Eastman Showcase 2008
Rhythm Ambassadors
In January 2008, John Beck, who recently retired as Eastman’s professor of percussion, and six Eastman students – seniors Kyle Acuncius, Christopher Slagle, Brian Heveron-Smith, and Richard Williams, and graduate students Robert Sanderl and Jacob Thieben – traveled to Bjelovar, Croatia, to participate in International Percussion Ensemble Week (IPEW). The Eastman Percussion Ensemble was invited by Igor Lesnik, professor of percussion at the Music Conservatory and a frequent guest at Eastman. The group’s concert program included music by alumni Phillip Mikula (BM ’97), Tom Nazziola (BM ’88), and Bob Becker (BM ’69, MM ’71).
Ensembles participating in IPEW were from the USA, Italy, Sweden, Belgium, France, and Croatia, and offered concerts and master classes. All the students joined in a mass ensemble for the last event of the festival. While in Eastern Europe, Beck and his students traveled to Zalec, Slovenia, to participate for one day in a similar percussion event, the Bumfest Festival.
(Photo credit: Jozo Lovric)