05.13.2010
Dynasty recently sat down with Rob Ferguson, director of Matrix and the Percussion Caption Head for the Glassmen Drum & Bugle Corps to talk about education, Dynasty percussion, and where he is going to be in the future. 1. Please tell us a little about your background. Education, drum corps, musical experience, etc. My background for this activity is a bit unusual actually. I grew up in a small town in Northeast Ohio where the band was a “show style” band, yet had a corps style drumline. I have a bachelors degree and masters degree from Kent State University both in Music Performance. While at Kent I was incredibly fortunate to study with both Michael Burritt and Ted Rounds. I also did not march drum corps, which is something I would definitely change if I could go back and do it again. I spent a great deal of time through my college years as a solo marimba player, and a chamber percussionist, which I think have massively shaped how I look at things musically as well as how I arrange and compose. Currently I live in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio with my wife Kate. 2. What projects are you currently working on? I currently have a number of projects going. I am in the process of starting my own design, consulting, and arranging company....something I have wanted to do for quite some time. In addition to my work with Glassmen and Matrix I also work as an instructor, arranger, and consultant for a number of high school band programs, all of which are in the fall start up process as we speak. In the past few years I have written a few concert pieces for college students of mine and want to do more of this. I am currently working on a duo multiple for the section leader of the Glassmen battery that is a concert multiple that incorporates moments of unison rudimental style influence. Lastly, and most recently, I am working on a concert/ clinic program for an ensemble made up of former Glassmen and Matrix front ensemble members. It is something they have encouraged me to do over the past year. It will be an ensemble set up in a traditional front ensemble orchestration, but perform in a more concert style. The material will be mostly my original music, much of which will be adapted from music in the Matrix shows from the past few years. Our hope is to do a concert/ clinic tour this coming winter focusing on bringing a different style of music into the high school percussion ensemble and encouraging high school “marching percussionists” to become more involved in concert percussion ensembles. 3. Could you tell us a couple of things that every band director should know to get their percussionist’s to play better? The first thing I would encourage all band directors to do is “engage” the percussion section as often as they engage the winds. Many of the concepts that are being focused on with the winds apply in parallel to the percussion section. As you are asking the winds to use a full breath and support the tone, you can ask the percussion to make sure they are using a consistent stroke and using a consistent velocity behind each stroke. As you ask the trumpets to blend and balance, you can ask the snares the exact same thing. I think often that a band director that is not a percussionist may be hesitant to make a lot comments to the percussion section especially if they have percussion instructors. Unless that percussion instructor is there ever rehearsal and will be involved daily in the concert program, it is a MUST that they engage the percussionist so they feel accountable as a part of the full music ensemble. Secondly, I would encourage band directors to find means to integrate chamber percussion playing into the concert program weekly. For example, every Wednesday the percussionist in wind ensemble work on a mallet quartet and a multiple trio instead of being in the wind ensemble section. I think from a concert percussion ( and total percussion) standpoint, chamber playing and chamber ensemble skills are so crucial to the development of strong percussionists. 4. What are some technique books or programs you would suggest for band directors or percussion educators to check out? This is a place where I am not overly creative. I love many of the standards. George L. Stone, Stick Control in my mind is an absolute must, and can be used at a very young age as a supplement to even a 5th grade band method. I also love all of the Mitchell Peters snare drum methods. I think they make a very smooth and logical progression through all of the needed concepts while applying them to musical phrases. As students get more advanced I tend to use Cirone, Portraits in Rhythm, and any of the Delecluse, or Macarez snare books for more advanced etudes. I think it is very important though, that students progress methodically through these and do not just “jump” into the Cirone or Delecluse books without working through a basic text first. For keyboard I have a couple of “go to” books. The first is a vocal articulation book by Pasquale Bona that I use to develop two mallet skills. Because it is not a “keyboard” book, it does not work from a kinetic standpoint. It works from a musical standpoint. It is a great book to get players to make some basic musical decisions. To decide when and how to roll notes in a musical line, how to move through various interval jumps smoothly, and most importantly how to create a musical line within a piece of music. Ultimately I love it because it engages the player musically as well as technically. This is a book that Michael Burritt used at length and I have continued to use ever since. Lastly for four mallet material I have always wanted to students to own and become familiar with Method of Movement, by Leigh Howard Stevens. However, with most of my students now, I recommend Simply Four, by Gifford Howarth. I think both books cover the same concepts in relatively the same order. Giff’s book just tends to be a bit easier to digest for most students and the pictures regarding correct and incorrect grip/ technique are very good. Lastly I think is is imperative that students work through some developmental books suck as these before they begin to tack solo literature. I think this is a huge issue within four mallet development with many young players. 5 . How long have you been writing and designing for the Glassmen? Could you tell us a little about the show for Glassmen this year? I have been with the Glassmen organization since 2007. I did not begin to write for them however until 2008. In 2008 I wrote the front ensemble portion of the program, and in 2009 took over writing both the battery and front ensemble music. The Glassmen show this year in entitled “The Prayer Cycle”. It was inspired by the music of the same name by Jonathan Elias, which is some tremendously gripping music. The show focuses on the spiritual, and the idea that in all cultures and people there is a spiritual side to things, and within that spirituality is both struggle and peace. The show contains a variety of music including portions of the Prayer Cycle, as well as music by Philip Glass, James Dooley, Ron Nelson, and John Barry. 