Mallet Shop Quarterly 11/2/03 11:02 PM Page 1

Transcription

Mallet Shop Quarterly
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Established in 1961
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Malletshop.com Quarterly is published 4 times a year. US subscriptions: $35 annually;
International subscriptions: $45 annually. For subscriptions, advertising and address
correction requests contact [email protected]. We welcome your comments and
feedback. Direct letters to the editor to [email protected].
A Look Back
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Deagan Histor y, Part 1 (1880-1916)
In Depth
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with Gilberto Serna
The first article in a three part series on the history,
life and passion of John Calhoun Deagan.
Artist Insight
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with Tom Sherwood
Featured Instruments
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Deagan 870 & 872 Xylophone
On the Road
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with Mike Dillon
...Next Issue Features
Deagan History continued & Parsifal Bells
Quarterly Staf f
Editor in Chief
Managing Editor
Shannon Wood
Meredith Lasher
Art Director
Web Designer
Edwin King
Mark Rossmore
Thank You
The Malletshop.com Quarterly gratefully acknowledges John Aldridge, Gilberto Serna
and the late Hal Trommer.
In addition, we extend our gratitude to our Quarterly subscribers for their support and
interest in the historical information we have to share; to our contributing writers whose
insight and assistance help sustain the legacy and preservation of vintage mallet
percussion instruments and timpani; and to our advertisers, whose support makes this
venture possible.
www.malletshop.com
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To understand the history of the J.C. Deagan Company
is to learn about the entrepreneurial man behind the namesake.
In this three-part series, we will explore the life of John Calhoun Deagan,
whose interests in mathematics, physics, music and the science of
acoustics, changed and shaped the world of music and percussion.
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John Calhoun Deagan was born November 6,
1851 in Hector, Tompkins County, New York.
He was the son of Irish immigrants Michael
and Mary Deagan. Shortly after his birth, the
Deagan family moved to Syracuse, New York,
and later to Youngstown, Ohio, when he was
nearing five years old.
The eldest of 10 siblings, J.C. Deagan went to
public schools in Youngstown and attended
Raines College. He was trained on clarinet
and was nationally recognized as an outstanding concert clarinetist by the age of twenty. In
1871, he enlisted in the US Navy and was stationed on the USS Brooklyn. His ship was
home ported in England, which allowed him to
study music at the University of London. He
attended a series of lectures by German physicist, Hermann von Helmholtz, whose principles of acoustics aroused Deagan’s interest
in the science of sound. By 1876, Deagan
was discharged from the Navy and returned to
He soon became one of the highest paid
musicians in America.
John Calhoun Deagan’s obsession with intonation would soon set him on a course from
musician to manufacturer, innovator and internationally respected entrepreneur. In 1880,
Deagan produced his first instrument, a scientifically designed and perfectly tuned glockenspiel. It all began, as the story goes, when a
theatre orchestra, which Deagan performed
with, introduced a glockenspiel for a unique
tonal effect in performance. The present day
glockenspiel was a crude instrument, virtually
untuned. It was used as a toy for children to
imitate, in miniature form, the large practice
claviers used by carilloneuers in Europe’s
cathedrals. Although it had been in use since
Mozart’s time, it was regarded more as a
sound effect than a musical instrument. The
discordant sounds rasping from the bars
offended Deagan’s sensitive ears, so he
...within a few months,
word spread throughout the music community about his
achievement and J.C.Deagan was now spending as much
time producing musical bells as he was fulfilling fper
ormance dates.
Youngstown as a carriage painter. He found
work as an orchestra leader at Niblo’s Garden
and at Tony Pastor’s in New York. Soon after,
he left Youngstown for St. Louis, Missouri,
where he became established as a musician,
teacher and music arranger. He served as the
Orchestra Director at the Opera House in
St. Louis and played in numerous theatre
orchestras, bands and in open-air concerts.
offered to improve upon the instrument. He
applied his intense study of the Helmholtz
principles by filing and grinding the steel bars
until the tuning was balanced across the scale
range. He also integrated his knowledge of
physics to design a method of attaching the
bars to the support frame for greater sound
projection. Within a few months, word spread
throughout the music community about his
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achievement and J. C. Deagan was now
spending as much time producing musical
bells as he was fulfilling performance dates.
Inadvertently, J. C. Deagan began his one-man
operation on 1004 Market Street, St. Louis,
Missouri. The year was 1880.
Deagan’s personal life was shaping into
design as well. On November 20, 1884, John
C. Deagan was married in Belleville, St. Clair
County, Illinois to Sophia Katherine Funcke,
daughter of Frederick Funcke, a cabinetmaker.
They would have four children: Jefferson
Claude; Frederick Waldo; Michael Roy, who
died in infancy; and Marion Vita. J. C. Deagan
and his wife, Sophia, spent a great deal of
time traveling. They visited relatives in Ireland
and traveled to many parts of the world eager
to discover and explore. His travels eventually
led him to Egypt and Greece to conduct
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research on the evolution of musical instrument design. His discoveries gave him inspiration for new instrument ideas and he soon
began experimenting with tuned brass tubes,
resulting in a patent in 1886 of the Cathedral
Chimes, a twenty-note-scale-range instrument
and the prototype of the Deagan Organ
Chimes, Clock Chimes, Door Chimes and
Tower Chimes yet to come.
