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…
Retired principal timpanist of the United States Navy Band, Dr. Guy Gauthreaux, has performed at the White House, and in five Inaugural parades for every United States president from Ronald Reagan to George W. Bush. Moreover, he has been a part of countless military ceremonies and concerts at the Pentagon, Arlington National Cemetery, the Tomb…
Dr. Stephen Crawford is the Principal Timpanist of the Temple Symphony Orchestra. He is also a Professor of Music History and the Director of Percussion Studies at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in Belton, Texas. Dr. Crawford earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music Education from Minot State University, a Master of Music Degree…
On April 6, 2020 the percussion world lost John Pratt. In honor of his memory, below is an interview I conducted with him on July 13, 2009 at his Hawthorne, New Jersey home. This was the first, and only time, I met with Mr. Pratt in person, and I found him to be a very…
Former President of the Percussive Arts Society, John R. Beck is a Professor of Percussion at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, and an Instructor at Wake Forest University. He is also the Principal Percussionist of the Winston-Salem Symphony, as well as a member of the Greensboro Symphony, the Brass Band of…
Born in Cordoba, Spain, Jesus Ramirez Fernandez is currently head of the percussion department at the Cordoba Professional Conservatory of Music. He began his musical training on the piano, and guitar, at the age of seven. And it was at the Cordoba Superior Conservatory of Music where he studied percussion with D. Enrique Baez, and…
Dr. Garwood Whaley’s affinity for percussion began in the eighth grade when he wanted to be the drummer of a newly formed band. But to do this, he had to overcome one obstacle: he needed to own a set of drums. Determined to join, he worked on a small farm over Easter break, and with…
Since childhood, Beth Gottlieb has been fascinated with percussion due to the multitude of instruments one can perform. Unfortunately, her parents disapproved because they viewed percussion as being unfeminine. In turn, she began her musical studies on the piano, violin and clarinet. But because of her persistence, her parents relented, and she was permitted to…
As a child, Todd Ukena would intently listen to his mother, Dorothy, play show tunes on the piano; thus crediting her for his love of music. It was in grade four, that he would follow in her foot-steps and began studying the piano, while wishing that he could play the snare drum. And…
Michael LaMattina studied percussion performance at Oberlin Conservatory of Music and Cleveland State University where he earned the degrees of Bachelor of Music and Master of Music respectively. In addition, he attended the Music Academy of the West; he was a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center; was a member of The Spirit of Atlanta…