The life of William J. Schinstine is one that can only be deemed as inspiring. He was born on December 16, 1922 and raised in Eaton, Pennsylvania. After high school, he attended the Eastman School of Music. Shortly thereafter, he was drafted into the army and suffered a terrible accident. During a training exercise, a grenade exploded causing him to lose the thumb and forefinger of his left hand. (Abbott)
With great determination to perform again, Mr. Schinstine devised a new grip with his remaining fingers and returned to Eastman, earning a Bachelor of Music Degree in 1945, and subsequently, a Master of Science Degree in Education from the University of Pennsylvania in 1962. He went on to perform in the percussion sections of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, and won the Principal Percussionist’s position with the San Antonio Symphony Orchestra, where he also served as an arranger.
Because of the demands placed on his disability, he resigned from the San Antonio Symphony, and settled into his wife’s hometown of Pottstown, Pennsylvania in the 1950’s. (Abbott) At the Pottstown School District he served as Director of Instrumental Music, taught band, general music, and percussion. (Fairchild) He also taught extensively at his private music studio, the S&S School of Music. Many of his students at S&S considered Mr. Schinstine to be an excellent educator, and one who always demonstrated that he cared about his students’ personal musical aspirations. (Abbott)
When not teaching, Mr. Schinstine focused much of his attention toward composing, arranging, and transcribing hundreds of works for percussion and concert band. In addition, he worked closely with his dear friend, Fred Hoey, creating and developing new compositions and method books. Hence, Mr. Schinstine became “widely known as a prolific composer of solo and ensemble music for the school percussionist.” (Fairchild) In addition, he was awarded Percussive Arts Society Composition Contest prizes in 1978 and 1980 for his Sonata #4 for Timpani and Percussion Ensemble, and his Recital Suite for Snare Drum. Mr. Schinstine also contributed to the profession by writing numerous articles for the Percussionist, Percussive Notes, PMEA News, MENC Journal, The Instrumentalist, Brass & Percussion, and by serving as a consultant to the New York State Department of Education, as well as on the Board of Directors for the Percussive Arts Society.
On January 3, 1986 Mr. Schinstine died in Allentown, Pennsylvania. And in 2002, he posthumously received the Percussive Arts Society’s Lifetime Achievement in Education Award. Thus, forever recognizing “the inspiration and training that his music has given and will continue to give to countless young percussionists throughout the world.” (Ibid)
In the late 1970’s, Dr. Louis Abbott studied with Mr. Schinstine at his S&S School of Music, and was kind enough to discuss his experiences with the man whom he considered to be a mentor. Dr. Abbott received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Temple University, and his Master of Musical Arts, and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from the University of Miami, concentrating in Jazz Percussion. His primary percussion teachers were: Alan Able, Glen Steele, Ron DiStephano, Steve Rucker, Steve Bagby, Fred Wickstrom, Sam Ulano, William Schinstine, Martin Galagarza, Wiso Santiago, and Douglas Floyd. His primary piano and composition teachers were: Ron Miller, Gary Lindsey, Whit Sidener, Jeff Laibson, John Valerio, and Benjamin Whitten.
Dr. Abbott has performed on over 20 albums and shared the stage with such artists as: Dizzy
Gillespie, Wynton Marsalis, The Woody Herman Band, The New World Symphony, Grady Tate, Kenny Werner, Jon Secada, Bruce Hornsby, Empire Brass, Randall Dollahan, Pete Minger, Nicole Henry, Danny and The Juniors, Jubilate Gospel Choir, Clarence Clemons, Yolanda Adams, Jesse Jones, Jr., Nicole Yarling, Greta Matassa, Ron Miller, Greg Hopkins, Raul Midon, David Amram, Joey Gilmore, Martin Bergerano, Susan Werner, Dan Goble, Jim McFalls, Howard Levy, Jonathan Kreisberg, George Noriega and Marcus Terrell. He also performed with the House Orchestra of the Actor’s Playhouse in Coral Gables, Florida, and was a House Musician for the Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood, Florida.
As an educator, Dr. Abbott was a Lecturer at the University of Miami, serving as its Drum Set Program Coordinator; as an Adjunct Professor at Miami-Dade Community College; as an Adjunct Professor at Florida Atlantic University; and as a Clinician for the IAJE Florida Chapter High School Jazz Weekend. Currently, he is an Adjunct Professor at Broward College, and Barry University, and serves as a Clinician for the Blaine Jazz Festival in Blaine, Washington. Moreover, his scholarly writings have been published in Percussive Notes and Creative Drummer.
What was your relationship with Mr. Schinstine?