J. C. Deagan continued to invest his performance and teaching earnings into his bell
manufacturing business and he soon turned
his efforts to another crude German instrument known as the Strohfiedel (straw fiddle).
This awkward instrument had four rows of
wooden blocks of indefinite pitch laced to a
frame with braided raffia fiber, hence the
name. After lengthy research Deagan replaced
the dull sounding pine and maple blocks with
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...the age of
percussion instruments was
dawning with vigor, along with
the pressures and demands to
expand operations.
tropical rosewood. Deagan devoted extensive
study to determining the appropriate wood to
use. He selected rosewood because of its brilliance, crisp response and durability. He also
designed a floor rack to accommodate standing players, mounted the tone bars in standard piano-key arrangement with accidentals
overlapping the naturals and added tubular
brass resonators underneath the tone bars for
greater projection. The J.C. Deagan xylophone,
the first orchestral quality xylophone of its
kind, was conceived. Within two decades, the
Deagan xylophone would become an essential
percussion voice in Vaudeville acts, bands and
orchestras around the world.
Records indicate that between 1891-1897
Deagan continued to perform, write arrangements and teach while supplying his bells and
xylophones to performers and orchestras. By
1893, he was also supplying tuned sleigh
bells, hand bells, staff bells and tuned pipes
for organs. On June 24, 1893, J. C. Deagan,
his wife and seven-year-old Jefferson Claude,
left St. Louis by rail for Los Angeles and continued to San Pedro. In September, they settled in San Francisco. A sign painted on the
transom of their rented home constituted the
first official advertising for J. C. Deagan
Musical Bells (November, 1894). His playing
engagements in leading theaters, parks, circuses, parades and public events augmented
and he soon became director of the Catalina
Island Band in 1893. Although J. C. Deagan
was one of the highest paid musicians in the
U. S. at this time, his business was producing
more income than his performance career
and the decision to move again led the family
across the country, arriving in Chicago, Illinois
on September 18, 1897.
The company found its new home at 358
North Dearborn Street and was in full operation by October 1, 1897. Still a cottage industry, the growing list of customers for the
expanding line of instruments increased. In
the spring of 1898, gas for heating and electric lights replaced coal and oil lamps. Deagan
rented a safety vault in the Monadnock
Building and the following November rented a
manufacturing machine shop space. The outfit then moved to 2419 Wabash Avenue. By
mid 1899, J. C. Deagan had obtained numerous patents, copyrighted his first catalog and
began regular advertising in entertainment
publications in the U.S. and England.
Prosperity blossomed and on May 1, 1900,
the family moved into a new home at 459
State Street.
The steady introduction of new products propelled J. C. Deagan Musical Bells into the
20th Century on a rising tide of success with
a hallmark of unique instrument types, precision tuning and quality craftsmanship, along
with many notable artists in the performing
Your source for vintage mallet percussion instruments and timpani
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circuits using Deagan instruments. The new
products were mostly novelty type instruments such as steel marimbaphones, aluminum chimes, tuned metal bamboos and
cowbells, musical coins and musical rattles.
The age of percussion instruments was dawning with vigor, along with the pressures and
demands to expand operations.
the function of the factory departments, was
now 20 and was made General Plant Manager.
In 1908 he married his secretary, Ella Smith.
With J. Claude supervising the factory and
Sophia, Ella and a bookkeeper handling office
routines, John C. Deagan began to find time to
accept invitations to lecture on acoustics at universities. He began what would become a personal, worldwide campaign to establish A=440
Chicago’s mid north side was sparsely settled
as the international standard for musical pitch.
when J. C. Deagan Musical Bells occupied its
With the rising demand for new types of percusnewly built two-story factory building on May 1,
sion instruments from the concert bands, sym1904. It was locatphony orchestras
ed at 2157 North
and the burgeoning
Clark Street at
Vaudeville market,
Grace Street, later
steady growth and
readdressed
as
profitability allowed
3808. The company
J.C. Deagan to enterbegan hiring German,
tain the idea of a
Polish and Swedish
larger manufacturing
immigrant craftsman
space to facilitate
to increase producdevelopment and
tion to meet rising
production. In 1911,
demands. Among
J. C. Deagan acquired
Deagan Factory, circa 1911
the newly hired was
ownership of a new
a young German lad
five-story elevator
from Wisconsin, Henry J. Schluter, whose
building with a clock tower under construction
alert, curious and hardworking nature caught
at Berteau and East Ravenwood Avenue in
the eye of the observant J. C. Deagan.
