#264 Jon Fox- Principal Percussionist for the Singapore Symphony Orchestra & More!
Jonathan Fox currently serves as Principal Percussionist of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, where he has played since year 2000. Previously, he appeared with the New York Philharmonic, Mostly Mozart Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa (Japan), New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, New York Chamber Symphony, the Little Orchestra Society of Lincoln Center, and Miss Saigon on Broadway. He has performed under the baton of numerous celebrated conductors including Herbert Blomstedt, Myung-Whun Chung, Bernard Haitink, Raymond Leppard, Lorin Maazel, Kurt Masur, Seiji Ozawa, Gerard Schwarz, and Leonard Slatkin. His recordings of both traditional and contemporary solo and orchestral literature can be heard on the Albany, BIs Delos RCA Victor, and Varèse Sarabande labels.
Fox’s debut solo CD release containing the world premiere recording of Zhou Long’s percussion concerto “Da Qu” was recently released on the BIS label (CD-1322). International Record Review (UK) stated that “Jonathan Fox displays breathtaking virtuosity as he scoots around the vast array of percussion instruments.” Composer Zhou Long lauded Jonathan’s “artistry in giving the concerto its finest interpretation.” Fellow composer Chen Yi cited Fox’s rendition of the concerto as “energetic, precise, fresh, and powerful.” Art Lange of Fanfare summarizes the disc as “exotic and vibrant” as well as “audience-wowing”.
Jonathan has also appeared as a solo percussionist numerous other times including appearances as featured performer at Milton Babbitt’s 80th birthday celebration in the presence of the renowned composer (Carlisle, PA), with Ensemble Bartók (Chile) at Carnegie Hall, the Metropolitan Wind Symphony (Boston MA), and the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, with whom he presented the Asian premiere of Thea Musgrave’s marimba concerto “Journey Through a Japanese Landscape.” According to The Inkpot (Singapore), Fox performed the Musgrave work “with focused confidence and a quiet, unassuming intensity.” The Seattle Times mentioned that, as solo timpanist of the Seattle Symphony, “Jonathan Fox got a well-deserved nod for his excellence”, and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer called his playing “superb.”
In addition to his responsibilities at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music in Singapore, Jonathan Fox is an active concert and marching recitalist and clinician across North America and Asia. In addition to coordinating high profile percussion programs in American high schools he has also been a part-time instructor for the Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps (Allentown PA). Jonathan is a Zildjian performing artist as well as an education team member and product endorser for drum stick and mallet manufacturer, Vic Firth, Inc.
R.I.P.
Puerto Rican percussionist musician Héctor “Tito” Matos passed away this morning at the age of 53, his family confirmed to El Nuevo Día. For decades, the exponent specialized in promoting two traditional Puerto Rican rhythms: the bomba and the plena. -Article
Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday to the late Charles Connor. Check out the tribute to him by Stanton Moore!
Happy Birthday to Steve Jordan.
Happy Birthday to Changuito.
Happy Birthday to Scott Quintana. Scott lives in Nashville, by way of Boston, Austin, and Los Angeles. He moved here nearly 10 years ago to pursue a career in music, and since has been touring full time with artists such as Kacey Musgraves, Charlie Worsham, Kree Harrison, and several others. He had an early exposure to the tech world and has always loved working with computers. His grandma was a COBOL programmer when he was young, which encouraged him to be a web developer beginning in high school.
He is curious by nature and thrives in environments where he can creatively solve problems. After his last tour ended, he jumped at the opportunity to dive back into the programming world. On a surface level, drumming and development may seem like night and day, but both involve working with teams to create something great, which is where he is at his best.
Happy Birthday to Stephen Bidwell. Stephen was born in Washington, DC, and grew up in the Virginia suburbs. Since first being handed drumsticks in the late 80s he has studied and lived in West Virginia, Pittsburgh, New Orleans, and New York but has called Austin, Texas home since 2005. Somewhere in those travels, he earned a Bachelors’s degree in classical percussion (two of them actually) and a Master’s degree in Jazz studies. Since early 2018 he has been the drummer for the Grammy-nominated Black Pumas, a psychedelic soul group known for incendiary live shows. When not on tour with Black Pumas, Stephen plays in several diverse projects (Hard Proof, The Calm Blue Sea, Azmaris, Mood Illusion), works in any genre you can think of as a sideman and teaches lessons at his home studio.
You can see some of Steve’s interviews and other drum journalism over at ModernDrummer.com, he’s been a contributing writer since 2008.
Mike Dawson’s podcast, Drum Candy is HERE.
Gig Alerts
The Ground Up Music Festival has been postponed until May 2022.
The 64th Annual GRAMMY Awards have been rescheduled and will now be broadcast live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, April 3 (8:00-11:30 PM, live ET/5:00-8:30 PM, live PT) on the CBS Television Network and will be available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+.
