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diversions
Dance
to the beat of six different drummers
By Ryan Ritchie
Daily Forty Niner
Six student drummers
will show their stuff tonight when they perform with two professional
musicians in the Daniel Recital Hall at 8 p.m.
The show, titled
"Drums and Drummers," will be directed by Michael
Carney, a professor in the Cal State Long Beach music department,
and is the first drum concert of the semester.
The students will
take turns behind the drums, each playing a different song.
Students will be soloing, but not on every song.
"It doesn't
turn out to be this big drum battle where everyone is soloing,"
Carney said. "Thank goodness."
Joining the students
will be Steve Billman on bass and Rich Eames on piano. The
concert is a good way to showcase the different drummers on
campus as well as give these students experience before they
make the leap to becoming professionals.
"This is a
way to have Randy Drake, their drum set teacher, oversee them
in preparation for a concert performance," Carney said.
"What makes it really great is that we hire top name
piano players and bass players from Los Angeles to give the
students a chance to learn how to prepare for a concert with
top name professionals."
Students practice
with Drake every week throughout the semester. Two weeks prior
to the concert, the drummers meet the piano and bass player
and begin rehearsal for the show. The band gets only two full
practices and one dress rehearsal before taking the stage.
The second half
of the concert will feature percussion faculty members Drake,
Carney and Brad Dutz playing with the bass player and pianist
and will highlight numerous forms of music, Carney said.
"[The band
will] be doing a multitude of different types," Carney
said. "Everything from swing music to bebop to Latin
jazz to Brazilian to funk."
Singing with the faculty will be senior vocalist Zaniada
Stewart. She will be featured on four songs, two Brazilian
pieces and two jazz standards, Carney said.
The "Drums
and Drummers" concert is $8 for general admission and
$5 for students.
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