what was the printing and typesetting district
Deagan moved Schluter from maintenance
of Chicago. Soon advertisements stated
and assigned him as his apprentice to learn
Deagan to be the largest musical instrument
tuning. Schluter mastered tuning principles at
factory in the world. The factor y was
his workstation by day and during off-hours
equipped with an 8,000 square foot machine
digested the extensive Helmholtz volume on
shop, a 5,000 square foot wood shop with
acoustics On the Sensations of Tone as a
its own wood-curing kilns, a polishing, buffing
Physiological Basis for the Theory of Music
and plating department, modern spray finish(1862), under J. C Deagan’s guidance. Schluter
ing facility and more than 30,000 square
excelled in the craft and was named Head
feet reserved for assembly operations, mateTuner just a few years later.
rial storage, engineering and design offices,
and shipping and receiving. The company
J. Claude, J.C. Deagan’s son, who had been
was now capable of enormous growth and
brought into the business to work and master
greater world recognition.
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From 1912-1914 scores of new model
instruments were designed and manufactured. This era introduced flat top orchestra
bells, parsifal and roundtop bells, the 870
and 872 model xylophones and marimbaphones. Chimes for pipe organs, orchestras,
hall clocks, altars and home use, and electric instruments were born. An even larger
array of novelty instruments in tuned scale
ranges were produced. The marking
“Nagaed” was introduced to identify premium Honduran rosewood and a second
wood, Klyposerus, a Caribbean cocobolo
wood, was used for its exceptional brilliance and extreme durability. Another mark
of this era was Deagan’s persuasion of the
American Federation of Musicians, at its
annual convention, to adopt A=440 as the
standard universal pitch for orchestras and
bands thereby settling a question which
had long agitated musical circles. At the
request of the U.S. Bureau of Standards,
Deagan supplied a set of tuning forks for
radio research and other purposes, giving
accurate pitch intervals from 100 to 2,000
vibrations per second. Deagan precision
tuning forks and tuning bars were now
established as the tuning standard of the
world. J. C. Deagan, through his frequent
and far-ranging lecture and consulting activities, earned the reputation as the world’s
greatest acoustician and highest authority
in matters pertaining to pitch.
Between 1914-1916, the company reached
its maximum level in diversity of products.
The Deagan master catalog, 1 1/4” thick,
listed more than a thousand separate catalog numbers of manufactured products, covering over 600 distinct items. Forty percent
of the item numbers were alternates to dis-
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tinguish between low-pitch and high-pitch
tuning. The catalog included 63 separate
models of orchestra bells differing in bar
size, types of steel, scale range, and case
styles; 80 different xylophones from 2 to 4
1/2 octave scale ranges, various bar widths
in a choice of two woods, and floor racks in
a variety of designs; 50 individual models of
marimbaphones, marimba-xylophones, and
nabimbas scaling up to five octaves; 60
separate models of Cathedral Chimes for
both orchestra and organ use offering four
tube diameters, choice of racks and mountings; electrically-played instruments, including the single bar una-phone and dual bar
octa-phone in 12 to 56 note scale ranges
which were sounded by vibrating electricaction mallets from a piano-type keyboard;
hundreds of entries covering unique novelty
percussion instruments, accessories and
tuning devices, and 24 individual tuning
forks in 4 pitches. Scores of patents were
obtained on new instrument designs and
mechanical features to protect the Deagan
innovations from other enterprises beginning to enter the mallet percussion field.
On April 14, 1916, J. C. Deagan Musical
Bells incorporated, marking an era of
progress and prosperity. Officers of the corporation were John Calhoun Deagan,
President, J. Claude Deagan, Vice President
and Ella L. Deagan, Secretary. They would
head up the team that set the company into
full bloom in the ensuing decade.
History of Deagan,
Part 2 (1916-1939) next issue
Written by Shannon Wood
With source material from: The Chronology of the
J. C. Deagan Company, Hal Trommer and Gilberto Serna
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F
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A
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T
U
R
E
D
I N S T R U M E N T
Deagan No. 870 • Manufactured from 1910 - 1932
BETWEEN 1888 AND 1910 JOHN CALHOUN DEAGAN DEVELOPED
THE FIRST XYLOPHONE OF ORCHESTRAL QUALITY.
XYLOPHONES
WERE
LARGELY
CUSTOM
MADE
TO
THESE
ARTISTS’
SPECIFICATIONS: SCALE RANGE, BAR SIZE AND FLOOR RACK
HEIGHTS.
MODEL NUMBERS WERE NOT IN USE UNTIL 1910-
1912 EXPLAINING WHY SOME OF THE EARLY DEAGANS DID
NOT HAVE ANY MODEL STAMPINGS.
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Between
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1914-1918
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Deagan
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offered
Honduran rosewood bars, complete with
approximately 80 varied xylophone models.
resonators mounted on Deagan floor racks.
The most popular 3.5 octave model was the
Deagan labeled their finest Honduran rose-
Deagan No. 870, manufactured between
wood “Nagaed” (Deagan spelled back-
1910-1932. Originally Deagan offered all of
wards). Even though all the rosewood used
their instruments in French Diapason low
was superior, only the absolute premium
pitch A=435, Old English high pitch A=454
rosewood received the “Nagaed” branding.
or American Standard high pitch A=461.
