in 1942 by the Pan-American composer, Carlos Chavez. Chavez was born and died in Mexico City, and at the age of 29, he was named the director of Mexico’s National Conservatory and the director of Orchesta Sinfonia de Mexico.

 In Toccata, Chavez mixes Central American percussion instruments (claves, maracas, bongos) with standard European percussion instruments (timpani, snare drums, field drums) and Asian instruments (gongs) to create a true “mixed-world” instrumentation. Musically, he combines exciting rhythmic passages and sudden dynamic changes with slower passages that employ exotic scales and timbres. The result is a piece that is both fascinating and profound.

 The Percussion Ensemble will also be presenting one of John Cage’s most famous and innovative works from the 1940’s entitled, Second Construction. This highly experimental work calls for percussionists playing traditional Western percussion instruments combined with exotic instruments from around the world, including Balinese Gongs, Indian Oxen Bells, African Pod-Rattles, and Chinese Temple Bells.

One of the more unusual instruments employed is Cage’s infamous “water gong,” where the percussionist submerges a Chinese gong in water to alter and manipulate its pitch. Also featured in this work is Cage’s famous “Prepared-Piano,” an instrument created by taking a classical grand piano and adding nuts, bolts, washers, rubber, and other objects to the piano strings and sound-board. The effect creates an instrument that sounds more like an electronic synthesizer than an acoustic piano, and the effect is both stunning and surprising.

 Also on the program will be a beautiful soundscape by Cage’s contemporary, Lou Harrison, entitled Canticle # 3. It features the addition of flute and guitar to the percussion ensemble, and also features many “found objects” used as percussion instruments, as well as exotic percussion instruments such as Nigerian log drums, Indian elephant bells, sistrums, anvils, and a cajon.

Rounding out the Percussion Ensemble set will be a performance by the HSU Marimba Band of folkloric music from Guatamala, Mexico, and Africa.

 The HSU World Percussion Group will be presenting, "Takada", a traditional Ghanaian piece celebrating a woman's right to drum, and "Lucumî", an Afro-Cuban suite of rhythms and songs of Yoruba origin, originally from Nigeria. The show will end with a West African Drumming Ensemble, led by HSU student teacher, Joe Bishop. This group will be performing a suite of traditional Mandeng Drumming from West Africa using all indigenous instruments, featuring driving rhythms and a dynamic rhythmic interplay.

--Eugene Novotney

Calypso Band Dance Rhythms, Percussion Ensemble’s Metallic Rainforest 

 HSU Calypso Band plays high-energy dance music from Trinidad, the World Percussion Group explores dance drumming from Ghana and the Percussion Ensemble performs two percussive classics, all on Saturday December 6 in the Van Duzer Theatre. 

 “The First Construction in Metal” is a 1939 John Cage composition that Percussion Ensemble director Eugene Novotney calls “brash, creative and a vital example of the American avant-garde style.” It employs 58 metal instruments to produce what New Music writer Alexandra Gardner calls “a metallic rainforest.”

 “Many consider it to be Cage’s finest early work,” Novotney said, “and this is an excellent opportunity to hear and experience this classic piece.” 

 The Percussion Ensemble also plays “Concertino for 12 Percussionists and 2 Pianos” by Czech composer Vaclev Nelhybel.

 “Nehlybel uses different combinations of membranes, woods, and metals to create fascinating textures and soundscapes that surround the listener with pulsating rhythmic variety,” Novotney said. The result is “an immense piece” that is “highly rhythmic and extremely exciting.” 

 Then the World Percussion Group explores dance drumming from the Ewe people of Ghana, aided by dancers from the HSU World Dance Expressions class performing traditional choreography. 

 The Calypso Band takes over for the second half of the concert with authentic dance rhythms from Trinidad, including two modern Panorama classics: “Misbehave” by Lennox “Boogsie” Sharpe, and “We Just Can’t Go On Like This” by Ray Holman. 