I should mention how I met Bill. I placed first in my District Band audition in West Chester, PA as a Junior in high school by performing Schinstine’s “Synco Stix.” After attending LaSalle University in Philadelphia (Political Science – 1975-1977), I left school to tour with Danny Rapp of Danny and the Juniors. When I decided to return to college, I got in my car one day and drove all over Pottstown looking for The S&S School of Music at Keim and Buchert Roads – the address that appeared at the bottom of Bill’s article in Percussive Notes Magazine about “Roll Saturation.” Well, I found him and set up a lesson – we both were amazed to find out how much we had in common concerning the technical aspects of drumming. Turns out he had never heard anyone play “Syncho Stix” in a swing feel. I never knew that it was supposed to be done in a straight feel. Instant connection. He took me under his mentoring wing and here I am. While studying at the S&S School, Bill recommended that I review a recording of brush instruction by Sam Ulano for Percussive Notes. This was my first published piece and also led to weekly trips to New York for lessons with Sam. Bill also accompanied me to the Knoxville PAS Convention to work at the S&S booth where he introduced me to William Ludwig, Jr., Lenny DiMuzio of Zildjian and many other music business figures. I also attended every seminar possible, including one by Fred Wickstrom, my future percussion department chair at the University of Miami. I also had the opportunity to teach for Mr. Schinstine at his store until I moved to Philadelphia. This gave me the opportunity to be mentored by one of the greatest teachers I have ever encountered, particularly with early to intermediate students. He was incredibly astute at teaching beginners and was particularly proud of the fact that his Mel Bay Primer Book would be included in the snare drum setup that most students would purchase. Mel Bay at this time was the definitive elementary level publisher particularly for guitar and, after Schinstine, the drums.
What was the atmosphere like at the S&S School of Music?
The level of playing at the S&S School was extremely high. I performed in a percussion ensemble with students on their way to attending Eastman, Ohio State and Temple. The faculty was also very impressive consisting of former students that eventually moved on to faculty positions around the country. This was many years ago, so some names elude me, but I do remember Kimberly Howe, David Eisenhower, and some other first names. I also taught some beginners that later went on to Eastman. This was Bill’s real skill. He could coddle you, or rip you, depending on what you needed. He would always have a challenging piece around the corner, as well as a piece of the standard literature. He didn’t miss a trick, and had some of his own up his sleeve. S&S also offered instruction in piano and flute.
What was he like as a teacher?
He offered great advice from his desk at Keim and Buchert Roads. Bill was a mentor who seemed to care about each student’s individual path. He realized that I was an “older” student with some practical experience but almost no mallet background. As we progressed through our lessons, we found some other common ground in teaching, composition, and technical work. He was open to my ideas, and was the first to encourage me to write on the Square System of Drum Set Coordination, which was eventually the subject of my doctoral essay at the University of Miami. Bill knew (from placing at least one previous student) that Glenn Steele at Temple University was interested in adult players with practical experience. This is the only audition I took because if Bill recommended Temple–that was good enough for me. I won the drum set seat in the Jazz Band upon arriving and graduated four years later with the first degree awarded in Jazz/Commercial Music. We kept in touch throughout, although infrequently; Pottstown is quite a distance from North Philadelphia. I probably have Bill to thank more than anyone else for my educational career. I recall that he was usually quite pleasant during a lesson but you knew that he would not be happy if you arrived unprepared. Often he would go into a lengthy story about a percussive subject, student, or music business figure, but this was eventually interrupted by “Let’s get back to business.” His studio was also critical to a student’s development because he had four timpani (with tuning gauges), two full-size marimbas facing each other, a vibraphone, a Kelon marimba, a xylophone, and a drum set in one room. This meant that he was always playing along with you. Bill could access so many resources because of his diverse experience with students. He also could access the department heads of nearly every important university or college percussion program, because he had placed students there and/or met them through PAS. He knew what audition materials were essential to impressing an audition committee and his percussion ensemble materials (from standard literature to his own quirky compositions) gave me invaluable group experience. Occasionally, students from other percussion studios would drop in and play audition pieces. This was informal but seemed intended to introduce the student to Bill in a traditional manner. I recall students coming from distant places to play for Bill. His former students would also drop in during the summer months and holidays to perform the pieces that they were working on at school.
What areas of percussion did you study with him?
Bill prepared me for my audition with Glenn Steele at Temple. We worked on marimba, vibes, timpani, snare drum and percussion ensemble literature. I was advanced on the drum set so we dabbled in some of my ideas and his drum set book was written during my time there. He asked me to check it out and gave me an early version which I still cherish today. We also spent considerable time on composition since I was writing a lot back then. You also never knew what he had been writing the week before, but his students were often the subjects of his experiments.