This marking appeared up until the 1930s.
However, after the adoption of A=440 as
The stand pictured has been updated to
the standard pitch by the American
Deagan specs and is not an original Deagan
Federation of Musicians in 1917, followed
wheel based stand. The bars rest on oak
by the U.S. Bureau of Standards in 1922,
key beds cushioned by a strip of felt. The
Deagan instruments were only offered in
floor racks are seamless steel tubing with
A=440 pitch. Some xylophones were spe-
slip joints eliminating screws and rivets.
cial ordered in B-flat for concert bands,
The stands were triple plated in nickel,
eliminating the need to rearrange or trans-
brass and chrome in the later years. The
pose B-flat coronet and clarinet parts that
trademark endplates bear the Deagan com-
were to be played on the xylophone. The
pany name and location. This instrument
Deagan No. 870 pictured to the left is a 44
originally sold for $75 dollars. Today a
bar, 3.5 octave, F-C professional xylophone
restored Deagan No. 870 with updated
with 1 5/8” x 15/16” uniform “Nagaed”
frames can sell as high as $3400.
A FEW OF THE ORCHESTRAS AND
PLAYERS WHO USE THE DEAGAN NO. 870
Brian Mount, Principal Percussionist, Minnesota Symphony
Tom Sherwood, Principal Percussionist, Atlanta Symphony
John Shaw, Principal Percussionist, Florida Orchestra
Jim Dallas, Principal Percussionist, Naples Philharmonic
Rob Slack, Principal Percussionist, Pacific Symphony
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F
E
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A
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T
U
R
E
D
I N S T R U M E N T
Deagan No. 872 (4 octave version of 870) • Pictured above is the basic “A” frame
J.C. DEAGAN DEVOTED EXTENSIVE STUDY AND RESEARCH TO THE
DEVELOPMENT OF THE CONCERT XYLOPHONE. HE SELECTED
ROSEWOOD BECAUSE OF ITS BRILLIANT SOUND, DESIGNED A
FLOOR RACK TO ACCOMMODATE STANDING PLAYERS, MOUNTED
THE TONE BARS IN STANDARD PIANO-KEY ARRANGEMENT AND
ADDED TUBULAR BRASS RESONATORS UNDERNEATH THE TONE
BARS FOR GREATER PROJECTION. THE J.C. DEAGAN XYLOPHONE
WAS THE FIRST ORCHESTRAL QUALITY INSTRUMENT OF ITS KIND.
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The Deagan No. 872 was manufactured
The No. 865 is a three-octave instrument,
between 1910-1932. This xylophone spanned
encompassing the upper three octaves of
4 octaves C-C. Some of the very early mod-
the No. 872. The No. 866 offered three-
els have graduated bars while the majority of
octaves as well; however, it spanned the
them have uniform bars. This may have
middle three octaves of the No. 872. The
been a result of the pre-numbering years.
No. 869, also a thee-octave, offered the
Hal Trommer, former Deagan head of sales
lower three octaves of the No. 872. This
and marketing, noted that the numbering
variety of xylophone models with differing
system stemmed from very early artist
scale ranges was a result of the many
design requests. Consequently, a few mod-
demands and requests made to Deagan by
els with 1910 origination dates were num-
individual artists. Pictured to the left is an
bered models of unnumbered designs origi-
original basic “A” frame, also referred to as
nating in prior years. Those 872s that exist-
a “Y” frame or straight leg frame. Deagan
ed with graduated bars could have been ear-
did not manufacture wheel based xylo-
lier unnumbered designs. The graduated
phone stands until 1923. From 1923-1932
bars were 2” x 15/16” to 1 5/8” x 15/16”.
both the Deagan No. 870 and No. 872
The uniform bar designs are identical to the
w e re manufactured with wheel based
No. 870 models. Deagan also offered this
frames with hardwearing, seamless slip
instrument in other desired scale ranges.
joint tubing.
A FEW OF THE ORCHESTRAS AND
PLAYERS WHO USE THE DEAGAN NO. 872
Florida Philharmonic Orchestra
Minnesota Symphony Orchestra
Pacific Symphony Orchestra
Kevin Watson, Minnesota Symphony
Jim Babour, Los Angeles Philharmonic
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in depth
with Gilberto Serna
It is a warm summer day in Chicago as I climb the stairs to
the 2nd floor of the old Deagan building that sits where it
always has on 1770 W. Berteau. In 1911, this building was
teaming with a manufacturing workforce, but the building
has since been parceled out for rentals. Today I will meet
Gilberto Serna, an immigrant who came to this building in
May 1968, and met his life’s work.
At the entrance to Century Mallet
having a girlfriend whom he wanted to marry
Instrument Service, I press the keyboard by the
door that rings 1907 Deagan church chimes
would get in the way of him joining the priesthood. Serna’s father was actively involved in the
that Serna has restored to be his doorbell. He
opens the door wearing a smile, a lab coat and
well-worn hands. He invites me into his world,
Catholic Church and his disappointment over his
son’s departure from seminary caused divide.