Coachella has announced their 2022 lineup with Harry Styles, Billie Eilish, and Kanye West (Ye) headlining. -Article
Educational Spotlight
Delton Davis wrote a children’s book on the music of Brazil. This cultural interactive activity book will take kids on a World Percussion Journey to the country of Brazil. Containing rhythmic call and response phrases in Portuguese, kids will learn basic greetings, instruments and a historical perspective. Music, history, arts and crafts along with math, this activity book contains a variety of fun activities for kids. Language Arts- Musical rhythmic call and response of phrases in Portuguese. Kids will learn how to say basic greetings, names of instruments and more in a fun rhythmic way through music. History- Historical sites and background are given so kids can have a general understanding of cultural influences. Arts and Crafts- Kids can color in the drums and space is given for kids to draw the drums and other sites. At the end of the book, a matching game is also made available. Geography- A map is given so kids will see where the country of Brazil is located and the region focused on. Math- Basic math equations are given in a fun and unique way using the instruments as a means to solve the equations.
The educational lesson series with CongaChops and Latin Percussion is continued this week with the Clave.
Iconic Recording
The iconic recording this week is “Crystal Silence” from the album with the same name, by Gary Burton and Chick Corea. It was recorded in November 1972 and produced by Manfred Eicher for ECM Records. Their collaboration continued in 1979 with the albums Duet and In Concert, Zürich, October 28, 1979, also on ECM Records. Nearly 30 years later they followed up this album with The New Crystal Silence in 2008, this time on Concord Records.
You can hear the original version from the album below. The Track listing is as follows…..
01 Señor Mouse
02 Day Waves
03 Desert Air
04 Crystal Silence
05 La Fiesta
Music News
Damon interviewed Matthew-Lee Erlbach from the organization Be An Arts Hero. The Committee on Small Business held a remote hearing titled: “The Power, Peril, and Promise of the Creative Economy.” The hearing was scheduled for 10:00 A.M. on Wednesday, January 19, 2022 via the Zoom platform.
Representing nearly 5.2 million American workers, the arts sector is a major component of the economy. Unfortunately, this industry has been exceptionally hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and its recovery has been slower than many others. The hearing will provide recommendations for investments in key infrastructure and provide a roadmap for bringing arts, culture, and creativity into the center of long-term recovery. Members will hear from experts alongside creative entrepreneurs to demonstrate the power of the creative economy and its importance to a robust recovery.
You can reach out to your representative using THIS TEMPLATE.
How to submit testimony: Lauren Finks, who can be emailed at lauren.finks@mail.house.gov, is the House contact for statement. Make it clear that your testimony is related to the “Power, Peril, and Promise of the Creative Economy” hearing. Submit by Feb 3, 2022. Easy!
Jon Fox Interview
The music leading into the interview is “Da Qu: I. San Xu” by Lan Shui, performed by Singapore Symphony Orchestra.
Shout-out to friend of the show Gifford Howarth for reconnecting Damon and Jon, as well as Neil Larrivee who brought Jon into the Cadets.
Neil was Jon’s first teacher in Norwood, MA.
Jon got his masters degree from the Juilliard School.
Jon elaborates a bit on what orchestral training can be. He talks about what is necessary besides learning the notes on the page.
He talks about learning how to breathe and play with different conductors and the rest of the ensemble.
Jon talks about incorporating percussion from other parts of the world as standard training and not just western concert or marching instruments.
Jon went to Boston University for his undergrad and the University of Maine for his doctorate.
The family truckster was a car by Ford, made famous in the National Lampoon’s Vacation movie.
Jon learned to teach first from working with Neil Larrivee.
Jon studied with Tom Gauger while at Boston University.
Two excerpts that helped Jon win the SSO gig were the tambourine excerpt in Petrushka and drumset in West Side Story.
Jon makes a reference to a Max Roach quote which is also the title of one of his albums, “Deeds, Not Words”.
Jon talks about his time at Juilliard and his journey to be well rounded.
Jon talks about having the off-stage skills together as well.
Damon and Jon talk about gossip and backstabbing.
Jon talks about needing a doctorate to land a university teaching gig.
Jon’s dissertation was on Chinese Percussion Instruction Through The Lens of Western Pedagogy. You can READ THAT HERE.
There are five boxes to be scored in for the marching arts. The numbers align like this:
80-100: Superior, - 60-79: Excellent, - 40-59: Good, - 20-39: - Fair,- 0-19: Poor.
Jon talks about the BBC Proms. He also talks about the riots after a Stravinsky premiere.
Jon brings up the Star of Indiana in 1993.
Jon is the Percussion Department Chair at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music.
He also was the arts program coordinator for Saint Joseph’s Secondary School Band.
Singapore has a Minister of Culture, Community and Youth, also known as MCCY.
They seek to inspire Singaporeans through the arts and sports, engage the youth, strengthen community bonds, and promote giving.
They’re here to build a confident and resilient Singapore, and what that means is a fulfilled and engaged people living in a cohesive and caring society.
Jon talks about some of the differences Singapore has in contrast to the USA.
Shout-out to friend of the show Ed Choi.
Jon talks about how important listening is to your growth and education as a student. Jon also picks the iconic recording for the week.
Damon tells a story of writing to Gary Burton and then transcribing the song he inquired about.
Jon hosts a program called Conversations with the Artist.
Jon uses Vic Firth Sticks and Mallets, Zildjian Cymbals, and Evans Drumheads. You can catch Jon performing with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra.
The song leading out of the interview is “Der gerettete Alberich” by Christopher Rouse.