HSU Calypso Band, World Percussion Group and Percussion Ensemble perform on Saturday December 6 at 8 p.m. in the Van Duzer Theatre on the HSU campus. Tickets are $10/$5 seniors & children/$3 HSU students from HSU Ticket Office (826-3928) or at the door. Directed by Eugene Novotney and Howard Kaufman, produced by HSU Music Department.

Media: North Coast Journal, Mad River Union, Humboldt State Now

Oops! Can’t Miss Percussion & Calypso Band Concert

 HSU Percussion Ensemble presents the North Coast premiere of Oops, the World Percussion Group pounds out exciting rhythms of the Brazilian Samba and the HSU Calypso Band does their Caribbean thing on Saturday December 7 in the Van Duzer Theatre.

Oops, made famous by composer Mike Manieri and his jazz fusion group Step Ahead, features a vibraphone solo by HSU percussionist and graduating senior Nev Mattinson. 

 The Percussion Ensemble also presents a composition by Christopher Rouse based on Haitian ritual rhythms, Mark Ford’s Head Talk and a percussion trio, Intentions, by the group’s director Eugene Novotney.

 Mandeng drumming from West Africa and the World Percussion Group (directed by Howard Kaufman) performing Brazilian samba sounds completes the concert’s first half. 

 Then comes the HSU Calypso Band, now in its 28th year. Among its high energy dance rhythms are two modern classics from Trinidad: Fire Down Below by Len “Bogsie” Sharpe and Pan in A Minor by Lord Kitchener and Jit Samaroo. 

 HSU Percussion Ensemble, World Percussion Group and Calypso Band perform on Saturday December 7 at 8 p.m. in the Van Duzer Theatre on the HSU campus in Arcata. Tickets: $10 general, $5 seniors and children, $3 HSU students from HSU Ticket Office (826-3928) or at the door.

Media: North Coast Journal, Mad River Union, Humboldt State Now

Notes: Percussion Ensemble & Calypso Band Concert

“Presenting contemporary music for Percussion Ensemble; the folkloric percussion music of the of West Africa; the exciting rhythms of the Brazilian Samba; and the festive steel drum sounds of the Calypso tradition of the Caribbean.”

 The Percussion Ensemble will open the show by presenting a wide variety of contemporary music for percussion, including the Northcoast premier of Oops, made famous by jazz vibraphonist, Mike Manieri, and the seminal jazz-fusion group, Steps Ahead. Oops features an infectious groove and a phenomenal arrangement orchestrated for Marimbas, Vibraphones, Bells, Chimes, Steelpans, Bass, and Drumset, and will feature a vibraphone solo by HSU percussionist and graduating senior, Nev Mattinson.

 Also featured will be Christopher Rouse’s engaging composition, Ogoun Badagris, which is based on Haitian ritual rhythms to the deity, Ogoun. Here’s the composer’s description: “Ogoun Badagris derives its inspiration from Haitian drumming patterns, particularly those of the Juba Dance. Hence, it seemed logical to tie in the work with various aspects of Voodoo ritual. Ogoun Badagris is one of the most terrible and violent of all Voodoo loas (deities) and he can be appeased only by human blood sacrifice. This work may thus be interpreted as a dance of appeasement. The four conga drums often act as the focal point in the work and can be compared with the role of the four most basic drums in the Voodoo religion — the be-be, the seconde, the maman, and the asator. The metal plates and sleighbells are to a certain extent parallels of the Haitian ogan. The work begins with a brief action de grace, a ceremonial call-to-action in which the high priest shakes the giant rattle known as the asson, here replaced by cabasa. Then the principle dance begins, a grouillère: this is a highly erotic and even brutally sexual ceremonial dance which in turn is succeeded by the Danse Vaudou at the point at which demonic possession occurs. The word "reler," which the performers must shriekat the conclusion of the work, is the Voodoo equivalent of the Judaeo-Christian amen.”