Serna fled Colombia to clear his mind and came
pours me a glass of his favorite wine (merlot)
and his stories flow.
to Chicago at the suggestion of a friend from
seminary school.
As a young man, Serna attended seminary
school. Early on in his training, he realized that
On his third day in the U.S., Serna walked by the
Deagan building where he went in and asked for
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work. Speaking virtually no English, the twenty-
his wife, Beatriz, who was also working at the
one year old asked if there was any work available. The desk clerk voiced that there were no
Deagan factory.
positions open. Serna responded, “I need to
work. I don’t care what I have to do but I need to
work.” The desk clerk talked with the manager
Initially Serna trained under Henry J. Schluter,
Deagan’s Master Tuner. However, Serna learned
most of his tuning skills from Paul Sobinsky who
who came and met Serna. The manager said,
“These are the kind of people we need, people
had trained under Schluter. Serna notes, “In
fact, Paul Sobinsky tuned for me until 2001. He
who really want to work.” On that day, a man
walked through the Deagan factory doors who
would embrace the company and later build a
is still living but age has made it difficult for him
to continue tuning.”
future of his own.
The instruments were originally tuned by ear and
with tuning forks until the 1930s. The Deagan-o-
Serna was hired as a “floater”. He picked up
shifts in every department for sick employees or
where additional assistance was needed to
Meter, a J.C. Deagan invention, was also used.
Remarkably, Schluter used only his ear to tune
until Conn developed the Stroboconn in the
move production along. This entry-level job
taught him all aspects of the manufacturing
1930s.
process including design, tuning, assembly and
shipping.
Serna frequently wrote to his girlfriend back
home in Manizales, Colombia. However, just
seven months after his arrival in the U.S., the
letters from his girlfriend stopped arriving; she
had married another man. Broken hearted and
with no reason to return to Colombia, Serna
decided to stay in the U.S. where he continued
to learn the ropes at Deagan. Serna reflects,
“It was the best thing that could have happened because I floated from the machine
shop, to the wood shop, to the chime department and to assembly. In one year, I learned
more than employees who had been working
there for twenty years. After a year, I was
offered a position with the assembly department on the third floor and there I learned tuning from the Masters.” Things turned around in
Serna’s personal life too. He met and married
Gilberto Serna
Century Mallet Instrument Service
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Within his first year of working at Deagan, Serna
Slingerland needed Serna for the company’s
knew he had found his life’s passion.
Witnessing and experiencing the realization of
relocation to Niles, Illinois, and they unwillingly
accepted his newfound company. Slingerland
an instrument from a simple drawing to the final
assembly gave him inspiration and satisfaction.
Serna recalls, “When I started we were building
allowed Serna to continue developing Century
Mallet while concurrently staying on board to
see them through their transition.
the series 900 xylophones. We were manufacturing the Diana Deluxe marimbas, the Aurora
Slingerland’s move to Niles in 1981 ultimately
and Commander vibraphones, and the 1558
glockenspiels. The most popular instruments:
No. 870s, No. 145s, and No. 40 Diana were all
proved to be the end of Deagan. The Deagan
employees were cast into a corner of the building, segregated and disregarded. It seemed
made before I started and had ended production by the beginning of the 1940s, some earli-
that the goal was to bury the Deagan name. In
1983, Slingerland sold Deagan to Larry Rasp
er. They needed service and Deagan wasn’t providing this. Deagan would simply trade them in
and scrap the instruments.” This void would
who filed Chapter 11 just one year later.
Yamaha then salvaged the ruins by buying out
the company and has since owned the Deagan
eventually lead to Serna’s formation of Century
Mallet Instrument Service.
name. The remaining inventory was later sold
to Serna and much of the machinery sold to the
Ross Corporation.
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When J.C. Deagan died in 1932, his daughterin-law, Ella Deagan, became President along
When Serna started Century Mallet, he worked
with her son, John C. “Jack” Deagan, as Vice
President. In 1969, the business was sold to
out of the former Deagan building rent-free by
the grace of the landlords Gerhart and Maria
Barry Carroll. However, Jack Deagan stayed on
as President until his death in 1973. The company passed through several hands: McMillan
Kolb, without whom he could not have succeeded. He traveled from Niles after hours to the former Deagan factory to service instruments in
and Conn Corporations, and then to Slingerland
in 1978. Progressively various owners reduced
need. He did most of his work with small hand
tools and utilizing minimal machinery that
the quality of the instruments and enjoyed the
profits instead of continuing the legacy of quality for which the Deagan instruments were
Slingerland discarded and which Serna salvaged from a dump. In 1983, Serna left
Slingerland to run Century Mallet around the
known.
clock. He describes this as his fondest memory during his time with Deagan: “The day I split
In 1980, the same year Deagan celebrated 100
years in business, Serna founded Century
Mallet to service and restore these legendary
the company after seeing it going down the
drain.” He was 33 years old when he made that
move. Soon many came to him for service. His
instruments. Slingerland had now owned
Deagan for two years and saw Serna’s compa-
first customers were the Chicago Symphony
and the Air Force Band. By 1990, his business
ny as a conflict of interest. Nevertheless,
was booming.