What do you know about his disability?
Bill told me that during boot camp in the army, his hand was injured by an exploding hand grenade. This resulted in the loss of two fingers on his left hand, the thumb and forefinger. Rehabilitation was painful from the constant chafing and blisters as he developed fulcrums. I say fulcrums because he did play with two wound mallets in the hand as well as two timpani mallets on some of his own pieces. After being discharged, he returned to Eastman and finished his degree. He spoke infrequently about this, and often kept his left hand under his arm when meeting strangers. I did not realize he had this disability until our first lesson when he demonstrated on the snare drum. He played four-mallet timpani and marimba, as if there was nothing wrong. He told me that he finished school, auditioned, and subsequently joined, the National Symphony in Washington, D.C. This followed with him being offered the principal chair in San Antonio, where he met Fred Hoey and started his publishing career. He played everything he wrote, and often challenged himself with other composers as well. He did not shy away from anything to my knowledge. Kekio Abe, Mitchell Peters, John Beck – I heard him play it all because his students were at that level or striving for it. His wife’s longing to return home and perhaps, the realization that his disability would eventually overwhelm his career decisions in San Antonio, prompted the move to Pottstown. I also think that he sensed his impact as a teacher and author could be cultivated in a small-town setting. The opening of the S&S School of Music and teaching at the Junior High in Pottstown financed his aspirations. I never heard him say that he thought he could not compete because of his disability, and I am pretty sure that he could have handled the standard repertoire and beyond.
What motivated Schinstine to compose?
I think that Bill was motivated by his students to compose. However, he did seem to have a vision when it came to his projects. His Drum Set Etudes came out of the blue; he didn’t lay any of them on me until the entire book was done – and he was interested in commentary. This may have been his mode of work; don’t release anything until the project is finished. He also could compose quickly and for a specific event, such as a percussion ensemble piece for a holiday. I was amazed at how fast he could write chord structures and parts. He definitely heard them in his head first.
What do you find most appealing about his compositions?
His work was very syncopated and full of surprises. I felt that much of his work came from musical sources, not technical, and this is why it still survives and thrives today. Good music is timeless and Bill’s was always swinging and musical. If he composed an etude, you didn’t sense it, because there was so much else going on. Initially, you would browse the piece and think that it was easily playable. When you started (usually too fast) the challenges kicked in and he would just laugh as you struggled. His pieces took time to master and there was a lot of music to soak in as you struggled with the techniques required. Bill would often write percussion pieces for a specific “star” student. Many percussion ensemble compositions were showpieces for local performance at a mall or event in the area. I recall that he had a complete Christmas book, and many former students would join in at the concert just to help out and keep their reading chops up.
Did Mr. Schinstine object when a work of his was performed differently than he intended?
A story comes to mind. I worked up one of his very difficult snare pieces and came in ready to go at it. He stopped me before the first page, red-faced because I was not following the stickings. “Why do you think I wrote them?” he blurted. I’ll never forget that lesson. There was a lot to learn from his stickings, and his ability to write swinging material was uncanny.
What should percussionists know about his contribution to the Percussive Arts?
His snare drum solos (which are still commonly performed at national and international auditions); his timpani solos, and percussion ensemble works were some of the first to appear commercially. Bill was also one of the early supporters of the Percussive Arts Society (PAS), and felt obligated to write for them and attend the conventions. His articles ranged from technical discussions to off-the-wall commentary on a percussion subject. This may have led to some thinking he was eccentric and frivolous because he didn’t stray much from his little store in Pottstown, and could be very opinionated and folksy. I believe that he contributed to the gravitas of the magazine in the early stages. I recall him mentioning phone calls from editors looking for a quick article. I can also say that he read the magazine from cover to cover each month and advertised in it. I think he was ahead of his time in the area of percussion nomenclature; his work precedes the formal attempts at notation standardization. Bill told me that he was responsible for the buzz stroke nomenclature (the “z” that surrounds the quarter note) that is now in common usage. I should mention that Bill worked with a standard typewriter and a copy machine – no computer. One could only imagine what Bill would have done with the computer technology of today! Lastly, there was not a lot of complexity when he taught. He loved it and was proud as any father when his students succeeded. And I contend that I learned how to teach beginners from the best.
If you would like to learn more about Dr. Abbott, please visit his website at: www.singingdrummer.com
Bibliography
Fairchild, Frederick (ca. 1986). William J. Schinstine. Archives of the Percussive Arts Society, Indianapolis, IN.
