2008 News Archive ________________________________________________________________________ December, 2008 Introducing Eagle Made Products With the help of Andy Beall and Beall Percussion Specialties, the Eagle Made concept was realized. EMP and BPS have come to agreements to continue on an independent basis. Eagle Made Products The Eagle Made product line consists of the finest quality hand-crafted instrumental accessories to fit the needs of the contemporary percussionist. www.eaglemade.com ________________________________________________________________________ December, 2008 Eagle joins Pearl Drum Artist Roster I am very proud and humbled to be a part of one of the very finest percussion companies in the world. My preferred choice of instrument for drum set, concert percussion, marching percussion, and pipe band percussion has always been Pearl. I have admired their craftsmanship, innovation, and commitment to excellence in percussive sound and couldn’t be happier to be on their artist roster. Thank you so much! www.pearldrums.com ________________________________________________________________________November, 2008 Eagle Joins American Bagpipe Staff After some very successful performances with AB owner/piper Lars Sloan, I have been asked to join the nation’s only professional Scottish music educational and performance facilitating company. A newly developed relationship with AB and the Lone Star Community College at Cy-Fair in Houston, TX will now enable Lone Star students to learn Scottish Pipe Band music from true professionals from AB. I will be in Houston, TX periodically for Cy-Fair classes and performances. Current and potential students should check back here as well as the company and school page for materials and info. www.americanbagpipes.com ________________________________________________________________________ November 20 and 21, 2008 American Bagpipes Performances at LSCC American Bagpipes (www.americanbagpipes.com) featuring myself and owner/piper Lars Sloan will be presenting 3 performances at the Lone Star Community College at Cy-Fair in Houston, TX: Nov. 19th, 10am- International Music Festival Nov.19th, 1pm- International Music Festival Nov. 20th, 11am- Lecture Performance ________________________________________________________________________ November 5-9, 2008 PASIC in Austin, TX This year’s PASIC will again feature Beall Percussion Specialties and Bachovich Music in the exhibition hall. Come by to see our great selection of original music, unique specialty instruments and custom percussion accessories from Eagle Made Products. www.pas.org ________________________________________________________________________ October, 2008 Eagle Joins City of Washington Pipe Band I have recently accepted a position to perform with the Grade I City of Washington Pipe Band out of Washington, DC under the leadership of D.S. Jon Quigg. I have know Jon for several years now and couldn’t be happier playing in his corps. Look out people, the CoW is coming back! www.cowpb.org ________________________________________________________________________ Fall, 2008 Garden State Philharmonic Fall Schedule Come join us for great fall performances in Jersey! Click here for performance dates and locations: www.gardenstatephilharmonic.com ________________________________________________________________________ September 28, 2008 Guest Performance with Richard Grimes A Sunday Matinée Arts Series in Boston, MA. Location information soon! ________________________________________________________________________ September 25, 2008 Flatbush Tompkins Church Marimba Performance The Flatbush Tompkins Congregation Church in Brooklyn, NY is presenting their weekly bible study and community gathering. This week’s service will begin with a marimba solo performance featuring works by Bach, Sammut, and Beethoven. For directions, please visit www.ftcchurch.org. ________________________________________________________________________ September 18, 2008 Cordis featured at Arts Midwest Showcase This year’s Arts Midwest Showcase is in Kansas City, MO at the beautiful downtown convention center. The annual 4-day convention featuring some of the country’s very best performing groups will feature instrumental post-rock group Cordis (www.cordismusic.com). Cordis will be presented by The Agency for Creative Talent Strategies (www.a-c-t-s-inc.com) and managed by yours truly. This 6pm showcase is open to the public, so come see one of the best instrumental rock groups in the country. ________________________________________________________________________ August 29- September 1, 2008 PA Renaissance Faire with the Tartan Terrors For Labor Day 2008, you will find me at the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire performing with the Tartan Terrors. Canada’s premier celtic theater and music group will entertain faire patrons for their 8th season with their comedy, dancing, and original celtic rock arrangements. Check out www.tartanterrors.com for more! ________________________________________________________________________ Fall, 2008 Introducing Axiom Percussion I would like to present my newest performance group, Axiom Percussion. Comprised of Andy Beall, Richard Grimes, and myself, Axiom is already preparing new works and arrangements for a 2009 Spring Tour of the Midwest. www.axoimperc.com Axiom Percussion is a percussion-based chamber ensemble featuring the combined efforts of three of the industries finest up-and-coming talents performing original, provocative, and intriguing programs on a unique combination of standard, world, and new percussion instruments