6. How much will you be on the road this summer with Glassmen and what advice do you have for a young player who aspires to be in a top 12 drum corps? Throughout the course of this summer I will be there for a majority of the spring training and tour with the Glassmen. I am fortunate to have a very strong percussion staff, so when I am not with the corps I know things are progressing smoothly. In terms of advice for young players wanting to march drum corps I would offer these thoughts. First is to commit to the idea of “doing it” early. Give yourself the time you need to get everything ready and prepared prior to auditioning. Make sure you get the audition packet as early as possible and work through it slowly with great detail. Make sure exercises and audition material is memorized so you are able to go in and focus on the new information being given by the staff rather than trying to make sure you are playing things correctly. Don’t be afraid to go to a camp before you plan to march to get the experience and find out exactly what to expect from the staff, instructors, and audition process. Know that the biggest piece of the puzzle is commitment. If you are committed to doing it, you most likely can. The part that often misses with this is commitment in the preparation as well as commitment of desire. The preparation for the audition and between camps once you have started the process is hugely important. The most important part of that is to focus on detail. It is not “how many notes” you are playing...rather it is the level of detail within each of those notes that will make the difference. Lastly, if you want to do it...DO IT! Most people who do not march that want to march end up in that situation because they are afraid to find out. Just prepare ahead of time and see the process all the way though and you will most often find the success you are looking for. 7. Describe the design process you take when designing for Matrix and Glassmen Drum Corps. The process for each of these situations is actually very different. With the Glassmen it begins in early September with a design meeting where everyone on the design team brings in ideas musically, visually, or conceptually. That ends up being between 5 and 7 experienced designers in the room all working through each possible idea until we come to some consensus of what we think will work best. In that situation, Sal Salas, our program coordinator guides that process so we can work through the ideas that are the strongest. Once the concept or premise has been narrowed down, we begin to choose music to fit each portion of the program. From there the writing begins. With Matrix, it is a much different process. I function as both the program coordinator as well as the music composer. All of the music with Matrix is original each year so we can’t sit down and “pick tunes” we like or want to use. Rather than having 6 or 7 people bringing ideas to the table, it is just myself and Kevin Stahl, our visual designer contributing to the design. We usually start with a concept. From there we begin to plan out moments we want to have happen within the show that will highlight that concept...visually and musically. Lastly we pick “moods” for each section and then I begin to write from there. In this situation much of the music functions to either create the moment or connect to the next moment. Also with the style we tend to use with Matrix the front ensemble material is much more constant than what is would be for drum corps or marching band. Lastly, with high schools the process is a bit different yet again. Each program I write for has a different scenario. In many of them I function as the program coordinator as well as the percussion arranger. In those situations I work with the director to get a feel for a basic direction they would like to go, such as: something lighter and more entertaining, or something patriotic, or something based around classical music, etc. From there I begin to try and get some basic ideas going between myself and everyone else designing. Once we have a couple of things we feel good about, I work through them with the director to see which of them they feel strongest about and which ones will fit the strengths of their program the best. In other situations I am only doing the percussion arranging so my role is much less about working through the big picture and more to offer ideas on how the percussion can contribute to the concept musically. Each of the high school programs are unique which keeps that part of designing very interesting and fresh from year to year. 8. Please tell us why you feel Dynasty percussion has helped the Glassmen and Matrix PIW programs to be known as some of the strongest percussion programs in the world? I have been with Dynasty for long enough I can’t imagine what it would be like teaching these programs without it. There are a few things that are invaluable as a teacher when it comes to the instruments specifically. Durability is a huge one. With the constant day in and day out wear and tear on the instruments at Glassmen and Matrix, we just do not see break down. That means we spend our time teaching on the gear and not fixing the gear! From a sound standpoint I love the fact that in the battery instruments there is always a warmth to the sound. Even as tuning gets into the higher range, the instruments do not get bright and “ticky”. While articulation increases, there is still a warmth to the sound. I think that is huge as you try to make the entire percussion ensemble blend together. And obviously as you deal with a company that is manufacturing ALL of the products, battery and keyboards, there is a great advantage knowing that the way each instrument speaks will be more blended. The rosewood we get from Dynasty with our marimbas is also outstanding. The idea of using rosewood in some of the environments we are in is a tough decision to be honest. But at this level it is imperative to have every possible resource to produce the best possible sound. The Dynasty rosewood is not only incredibly consistent, but it STAYS consistent even after being in a wide range of environments and temperatures. If you are familiar with rosewood instruments, you will know how incredible that is. Last but surely not least is the people at Dynasty. There is a big difference between companies who SUPPORT you and companies who CARE about you. Dynasty does both! With that kind of environment it allows the development of programs, instruments, and relationships to grow and develop, and that inevitably produces a much more successful environment for our students and ensembles. 9. Name one thing professionally that you would like to accomplish that you have not achieved yet? I would like to perform a solo marimba work with chamber percussion that I composed, and perform that with an ensemble made up of my former students. 10.Where do you see yourself 10 years from now? Isn’t that always the question! I find that one hard to answer because if you asked me 10 years ago if I would be where I am now, I would have said no way. My hope I guess would be to have a successful design and arranging business and to continue to arrange and compose in the marching idiom both indoor and outdoor. Also to be composing more for the concert side of my musical life. Lastly, to be working with more of my current students as their musical lives continue to develop and they become the directors and instructors. 11.What music have you been playing on your ipod lately? This is a wide range! The Prayer Cycle - Jonathan Elias Mutemath - Mutemath Various Breaking Benjamin Various Jay-Z Only by the Night - Kings of Leon Various Frank Sinatra Ten Summoner’s Tales - Sting |
News: Dynasty talks with Artist, Rob Ferguson