 Additional works on the concert include Mark Ford’s, Head Talk, composed for REMO pre-tuned drumheads, and the percussion trio, Intentions, composed by the groups’ director, Eugene Novotney.

The first half of the show will end with a suite of traditional Mandeng Drumming from West Africa, and a special presentation by the HSU World Percussion Group of the the exciting rhythms of the Brazilian Samba, all performed on traditional folkloric instruments.

 The second half of the show will feature the festive dance music of the Humboldt State Calypso Band. It is significant to note that while HSU is celebrating its 100th year anniversary this year, the Calypso Band celebrating its 28th year of existence, all under the direction of its founder, Dr. Eugene Novotney. For over a quarter-century, the Calypso Band has been performing and entertaining local audiences, and has proven to be one of Humboldt County’s favorite musical ensembles.

 The Calypso Band will feature several high-energy dance compositions from the Caribbean in their set, including two modern Panorama classics from the island of Trinidad – Fire Down Below by Len “Bogsie” Sharpe, and Pan in ‘A’ Minor by Lord Kitchener & Jit Samaroo. The Humboldt State Calypso Band prides itself in maintaining an accurate and authentic connection to the roots of the steel band movement and the innovative musicians of Trinidad, the island on which this unique percussion phenomenon was born. The band is dedicated to the performance of traditional and contemporary music from the Caribbean, Africa, Brazil, Cuba and the United States.

Springing Percussion at the Van Duzer Theatre

Important work in the percussion ensemble repertoire, plus Bantu music from Cuba and calypso dance rhythms are all featured in the shared HSU Percussion Ensemble, World Percussion Group and Calypso Band spring concert on Saturday May 4 in the Van Duzer Theatre.

 Edgard Varese’s preeminent Ionisation requires 14 performers playing over 47 instruments, and is an “ extremely revolutionary work” according to Percussion Ensemble director Eugene Novotney. 

“Other composers wrote solely for percussion before Varese composed Isonisation,” Steve Smith noted in the New York Times in 2010, “but none with his sophistication and subtlety.” The piece is in conventional sonata form, but (Smith writes) “Varese’s use of timbre, texture and density, rather than melody and harmony, as organizational tools pointed the way towards more radical future propositions like musique concrete and electronic music.”

 Another work for multiple and unusual instruments (including Chinese water gong and prepared piano) is Second Construction by John Cage. In addition to works by Nigel Westlake and others, the Ensemble also performs a cult classic by HSU alum and founding member of the Mr. Bungle group Trey Spruance, as featured on the hit album Disco Volante.

 The World Percussion Group performs a suite of traditional Mandeng drumming from West Africa as well as Cuban "Bantu" folkloric music. Then fresh from acclaimed concerts in Los Angeles, the Calypso Band takes over with its authentic rhythms and high energy dance music from the Caribbean.

 HSU Percussion Ensemble, World Percussion Group and Calypso Band perform on Saturday May 4 at 8 p.m. in the Van Duzer Theatre on the HSU campus in Arcata. $7/$3 students & seniors, with first 50 HSU students admitted free. Tickets: 826-3928 or at the door. Directed by Eugene Novotney and Howard Kaufman, produced by HSU Music Department.

Media: Humboldt State Now, Arcata Eye, North Coast Journal

Percussion Ensemble, World Percussion Group & Calypso Band Concert Notes by Eugene Novotney

As the centerpiece of this concert, the Humboldt State Percussion Ensemble will be performing an extremely revolutionary work by Edgard Varese entitled Ionisation. Written in 1931, Ionisation is widely considered to be the most important composition in the entire history of the percussion ensemble repertoire.