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Today Serna lives a rich life commenting,
what I’m doing. You can’t preser ve anything
“Ever ything is fulfilled and life is more than
I dreamed it would be.” He is a walking
by throwing out the par ts. If you want to
preser ve, then you need to restore.”
encyclopedia of all things Deagan from the
company’s histor y and the evolution of the
instruments, to the J.C. Deagan family.
Serna’s love for his work is evident by the
smile he wears, the same one that greeted
While he does not play an instrument, his
passion for the instruments he revives is
me at the door just a few hours earlier. His
spirit is as young as ever and his days are
overwhelming. He says he believes in preser ving the legacy of vintage instruments,
“by restoring them and by continuing to do
still long. He exclaims, “Since my first day
here, I have always been the first to come
to work and the last to leave and I’m that
way to this day.”
Serna walks me down the stairs that he has
climbed for most of his life. The summer
sun is slowly melting into the summer sky
and in the distance I see his car, the only
one left in the lot. It reminds me of Serna
echoing the words of his first manager at
Deagan, “These are the kind of people we
need, people who really want to work.” We
depart, fatigued from the wine, souls slightly richer from the stories. And on that day, a
man walked through the Deagan factory
doors who embraced a company and indeed
built a future of his own.
Interview and ar ticle by Meredith Lasher
Advertise and
Reach your audience!
EMAIL: [email protected]
11/2/03
11:02 PM
Page 25
artist|insight
Tom Sherwood, Principal Percussionist
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
Tom Sherwood comes from what most of
us would consider an ideal hometown.
Surrounded by the relaxations and beauty
of the country, yet only an arm’s length
from a cultural Mecca, Washington D.C.,
life can leave very little left to desire. Tom
grew up in a middle class house in the suburbs of Virginia. His father played the
drums as a young man and his grandmoth-
24
er was a professional jazz pianist and
entertainer. His brother also played the
drums, so it was a natural thing for him to
follow. Tom gravitated to percussion early
on, drawn by the military bands and rudimental drumming around D.C. He studied
with two different teachers, both whom
were more rudimentary minded: Marshall
Malley and later Gary Rockwell, who played
11/2/03
11:02 PM
Page 26
in the Army Band. Although youth orchestras and summer music camps were never
part of his upbringing, his ensemble experience came from the concert band programs around the city. An interest in
orchestral playing did not come into play
until his college years. While at University
of Illinois, Tom was heavily into contemporary literature and focused primarily on
marimba. His path to perform with contemporary ensembles was diverted half way
through college when his instructor, Tom
Siwe, suggested that he look into orchestral performance because he thought he
would be good at it. After a summer of
drum corps, Tom attended the Aspen
Music Camp and studied with Doug Howard
and Tom Stubbs. Aspen engraved a memorable moment that remained a lasting
impression with Tom. That moment was
the triangle part to Rimsky-Korsakov’s
Russian Easter Overture. That opened up a
new world for Tom, a fascination with subtleties and nuances that would shape his
path into the discovered world of concert
percussion. After that summer it was clear
that orchestral percussion found another
recruit. Tom went on after graduation to
study with Alan Abel at Temple University,
which is where we first crossed paths, and
where our conversation begins today.
Acceptance into the Temple grad program
is an accomplishment in and of itself.
There are only three grads chosen a year,
and, at one time, it was limited to only two.
Tom: I loved going to Temple. There was a
great group of guys there at the time. I
learned a lot from all of them. Studying
with Abel meant everything to me. He has
influenced so much of what I do today.
He’s Obi-Wan. I still call him for advice. The
thing that amazes me is that he is still trying to think of different ways to hit a snare
drum, even though he’s been retired for
several years now. That commitment to
playing well is really inspiring to me. If it
weren’t for him I wouldn’t have a job today.
New World Symphony was the next stop
along the way.
Tom: My years at NWS helped prepare me
for my job with the Atlanta Symphony. It was
a great place to experiment with all the
things I had practiced and learned from my
teachers. We per formed a really wide range
of music there - everything you could think
of - plus we made recordings and toured the
world ever y year. You couldn’t ask for a better environment to learn in. One of the best
things about that place was the energy
everyone played with. It was infectious. We
all pushed each other to be better. I think
it’s fantastic to see how many New World
alumni have orchestra jobs.
Tom shares a few words about the years
between New World and the Atlanta
Symphony job.
Tom: After New World I spent a year or so
floundering around South Florida. I took
about half a year off from playing to figure
out what I really wanted to do with my life. I
did a lot of odd jobs and office work until I
got hooked up with the Naples Philharmonic.