designed to engage any audience! ________________________________________________________________________ Fall, 2008 Fall 2008 NYU Pipe Band Performance Schedule Come see the best pipe band in NYC! Also visit www.homepages.nyu.edu August 25, 3pm- Madison Square Garden October 22, 3pm- Brooklyn NY October 24, 5pm- Bronx, NY December 13, 9am- Lower Manhattan, NY December 16, Lower Manhattan, NY ________________________________________________________________________ August, 2008 2008 World Pipe Band Championships The Silver Thistle Pipes & Drums (www.silverthistle.org ) has returned from Scotland with a 7th place finish in Grade 3B at the 2008 World Pipe Band Championships. The band’s 2 week stay in the U.K. also included competitions at North Berwick and Perth. I extend a very excited “Thank You” to PM Ken Kiechti and DS Colby Robbins for brining me on to perform with the band this summer. I had a wonderful time with everyone and will never forget is memorable trip. For complete 2008 WPBC results, visit www.rspba.org ________________________________________________________________________ Summer, 2008 Silver Thistle Pipes & Drums Fund Raising Performances For the 2008 Pipe Band season, I will be performing with the Silver Thistle Pipes & Drums from Austin, TX. Silver Thistle has seen much success competing in Grade III throughout the U.S. and Canada. Led by Pipe Major Ken Liechti, the band will appear at many events in Austin this summer to aid in funding the band’s travel to Scotland for the 2008 World Pipe Band Championships. For a schedule of events or to make a donation, visit www.silverthistle.org . ________________________________________________________________________ July, 2008 Cordis Prepares New Material and Videos Instrumental rock outfit Cordis is busy with demo recordings of brand new material that will premier through youtube and other various web-based video resources. The new tracks will have their performance debut during the 2009 tour. To view the new videos, tour dates, and media material, visit www.cordismusic.com as well as searching “Cordis” at youtube.com. ________________________________________________________________________ July 3-5, 2008 Garden State Philharmonic Performances Spend part of your 4th of July weekend with one of New Jersey’s most well-known orchestras! www.gardenstatephilharmonic.com ________________________________________________________________________ June, 2008 Eagle Nests in the Big Apple Upon acceptance to the music faculty of NYU, the managerial position with Cordis, my current partnership in BPS, as well as the endless opportunities in the greater New York City area, I am relocating to Upper Manhattan. I’ve always considered myself a ‘city boy’, so I am looking forward to the experience! ________________________________________________________________________ May 29, 2008 NADCP Drumline Performance I have been commissioned by the Nation Association of Drug Court Professionals to produce a drumline for their 2008 National Conference held at the America Center in downtown St. Louis, MO. The line will feature myself alongside members of the UMSL percussion studio and Gateway Indoor. ________________________________________________________________________ May, 2008 Eagle named Operations Manager for Cordis Since November 2007, I have worked with cimbalom artist Richard Grimes within Beall Percussion Specialties. Richard is a visionary, a true artist, and a diligent entrepreneur. It’s been a pleasure working with him, as well as Andy Beall, in BPS and I am thrilled to continue work with Richard in Corids, an instrumental post-rock group of which Richard is the artistic director and cimbalom player. For a truly unique musical experience: www.cordismusic.com ________________________________________________________________________ May, 2008 Eagle named to the NYU Music Faculty After a week’s worth of performances with the NYU Pipes & Drums, I have accepted the position of Drum Sergeant for the group that places me next to Pipe Major Brian Meagher as music instructors for the NYU Steinhardt School of Education, Culture, and Human Development. ________________________________________________________________________ May 11-17, 2008 New York City Performances I am visiting the Big Apple for 2 weeks to tend to BPS business as well as tending to invited performances with the New York University (NYU) Pipes and Drums. We will be performing a multitude of ceremonial, commencement, and spring event performances at the following locations: Avery Fisher Musical Brooklyn School of Music Grand Central Station Madison Square Garden Radio City Music Hall Washington Square Yankee Stadium ________________________________________________________________________ April 24th, 2008 University of Missouri at St. Louis Perc. Ens. Concert Percussion Director Matt Henry has asked me to conduct this outstanding percussion ensemble in their fall program. I will conduct David Gordon’s Bali and perform with the group on Terry Reily’s In C. Be sure to see St. Louis’ best percussion and Afro-Cuban Ensemble at 7pm at the Touhill Performing Arts Center. ________________________________________________________________________ April 17-20, 2008 WGI World Championships Gateway World found it’s rightful place back in the top 12 finishing 8th overall with their show “Michael”. Based on Michael Jackson’s Dont’ Stop ‘Till You Get Enough, Liberian Girl, and Smooth Criminal, Gateway had a memorable performance during finals that the WGI community will not soon forget. Great job to all!! ________________________________________________________________________ March 26th, 2008 “An Introduction to the Modern Bagpipe Idiom” A performance lecture presented by pipers Chris Apps, Matt Pantaleoni, bass drummer Jonathan Taylor, and myself on Scottish snare. The performance was given at SCC Forest Park in St. Louis, MO. Despite the rain, we had good turn-out and helped spread the good word of Scottish Bagpipe music. ________________________________________________________________________ March 21st, 2008 Dr. Thomas Zirkle Faculty Recital Despite an ailing back, Dr. Thomas Zikrkle- Music Department Coordinator at St. Community College at Forest Park, persevered to give a great percussion recital. Dr. Z performed some of his own works, as well as a unique rendition of Eric Sammut’s Four Rotations with percussion accompaniment supplied by Matt Henry, Percussion Director of the University of Missouri at St. Louis. Dr. Z and I performed David Levitan’s Duet and gave the world premier of my Etude No. 1 with vibraphone (the oboe, flute and clarinet transcriptions have been performed previously). Congrats on a great program Tom!! ________________________________________________________________________ March 17th, 2008 St. Patrick’s Day Performances I have participated in St. Patrick’s Day performances for about 6 years now. They have all been full of friends, music, and fun. This year was no exception. Myself along with 3 bagpipers in town were hired by an Anheuser Busch distributor to perform at different pubs and restaurants all over town. Though playing with these pipers proved to be a great time, the most enjoyable aspect was riding around in one of Anheuser Busch’s rock start coach buses full of food, fun, and some of the Busch girls! ________________________________________________________________________ February, 2008 Hawaiian Music Research Trip My first trip to Hawaii proved to be a tremendous success as well as a colossal failure. The obvious success was spending time with my Dad and our family over in Hawaii. The failure was my personal oath to swear off work for at least a week. To say that I worked to some degree would be a great understatement. I discovered the wonderful musical treasures of several different Polynesian islands. Along with the ukuleles and hula dancers, Hawaii has a wonderfully unique musical culture that soaked me up as much as the sun at Waikiki Beach. Like the other global areas i’ve visited or studied, I always enjoy seeing how the traditional music of a particular area is reflective of their unique cultural characteristics. I don’t want to give away what is to come. Just know that this trip has inspired new future original works utilizing the sounds of Polynesia!! Be sure to check back here for further developments! Click HERE to view the photo album of the Hawaii ’08 trip. Here follows a list of events and places visited in Hawaii: - Oahu Island - Honolulu - Hickam Air Force Base - Pearl Harbor and US Arizona Memorial - The Polynesian Cultural Center - Waikiki Beach - BYU at Hawaii - Iolani Palace - The Punch Bowl - Aloha Stadium Merchant Fair - North Shore Beach - Pacific Ocean scuba diving, parasailing, and jet skiing ________________________________________________________________________ January, 2008 Winter Drumline 2008 Begins Another exciting winter drumline season is upon us. This year is quite different for me. I am on staff for both independent groups here in St. Louis (Synergy-Indep. A and Gateway- World), and I also perform head director duties for St. Charles High School’s drumline and color guard. No, I do not teach the guard (yikes) that belongs to SCH alumni Jon Miller and (believe it or not) Texas Rio Grande Valley native Charity Uribe. That area always seems to find it’s way into my life one way or another! Below are the performance dates for each group. For all scores throughout the season, visit www.mccga.org. St. Charles High Drumline & Color Guard St. Charles Ice Festival- Sat. Jan 26th (Drumline) Francis Howell North- Sat. Jan 26th (Guard) Eureka- Sat. Feb 9th Francis Howell Central- Sat. Feb 23rd Northwest- Sat. March 15th MCCGA State Contest, Springfield, MO- Sat. Apr 5th Synergy Indoor Rockwood- Sat. Feb 2nd Nashville Regional- Sat. Mar 29th MCCGA State Contest, Springfield, MO- Sat. Apr 5th Gateway Indoor Rockwood- Sat. Feb 2nd Indianapolis Regional- Sat. Mar 1st Dayton Regional- Sat. Mar 15th Nashville Regional- Sat. Mar 29th MCCGA State Contest, Springfield, MO- Sat. Apr 5th WGI World Championships, Dayton, OH- Apr 17th-20th _________________________________________________________________________ http://www.eaglemade.com/eaglemadeproducts/EMP_Home.htmlhttp://www.pearldrums.comhttp://www.americanbagpipes.comhttp://www.americanbagpipes.comhttp://www.pas.orghttp://www.cowpb.orghttp://www.gardenstatephilharmonic.comhttp://www.ftcchurch.orghttp://www.cordismusic.comhttp://www.a-c-t-s-inc.comhttp://www.tartanterrors.comhttp://www.axoimperc.comhttp://www.axoimperc.comhttp://www.homepages.nyu.eduhttp://www.silverthistle.orghttp://www.rspba.orghttp://www.silverthistle.orghttp://www.cordismusic.comhttp://www.gardenstatephilharmonic.comhttp://www.cordismusic.comPhoto_Archieve_New.htmlhttp://www.mccga.orgshapeimage_5_link_0shapeimage_5_link_1shapeimage_5_link_2shapeimage_5_link_3shapeimage_5_link_4shapeimage_5_link_5shapeimage_5_link_6shapeimage_5_link_7shapeimage_5_link_8shapeimage_5_link_9shapeimage_5_link_10shapeimage_5_link_11shapeimage_5_link_12shapeimage_5_link_13shapeimage_5_link_14shapeimage_5_link_15shapeimage_5_link_16shapeimage_5_link_17shapeimage_5_link_18shapeimage_5_link_19shapeimage_5_link_20shapeimage_5_link_21


Current News

2007 Archive