 Featuring 14 performers playing over 47 different instruments, the sound mass and texture fields heard in the piece are both colorful and dense. As well as a grand piano and all of the standard instruments of the percussion family, Varese also calls for Afro-Cuban instruments such as maracas, guiros, cow bells and bongos, and exotic instruments such as gongs, sleigh bells, castagnettes, a glockenspiel, a lion's roar, two anvils, and, perhaps the most unique of all, two hand crank sirens. The low-pitched siren used by the Humboldt State Percussion Ensemble is the exact Sterling type II hand crank fire siren that Varese specified in his 1931 score. The high-pitched siren is an authentic combat field siren issued by the US military and made by the Federal Electric Company in Chicago, Illinois.

 Often considered a radical futurist, Varese claims that he was interested in sound for sound's sake alone, and for that reason, considered all sounds as valid. As early as the 1930s, Varese heard the sound of the siren as a result of the modern world, and as such, he used it as a musical instrument in his composition. Many scholars have noted that Varese’s ideas and experiments with sound, which predated the invention of the first synthesizer by almost 40 years, had an extensive effect on the development of electronic music.

The Percussion Ensemble will also be presenting one of John Cage’s most famous and innovative works from the 1940’s entitled  Second Construction. This highly experimental work calls for percussionists playing traditional Western percussion instruments combined with exotic instruments from around the world, including Balinese Gongs, Indian Oxen Bells, African Pod-Rattles, and Chinese Temple Bells. One of the more unusual instruments employed is Cage’s infamous “water gong,” where the percussionist submerges a Chinese “Feng” gong in water to alter and manipulate its pitch.

 Also featured in this work is Cage’s famous “Prepared-Piano,” an instrument created by taking a classical grand piano and adding nuts, bolts, washers, rubber, and other objects to the piano strings and sound-board. The effect creates an instrument that sounds more like an electronic synthesizer than an acoustic piano, and the effect is both stunning and surprising.

Another special feature on the first half of the show will be a fascinating performance of the Mr. Bungle hit,
Ma Meeshka Mow Skwoz, composed by HSU alumni and Mr. Bungle founding member, Trey Spruance. Ma Meeshka Mow Skwoz was featured on the 1995 Mr. Bungle album entitled, Disco Volante, and soon became a cult classic. This arrangement calls for 18 percussionists playing almost every percussion instrument imaginable, and will be sure to bring down the house.

 Additional works on the concert include Nigel Westlake’s Kalabash, Michael Udow’s Strike, and Austin Wrinkle’s Wart Hog #3. The first half of the show will end with a suite of traditional Mandeng Drumming from West Africa, and a special presentation by the HSU World Percussion Group of the the folkloric “Bantu” music of Cuba.

 The second half of the show will feature the festive dance music of the Humboldt State Calypso Band. One of Humboldt County’s favorite ensembles, the Calypso Band will feature several high-energy dance compositions from the Caribbean in their set. The Humboldt State Calypso Band prides itself in maintaining an accurate and authentic connection to the roots of the steel band movement and the innovative musicians of Trinidad, the island on which this unique percussion phenomenon was born. The band is dedicated to the performance of traditional and contemporary music from the Caribbean, Africa, Brazil, Cuba and the United States. The band has just returned from their spring tour, where they played to packed houses and standing ovation audiences in Fresno and Los Angeles.

Calypso Band Brings Guests to Spring Concert

With a talked-about group of grade school percussionists from southern California called “We Got the Beat” as well as the HSU World Percussion Group to start things off, the Humboldt State Calypso Band presents high-energy dance music in its annual spring concert in the Van Duzer Theatre on Saturday April 28.

Under the direction of percussionist Brenda Myers, “We Got the Beat” is a band of Fresno, California students from grades 2-7 who play throughout the state, including a national music merchants convention in Anaheim and the Oakland Day of Percussion. They will visit the North Coast for several days, and play for the public in the first half of the Calypso Band concert. Also in the first half, the World Percussion Group features a 30-piece samba band playing authentic music from Brazil.

  Then the Calypso Band takes over for the rest of the evening, this year emphasizing music of the Caribbean Carnival in Trinidad and Tobago. Featured selections include Ray Holman’s island anthem, “Pan,” and two Boogsie Sharpe steelband classics: “Woman is Boss” and “Pan Army.”