If it hadn’t been for that orchestra and the
support Jim Dallas, the Principal Percussionist,
gave me, I would have probably given up on
the whole thing. After being in New World for
11/2/03
11:02 PM
Page 27
three years, it was great to get away from
such an intense environment and get a different perspective on everything. It helped
me to stop being so uptight and just enjoy
playing music. After several years of taking
auditions, I finally won the principal position
in Atlanta in 1999. I had an agreement with
my wife that I would give myself until the age
of 30 to win a position in an orchestra. I was
29 when I got this job.
We digress to a discussion about his diverted path from contemporary to classical
music
Tom: Contemporary literature was my focus
at one time, but I still have plenty of opportunities to per form it. Actually, Rober t
Spano programs a lot of contemporary
music for the ASO, which is great for the
percussion section, and I recently joined a
local chamber group called Bent Frequency.
Jessica, my wife, is a flutist and we constantly plan things to perform together as
well. I found time last season to perform
the Rosauro marimba concerto arranged for
percussion ensemble with this amazing
local high school group. I’m constantly
preparing pieces whether or not I’m performing them because I really enjoy it and it
keeps me learning new things.
The conversation shifts to keeping the creative juices flowing.
Tom: I get inspiration from so many different places. I read a lot, watch films, listen
to as many different kinds of music as possible. My position in the orchestra gives me
plenty of opportunities to keep learning and
26
growing. One thing this job has opened me
up to is the need to develop my ethnic percussion chops. When we have Pops concer ts, I’m constantly playing djembe, congas, and bodhran. I’ve really taken to playing congas, which is a little sad because
living in South Beach would have been a
great place to learn. It’s always when you
leave a place that you recognize the things
you could have benefited from and utilized
later in life. I did study tablas with Pandit
Sharda Sahai at his summer camp in
Miami. That’s a beautiful instrument. I
11/2/03
11:02 PM
Page 28
wish there were more oppor tunities to perform on it.
We find ourselves talking about life in the
“Bible Belt”.
Tom: Atlanta is great; it’s a fun city to live
in. Lots of trees, not far from the country,
people are very friendly and the musical
scene is thriving. There is a nice vibe here
with the new orchestra hall on the way. I
was lucky enough to serve on a committee
on are relatively new: tambourines, cymbals, triangles, and snare drums. It’s nice
to have something with some history. My
first xylophone was a Deagan No. 924. At
that time there really wasn’t a place you
could go to and find vintage mallet percussion instruments. It was mainly by word of
mouth. Since then, I’ve bought a 4 octave
Leedy No. 652, a Deagan No. 870 and a
set of Deagan Roundtops No. 1229 for the
orchestra. Parsifals are next on the list.
There is such a difference and richness in
“It’s attractive playing on a 100-year-old instrument,
like driving a vintage VW or Mustang... It’s great that
we have these instruments around still and that there
are those who are dedicated to preserving them.”
to select an architect to design our new
symphony center. The guy we chose,
Santiago Calatrava, has designed this gorgeous building. I think it will be one of the
best halls in the countr y. The city is becoming a very hip place to live. There’s an interesting mix of people and cultures here. The
whole “southern hospitality” thing is quite
nice. This is probably one of the friendliest
orchestras I’ve ever encountered.
We gravitate to a conversation about
the craze for vintage mallet percussion
instruments.
Tom: It’s attractive playing on a 100-yearold instrument, like driving a vintage VW or
Mustang. Most of the instruments we play
tone when you hear a vintage Deagan or
Leedy. It’s great that we have these instruments around still and that there are those
who are dedicated to preserving them.
Since 1992, Tom and I seem to have unintentionally paralleled our paths: from Temple to
New World Symphony, to Naples Philharmonic
and then each to our own principal positions:
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Florida
Philharmonic Orchestra. Through each changing phase one thing has stayed constant, his
goodwill and kindness. And from a glimpse
into the life of Tom Sherwood, it is clear that
goodwill smiles back in bounty.
Interview and Article by Shannon Wood
11/2/03
11:02 PM
Page 29
With Mike Dillon
Critters Buggin, The Black Frames, Malachy Papers, Karl Denson’s Tiny
Universe, Garage A Trois, The Hairy Apes BMX, Les Claypool’s Frog Brigade,
The Polyphonic Spree. The common thread between each of these ensembles is Mike Dillon. His talent as a percussionist has kept him busy on
stages and in studios all over the world. His latest project is the marimba
and vibe driven instrumental propulsion of The Black Frames, where he performs with his Critters Buggin band mates Brad Houser and Skerik along
with Earl Harvin. As The Black Frames prepare for a West Coast tour that
kicks off on Friday, December 13th in Seattle and ends at the Great Belly
Up Tavern in Solano Beach on December 18th, Mike takes a breather to
share a bit of his life with us.
Mike Dillon: I started playing vibes heavily back in ‘94, though I’ve been a mallet
player since I was 10 years old. For me,
being a drummer, I was always intimidated
by writing music. I’d have little ideas here
and there and I was all excited if my band
mates would use one of them. Now that
I’ve been practicing the vibraphone, my
piano that I play with mallets, my harmonic
knowledge has grown and continues to
grow everyday. This has made me more
comfortable with writing.
