#203 Jason Ihnat - Percussionist, Educator, Composer & More!
This episode is sponsored by Dream Cymbals. The DREAM Cymbals Recycling Program is the easiest way to get a new cymbal into your setup while saving money and the environment.
Jason’s photo taken by Ray Riggs.
Jason Ihnat holds concurrent careers as an educator, performer, composer and arranger. He currently serves as the Front Ensemble Coordinator for the Boston Crusaders. Prior to coming to Boston, he was a part of The Cadets organization from 2004-2016 as a front ensemble staff member and from 1998-1999 as a member of the corps. During his time with the Cadets, the corps won three DCI World Championships and two Fred Sanford High-Percussion Trophies.
Ihnat is also involved in the Winter Guard International (WGI) activity, where he currently serves on the front ensemble staff for Spirit Winter Percussion. Previously, he served as the Director and Co-Founder of the Eastside Fury Percussion Ensemble from 2000-2014, winning two World Championships in 2000 (A Class) and 2004 (Open Class).
In addition to his involvement with the DCI and WGI activities, Ihnat is the Director of the Detroit Lions "Honolulu Boom" Drumline. This ensemble performs at every Detroit Lion’s home game in front of 65,000 fans, as well as in parades and celebrations in the Detroit area.
Academically, Ihnat has served as a part-time Lecturer of Music Theory at Eastern Michigan University (EMU) since 2012. He has also been the Percussion Arranger and Instructor for the EMU Marching Band for over a decade. Ihnat performs frequently with the Dearborn, Flint, Macomb and Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestras as well as the Michigan Philharmonic. His compositions and arrangements have been performed at the top universities and high schools in Michigan and throughout the country.
Jason’s education includes a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Wayne State University, where he studied percussion under Keith Claeys and a Master of Music in Composition from Eastern Michigan University, where he studied with renowned composer Dr. Anthony Iannaccone and percussionist John Dorsey.
Jason also performs frequently with the Dearborn, Flint, Macomb and Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestras as well as the Michigan Philharmonic. His compositions and arrangements have been performed at the top universities and high schools in Michigan and throughout the country.
When he is not pursuing his percussion interests, Ihnat enjoys spending time with his wife Laura and their two children.
Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday to (friends of the show) Luis Conte on Nov 16th, and Travis McNabb on Nov 19th.
Educational Spotlight
One of the tools you can use with music theory is the website: music theory (dot) net.
Several friends of the show did clinics and masterclasses at PASIC this past weekend. If you can go check out their sessions, you will see: Valerie Naranjo, Taku Hirano, Joshua Simonds, Brian Frasier-Moore, Paulo Stagnaro (Paulo’s second visit), Aaron Draper (Aaron’s second visit), and Keith Aleo.
There is a list of 20 top colleges and universities that have great programs for writing music for film and TV. Every year, The Hollywood Reporter surveys industry professionals to get their take on the world's finest institutions of musical learning, and in particular how they stack up in terms of positioning composers and musicians for jobs in media. This year, however, the focus is on COVID-19 and the challenges it has presented, including limiting the number of players who can perform student compositions. -Article
Product Review
14x5.5 Brazilian Rosewood snare GIVEAWAY ENDS THIS WEEK. Get in to give to Oziku. Proceeds of this giveaway will go to the Oziku organization, founded to help members of families affected by childhood cancer. Their Northern California facility burned in the recent fires and they’re using this beautiful drum to try and help.
To enter:
$10 per entry(enter as much as you like - $20=2 entries, $40=4, etc.) via PayPal to js@sugarpercussion.com WITH YOUR IG/FB HANDLE.
Thank you for helping.
The Harmony Cloud app on the app store was designed by (friend of the show) Stefon Harris. You can see more by watching the video below.
Iconic Recording
The iconic recording this week is “Isn’t She Lovely” by Stevie Wonder. It is from the album ‘Songs in the Key of Life’ You can see Trey Macias demonstrate the two tambourine parts played on the song.
You can read more about the album by CLICKING HERE. That song is also featured in the Pop Percussion Iconic Tracks playlist that Damon and Marcos curated with the help of other percussionists.
That song and others were described and talked about in a two part article (April 2020 and May 2020) that Damon and Marcos wrote for Modern Drummer Magazine.
Music News
There never seems to be a shortage of new music documentaries to watch on streaming services, be feature-length films or multi-part docu-series. Here's an updated list -- with a dozen new additions, most of which are new or recent -- including films on the '90s ska scene, the history of hip hop, Voidoids guitaris Ivan Julian, Nina Simone, Frank Sinatra, legendary punk/alternative superfans Dennis & Lois, Anti-Flag, the UK's Rock Against Racism movement of the late-'70s, The Sound's Adrian Borland, and more. -Article
Here’s the Google Drive Link to watch the D’Angelo Documentary - Devil’s Pie.