Humboldt State Calypso Band with the World Percussion Group and We Got the Beat perform on Saturday April 28 at 8 p.m. in the Van Duzer Theatre on the HSU campus in Arcata. $7/3 from HSU Ticket Office (826-3928) or at the door. Directed by Eugene Novotney and Howard Kaufman, produced by the HSU Music Department.

Media: Lumberjack, Humboldt State Now,  Arcata Eye. 

Metal, Shooting Stars and Sambas

HSU Percussion Ensemble mines metal and the HSU World Percussion Group plays prize-winning sambas in their shared concert on Sunday April 15 in Fulkerson Recital Hall.

The Percussion Ensemble performs “First Construction in Metal” by John Cage, which calls for some 58 different metal percussion instruments, including anvils and thunder sheets. “Many consider this piece to be Cage’s finest early work,” notes Ensemble director Eugene Novotney.

The Ensemble also plays works by Michael Udow and John Bergamo, and “The Night of the Shooting Stars,” a piece for 16 percussionists by American composer Wendy Mae Chambers.

In the concert’s second half, the World Percussion Group performs a suite of West African Mandeng drumming, followed by sambas using all indigenous instruments from Brazil. The set includes the prize-winning arrangement of “Amazonas, O Eldorado” as performed by Escola de Samba.

HSU Percussion Ensemble and World Percussion Group perform on Sunday April 15 at 8 p.m. in the Fulkerson Recital Hall on the HSU campus in Arcata. Tickets are $7 general, $3 students/seniors, from the HSU Ticket Office (826-3928) or at the door. Free to HSU students with ID. Directed by Eugene Novotney and Howard Kaufman, produced by the HSU Music Department.

Media: North Coast Journal, Humboldt State Now, Arcata Eye, Tri-City Weekly.

Percussion Concert: Director's Notes

The HSU Percussion Ensemble will feature an exciting & diverse program of material presenting the listener with contemporary and experimental compositions, as well as traditional drumming styles based in the musics of Africa and Brasil. This evening’s performance will feature precise rhythmic interplay and driving rhythms, as well as complex and unusual percussive soundscapes.

The featured work on the program is the “First Construction in Metal” of John Cage written in 1939. This engaging work, written in the years before the United States entered into WWII, is a brash, creative, and vital example of the American avante-guard style pioneered by Cage in the twentieth century. The work calls for over 58 instruments constructed of metal, including gongs, anvils, cymbals, bells, and thunder sheets. In addition, a grand piano is used played by a traditional pianist but with live sound alteration and manipulation by a percussionist who performs on the interior of the piano strings. Many consider this piece to be Cage’s finest early work, ad this is an excellent opportunity to both hear and experience this classic piece!

Also featured on the first half of the show will be works by Michael Udow and John Bergamo, as well as a large ‘Percussion Orchestra’ piece for 16 percussionists composed by Wendy Mae Chambers and entitled, “The Night of the Shooting Stars.”

The second half of the show will feature the World Percussion Group performing a suite of traditional Mandeng Drumming of West African, and that will be followed by an inspiring arrangement of Brazilian Samba presented to the Humboldt audience in its classic form using all indigenous instruments from Brazil. For this show, the World Percussion Group will be presenting the prize winning Samba arrangement from 2006 as performed by the Escola de Samba, Grande Rio, entitled, “Amazonas, o Eldorado,” complete with Cavaquinho and Vocals. This is a show that will delight both the ears and the eyes, and it is guaranteed to have something for everyone!

Eugene Novotny

Calypso Band Introduces “Pan Army” 

It’s an all-percussion concert in the Van Duzer Theatre on Saturday, December 3, with world rhythms and a U.S. steelband premiere.