Today Mike has such a strong presence as
a composer with The Black Frames. It is
one of the biggest challenges he faces:
approaching the roles of musician and
composer.
Mike Dillon: I really love being a percussionist. With Critters I get to be involved in
28
a few writing sessions. With The Black
Frames I have much more license to create. The compositional aspects are challenging but it’s still fun to sit down and
play. When I was in college I played in a
percussion ensemble for about a year. The
Dean of the music school had this group
called the Doc’s Ensemble comprised of
the graduate and doctoral students. They
played Zappa pieces and crazy progressive
rock pieces in addition to the traditional
classical repertoire. The visual power of
the whole stage full of percussion instruments was such a sensory experience. I
remember commenting to Earl that it would
be cool to start a percussion ensemble
that toured and played rock clubs.
That eventually materialized. Just last
year Mike bought a vintage marimba
along with a few other vintage mallet
n
11/2/03
11:02 PM
Page 30
instruments: Deagan No. 1123 Roundtops
and Deagan Chimes.
Mike Dillon: I love my Deagan Roundtops.
They sound amazing and the feel of the
instrument is wonderful. I feel honored taking the Deagan legacy to the rock, jazz and
modern instrumental worlds I visit. I love
the tone of my single row Deagan Chimes.
I appreciate the convenience of being able
to take the notes I need to the gig. I look
forward to acquiring a pre-70s Deagan
Vibraphone soon. I’m grateful that the universe has granted me the license to
own nice instruments.
The discussion shifts to instrumental music as a viable force in live
music.
Mike Dillon:
Just seeing what
Medeski Martin
& Wood did
when they came
on the scene
was an inspiration. It seemed as if
you always had to have a singer
front a band if you were going to
make money. But then we started
to see other bands touring the rock
markets that were making money. That was
really exciting. I saw Tortoise in Paris when
I was on tour with the Malachy Papers.
They are another example of success as an
instrumental band. I’ve always liked what
that band has done. They’ve managed to
find a way to translate instrumental music
to a new generation of people who are not
likely to pick up a jazz record. They’ve
found a way to connect with young people.
That’s what is cool about Tortoise because
they’ve captured the indie rock crowd. Now
the jam band kids who see MMW are going
out to buy Sun Ra records. They’re checking out all the artists that inspired these
guys and you realize that there is a real
power to influence people as a musician.
Performing jazz standards in a band like
Medeski Martin & Wood is a pointer to people to expand their musical world.
I remember when I first got on board with
Critters Buggin; I was blown away that
there were 400 - 500 people at our shows
watching three guys jam instrumental
music. In not so subtle ways it gives you
hope that people do want something different than what gets shoved down their
throats all the time. I do think the jam band
crowd is intelligent. I talk to kids
after shows and they’re into seriously diverse music. They bring up the
Art Ensemble of Chicago records.
Twenty-year-old kids ask me if I’ve
heard a particular Art Ensemble
album. It’s great
that they refer
back to the real
stuff. M’Boom
is a percussion
ensemble perf o r m i n g
Thelonious Monk tunes with vibes
and bass line timpani. I never cease
to be amazed at the incredible
recordings I just haven’t discovered
yet. There’s always something just
around the corner waiting to blow my mind.
Mike reveals how wearing costumes has
been an integral element in his various
ensembles.
Mike Dillon: Skerik is a hardcore Funkadelic
fan so any band that comes out in freaky
clothes is good by him. You have to have a
natural love of the costume. I remember
Skerik relayed seeing pictures of ParliamentFunkadelic when he was in fifth grade and
thinking how cool it was because they were
like Kiss. The Sun Ra Orchestra always
dressed up too, as well as Primus. I enjoy
wearing costumes. It frees you up from your
11/2/03
11:02 PM
Page 31
ego. When you have a costume it transforms
you into another person. You can step outside of yourself and really hone in to the
giant musical antenna in the sky. It’s a way
to get your own ego out of the way of the col-
Mike Dillon is one of those souls who
relates to the world through a filter of
notes, sounds and ideas from the great
invisible world of music. His enthusiasm
for everyone he plays with is palpable and
I feel honored taking the Deagan legacy to the rock, jazz and modern
instrumental worlds I visit... I’m grateful that the universe has granted
me the license to own nice instruments.
lective musical consciousness of the
moment. One thing we like to do on the road
is seek out costume shops. One neat place
we found in the Bay Area is Piedmont, a
strange shop on Haight Street that caters primarily to exotic dancers and ‘80s hair metal
casualties. There are a lot of funky people
and places you come across on the road.
the sheer joy he brings to the making of
music is infectious. Spend even a little
time in his company and you are bound to
walk away feeling more connected with the
things you hear. It is a gift and one that I
hope we all enjoy for many more years.
Interview and Article by Shannon Wood
11/2/03
11:02 PM
Page 32

Mallet Shop Quarterly 11/2/03 11:02 PM Page 1

Transcription

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