Is YouTube down right now? Yesterday the world’s largest video site experienced a massive crash. Here’s what happened. During the YouTube outage yesterday, many people reported being unable to watch videos or log in. YouTube confirmed a problem with its servers at around 7:23 EST. -Article
Monday's news that pharmaceutical company Pfizer's early results on a new COVID-19 vaccine showed a 90% efficacy rate on an initial clinical trial have given concert professionals hope that the business can start mounting a return in 2021. As part of that preparation, Ticketmaster has been working on a framework for post-pandemic fan safety that uses smart phones to verify fans' vaccination status or whether they've tested negative for the coronavirus within a 24 to 72 hour window. -Article
Dolly Parton is a major funder behind Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine, which claims to be 95% effective. The country music legend revealed that she made a $1 million donation to Vanderbilt University’s Medical Center back in April. Parton says she made the donation in honor of her friend, Dr. Najj Abumrad, who treated her for serious injuries after a car accident. -Article
Queensland, Australia, is returning to normal with stadiums and venues returning to 100% capacity – with restrictions. The move comes as the Australian state enters Stage 5 of its roadmap to easing COVID-19 restrictions. Queensland will host New South Wales tomorrow night with a full stadium of 52,500 spectators. It will be the largest and best-attended sports event in Australia since the pandemic struck in March. -Article
Jason Ihnat Interview
Damon and Jason talk about the Detroit Lions partnering with Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson to help protect the upcoming election's integrity while promoting voter education.
Ford Field will also host eight of Detroit's 12 receiving boards, which independently help "ensure the secure transmission of elections results and ballots voted in person at election precincts."
The stadium will serve as a secure holding place for ballots and equipment after polls close if needed for use again. Team staffers will also receive a paid day off on Election Day to serve as election workers or assist with everything going on at Ford Field. Lions players, coaches and personnel will also be featured in upcoming public service announcements promoting voter education. Voting by mail and how to correctly fill out and return ballots are some of the expected topics. -Article
Jason keeps a diverse career to remain employed and busy. He talks about how he met Damon in the front ensemble of the Cadets.
Jason talks about his involvement in pageantry and the marching arts. From teaching and designing drum corps, college marching band, indoor drumline and color guard to high school marching band.
Jason received his Bachelor of Arts in Music Education from Wayne State University in Detroit, MI, where he studied percussion with Keith Claeys.
You can catch Keith performing with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. You can see Jason performing with the Dearborn Symphony from time to time.
Jason mentions Scott Boerma for being instrumental in his involvement in the Easter Michigan University Drumline.
Jason received his Master of Music in Music Composition from Eastern Michigan University where he studied with Dr. Anthony Iannaccone.
Jason talks about his schedule balance between teaching and performing, as well as his family. His wife being a band director also makes the scheduling aspect important.
He mentions one of the performances last spring with the Michigan Philharmonic. You can also see him working on a holiday pops recording with the group.
The high tech device that Jason and his wife use for scheduling is just a large white board to see the whole month.
Jason may not have school during the summer, but he is writing for marching band, spending time with his family and teaching drum corps, like the Boston Crusaders.
Damon and Jason talk about writing music by hand versus using computer music writing software like Finale or Sibelius.
Jason talks about how he teaches various age groups and skill levels.
Jason teaches the front ensemble at the Boston Crusaders with friends of the show Iain Moyer and Ian Hale. All of them work with (friend of the show) Colin McNutt.
Adjusting and adapting help Jason navigate the different aspects of his career.
Damon brings up the platforms used in England for seeing live music.
Ticketmaster has rolled out a series of ‘SmartEvent’ tech solutions, including a ‘social distance seating tool,’ designed to help venues safely welcome back audiences and ‘enhance the overall fan experience.’ -Article
Back in July, Digital Music News was first to report that German scientists were planning a 4,200-person experimental concert to gain a better understanding of COVID-19’s transmission risk. Now, these researchers have determined that music concerts are safe with masks and proper ventilation. -Article
Jason talks about the Michigan Opera Theater doing a performance of Wagner on different levels of the parking garage.
The BBC Africa documentary Damon brings up can be found by CLICKING HERE.
The grassroots organization that pushing for the arts to be recognized more by the government is Be An Arts Hero (dot) com.
Jason got into drums from his step-father. He later found out his grandmother played trombone at the Cincinnati Conservatory. She also played in the Cleveland Browns marching band which later became the Baltimore Colts band and are now the Baltimore Ravens band. You can watch the ESPN documentary on that.
Jason started his drum corps career at the Northern Aurora before making it in the Cadets drum corps.
Jason talks about teaching for the future and staying open to change to be able to use technology to your advantage.
You can follow Jason on Facebook or reach out to him at Eastern Michigan University. You can also contact him about playing in the Detroit Lions Drumline or the Boston Crusaders.
Jason uses Yamaha instruments, Vic Firth sticks and mallets, Zildjian cymbals, and Remo drumheads.
