Rudimentary drumming is 3-day focus
A mass-drumming event at 7 p.m. and concert at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 24 will highlight three days of clinics in traditional rudimental drumming at the Fredonia School of Music by visiting artists.
Nick Attanasio, Jack S. Pratt and Risto Skrikberg will present the concert in the Juliet J. Rosch Recital Hall. They will be joined by SUNY Fredonia alumna Marcia Fattey, ’74; Robin Engelman, Jari Kantonen, and members of the Canadian Associates Drumming Rudimental Excellence (CADRE) Rope Drum Ensemble based in Toronto.
Various styles of drumming will be performed on traditional rope drums and feature compositions primarily from the Revolutionary and Civil War periods. Preceding the concert will be an outdoor mass-drumming event sponsored by the Fredonia Percussion Guild.
All are invited to participate in the mass-drumming event preceding the concert outside the university amphitheatre on Wednesday, Oct. 24 at 7 p.m., which will consist of the “Long Roll,” "Three Camps," and "The Downfall of Paris." Those who wish to participate must bring their own stands and provide their own instruments. In the case of rain, the mass-drumming event will be cancelled.
The mass-drumming event, clinics and concert are free and the public is invited to attend. Those planning to attend the Wednesday concert are asked to contact Robert Fisk through e-mail at fredoniapercussionguild@gmail.com or by phone at (607) 857-7952 to reserve a seat in Rosch Recital Hall.
On Monday, Oct. 22, from 3 to 6 p.m. in Mason Hall Room 1051, there will be demonstrations, discussion and a master class with the guest percussionists. On Tuesday, Oct. 23 from 7 to 9 p.m., in Rosch Recital Hall, there will be an open dress rehearsal for Wednesday’s concert.
The visit by the percussionists will culminate with the events on Wednesday, including additional rehearsals with other participants from 3 to 5 p.m. in Mason Hall Room 1051, and the gathering at 7 p.m. for the mass-drumming event featuring musicians from public schools, SUNY Fredonia and the surrounding area.
As a rudimental bass drummer, Mr. Attanasio has won state bass drumming titles in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Virginia, and many other Northeastern States Championships. In 1971 he retired from individual competition, but 20 years later came out of retirement and returned to individual competition, again winning the New York State title. In 2006 he began the start of his seventh-fifth year in drum corps activities and continues to teach.
Mr. Pratt began playing drums when he was 10 years old and as an adult was accepted into the U.S. Military Academy Band’s legendary field music group, “The Hellcats.” In 1959 he became rudimental drum instructor and arranger for the group, and stayed at West Point for 20 years until his retirement. His “true claim to fame” is as a composer of rudimental drum music, and his first book, “14 Modern Contest Solos” is a standard in the field. His newest book, “Rudimental Drum Solos for Accomplished Drummers,” was released in 2000 by Meredith Music.
Mr. Strikberg, from Tampere, Finland, is an active percussionist, performing and recording with many leading Finnish singers and musicians. He began his teaching career in 1980 as a specialist in rudimental drumming and orchestral production and is currently on the faculty of the Tampere Conservatoire. His most recent book dedicated to rudimental drumming is “The Four Basic Strokes.”
Ms. Fattey was a Percussion Performance major and Concerto Competition winner during her SUNY Fredonia years, and has a prestigious private studio in Hamburg. Throughout her college years to today, she has been a strong supporter of traditional drumming practices.
Mr. Engelman is an adjunct professor of music at the University of Toronto where he conducts and directs its Percussion Ensemble. He studied percussion and composition with Warren Benson at Ithaca College, where he has taught in addition to the Eastman School of Music Preparatory Department and York University of Toronto.
Mr. Kantonen is from Finland, a graduate of the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Mass., and a former student of Mr. Strikberg. He is a freelance percussionist and jazz drummer in Finland, where he also teaches in three regional schools.
The CADRE Rope Drum Ensemble is part of the local CADRE Heritage Hands Drum Club, and is facilitated by Fred Johnson and assisted by Ed Jacko. The group’s objective is to create a high level fife and drum performance ensemble that will incorporate the ongoing evolution of the rudimental art form from ancient, through to contemporary domestic and international fife and drum compositions, and to further the potential of the rope drum as a modern field drumming instrument.
Following clinics in Toronto, Mr. Strikberg and Mr. Kantonen will return to Fredonia to travel with the university’s contingent to the international meeting of the Percussive Arts Society in Columbus, Ohio.