The HSU Percussion Ensemble plays Paschal Dances by composer David Gillingham, described by director Eugene Novotney as “haunting and beautiful, and at other times highly rhythmic and brutal. It is a true masterpiece of the contemporary percussion repertoire.” This piece is scored for piano and a dozen percussionists playing a host of instruments, including marimbas, vibraphones, xylophones, chimes, bells, timpani, snare drums, bass drums, tom-toms, cymbals, croatales and tambourines.

The Ensemble also performs works by Amadeo Roldan, Ed Argenziano, David Mac Bride, as well as Novotney’s composition Searching, performed on a quartet of “tube-o-phones,” instruments that Novotney designed and built based on metallophones of the Balinese Gamelan.

The HSU World Percussion Group closes the first half of the show with Samba music played on indigenous instruments from Brazil.

Then the evening belongs to the Calypso Band, featuring the high-energy dance music of the Caribbean Carnival known as Panorama. The main work will be the U.S. steelband premiere of Boogsie Sharpe’s composition Pan Army, as transcribed by Novotney, who played it with Sharpe’s band (the Phase II Pan Groove) for the 2010 spring carnival in Trinidad. Founded in 1986, the Calypso Band is continuing the celebration of its 25th anniversary.

The Calypso Band and Percussion Ensemble perform on Saturday December 3 at 8 p.m. in the Van Duzer Theatre on the HSU campus in Arcata. Tickets are $7 and $3 students and seniors, with free tickets to the first 50 HSU students, from the HSU Box Office (826-3928) or at the door. Directed by Eugene Novotney and Howard Kaufman, produced by the HSU Music Department.
Media: front page at Humboldt State Now, Tri-City Weekly, Arcata Eye, North Coast Journal

Calypso Band, World Percussion & Percussion Ensemble

An HSU alum’s cult hit, John Cage’s heavy metal plus African rhythms, samba and the ever-popular calypso dance music highlight the HSU Percussion Ensemble, World Percussion Group and Humboldt State Calypso Band concert on Saturday, December 5 at 8 PM in the Van Duzer Theatre on the HSU campus in Arcata. Tickets are $7 general, $3 students/seniors, with the first 50 HSU students admitted free, from the HSU Ticket Office (826-3928) or at the door. Directed by Eugene Novotney and Howard Kaufman, produced by HSU Department of Music.

Cult Classic and Dance Rhythms with the Calypso Band and Percussion Groups

A cult classic by HSU alumnus Trey Spruance brings star power to the HSU Percussion Ensemble portion of the annual percussion concert in the Van Duzer Theatre on Saturday December 5.

“Ma Meesha Mow Skwoz” was featured on the 1995 Mr. Bungle album, “Disco Volante.” The Percussion Ensemble does it up big. “This arrangement features 15 percussionists playing almost every percussion instrument imaginable,” said Ensemble director Eugene Novotney. “It will be sure to bring down the house.”

The Ensemble’s featured work is First Construction in Metal by 20th century avant-garde composer John Cage. “Many consider this Cage’s finest early work,” Novotney said. “It calls for 58 instruments constructed of metal, including gongs, anvils, cymbals, bells and thunder sheets. In addition, a pianist plays a grand piano but with live sound alteration and manipulation by a percussionist who performs on the interior piano strings.”

The first half of the concert concludes with the World Percussion Group, directed by Howard Kaufman, performing a suite of traditional Mandeng drumming selections, and Brazilian Samba played on indigenous instruments from Brazil.

After intermission, the Humboldt State Calypso Band, directed by Eugene Novotney, performs its ever-popular high-energy dance music from the Caribbean, which this year will include the classic panorama composition “Pan Rising” by Len “Boogsie” Sharpe.

The HSU Percussion Ensemble, World Percussion Group and Humboldt State Calypso Band winter concert happens on Saturday, December 5 at 8 PM in the Van Duzer Theatre on the HSU campus in Arcata. Tickets are $7 general, $3 students/seniors, with the first 50 HSU students admitted free, from the HSU Ticket Office (826-3928) or at the door.

Media: Humboldt State Now, Arcata Eye