This article was written decades ago by Barbara’s marimba teacher, James Dutton, then Head of the Marimba Dept., American Conservatory of Music in Chicago. Now pulled from her marimba scrapbook, this music article adds to other historical articles on the Web about the marimba — one of the world’s oldest musical instruments.
An 1968 article found in Harry’s scrapbook on “Custom Percussion Instruments” is as relevant today as ever. Only now the suppliers in that article have been updated. It will be appreciated by percussionists of every age in all types of music today.
Fritz Reiner was Music Director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra between 1953-1962. In this excerpt from his book, SYMPHONIC PARADOX, former CSO percussionist Sam Denov tells what it was like to work with Fritz Reiner. “He had a penchant for constantly testing the musicians in his charge,” says Sam. “At times [. . .] Reiner would descend on any musician without warning, just to have some personal demonic fun. One never knew when it was going to be his ‘turn in the barrel’ as it came to be called, because it was like being a duck that was in a barrel; an easy target, so to speak.”
Chicago Symphony percussionist Jim Ross Jr. is the son of James Ross Sr., with whom Harry worked in the fifties when Fritz Reiner was Music Director. In this article, Jim shares fond memories of working with Harry in the seventies when he was just getting started as a professional musician, and also speaks about his dad and mom, a marimba soloist of note who died last year at 89.
Drummer Rich Sherrill remembers how dazzled he was by Liberace’s grand entrance at the show he was playing; so much so, in fact, that he almost forgot he was supposed to be playing his opening music.
