BMus (Wilfrid Laurier University)
Christopher Hull is a percussionist and ethnomusicologist whose work focuses on tensions between tradition and innovation in contemporary music. As a passionate performer of solo, chamber, and orchestral percussion, he seeks to ground his work in his classical training while simultaneously transcending the conventions of the conservatory. With classical percussion degrees from Wilfrid Laurier University and University of Alaska Fairbanks, a performing arts certificate from the Arts Institute of Indonesia Denpasar, and his current studies in ethnomusicology at the University of Toronto, Christopher’s genre-defying work exhibits a world of experience.
As an orchestral percussionist, he frequently works with the National Academy Orchestra of Canada, the Hamilton and Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestras, and Sinfonia Ancaster. He has appeared as a chamber musician and soloist in festivals such as Open Ears, International Gamelan Festival Munich, Young Artists Niagara, and Sacred Rhythm Jakarta, and can be heard playing drums, vibraphone, and synthesizer on commercial recordings by Call Me Moon and Treephones. He is also Associate Artistic Director of Toronto-based Evergreen Club Contemporary Gamelan, commissioning and premiering new works for Sundanese degung, and director of the University of Toronto’s Balinese gamelan ensemble, Dharma Santi.
Get to know Chris…Beyond the Bio!
Hobbies: Reading, cycling, and synthesizers
Musical influences: Jojo Mayer, Benny Greb, David Garibaldi, Gary Burton, Tony Miceli, Steve Reich, Glenn Gould, Bill Evans, I Dewa Made
Favourite food: Noodles
Least favourite food: Quiche
Favourite music: R&B, hip-hop, funk; Western modernism and minimalism; Balinese gender wayang; Sundanese degung; Orchestral; beatsce Favourite song:!
Favourite movie: The Departed
Favouirite movie music: Old modern romantic soundtracks (eg. Spellbound)
Favourite musical theatre/opera: West Side Story/Turandot
Best quote from your teacher: “When we perform, we smile. If we make a mistake while performing, we smile bigger.” -Dewa Suparta
Favourite quote: “I’m a man who leaves nothing to chance.” -Maestro Boris Brott
Favourite book: Dance, Dance, Dance by Haruki Murakami
Best thing about teaching at ABC: The lovely students
Latest Homework from CHRIS
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Tuesday, April 16th
Myles
Xylophone
–Review of C major scale, identifying the musical alphabet
–up to p29 in the pno book** Great work!!!
Livin’ On A Prayer by Bon Jovi
–Chorus Beat: Same idea, but Right-Hand Lead***
–Work on counting the number of repeats in the intro->make sure the fill lands in the right place**
Refresh Alfred Solo #2 (lines 1-6)**
Jonah
Joel Rothman Book: Lesson 17**
Dance, Dance by Fall Out Boy: adding in the chorus
–use the chorus beat as a warm-up
**Larnell Lewis foot exercise
PRACTICE CHALLENGE: Re-establish your practice routine by making sure to practice every day this week (1 freebie allowed). Aim for 30min per day, but if you can’t do 30, 10 will be fine! It’s more important to do at least some than it is to do lots!
Noah
Warmups:
–New triplet choreography worksheet (on the google drive)**
–Double-stroke progression: Natural rebound–>”pick it up” after 2 bounces–>drags/ruffs–>double-strokes
–Skateboard Weasel Fill (google drive handout)
No One Knows by Queens of the Stone Age
–Drilling the “i don’t want..” fill
–Drill the chorus at three speeds (100-135-172)
Robbie
Warmups (30sec/ea):
–8 on a hand exercise
–Single Stroke Roll (L-R-L-R….) playing smooth, even, controlled strokes
–Double Stroke Roll (L-L-R-R…)
–Paradiddles (L-R-L-L R-L-R-R…)
NEW SONG: Dani California
–Working on main groove (written on handout) playing everything up until the chorus
–“water-watermelon” fill before chorus on the Snare Drum
–Building speed required to play with the track: not as hard as it seems! When in doubt, break it down into parts.
——SD+BD together; HH by itself. Then put it together.
Will
Pad Exercises (1min/ea):
–Skateboard Weasel Fill (in google drive folder)
–Triplet Exercise (goal tempo=135)
–Sixteenth-note exercise (goal tempo=110)
–Roll Exercises (90bpm)
–Flams, Flam Accents, Flam Taps
–Rhythm exercise 40bpm
Syncopation Ex. 2 lines 1-5
NEW SONG*** Late in the Evening by Paul Simon
–Main groove up until verse (try to figure out the fill leading into the verse)
–See google drive for chart
Tuesday, October 29th
Myles
Drumset Musician p81 ex. 5-8**
–Try each of these fills with a LH lead and RH lead
–Make sure that you’re not adding any double strokes between the fill and the crash
NEW SONG Weezer: My Name is Jonas–have a listen, we’ll start this one next time
Xylophone:
–Review of C Major scale
–***Simple Steps to Keyboard Percussion “Step Six” p. 12-13 (in google drive). Use “Step 5” exercises to help you find the notes
Finn
Warmups (30sec each):
–Single Strokes
–Double Strokes
–8 on a hand
–This week, practice putting a count (“1+2+3+4+) overtop of the Singles and Doubles.
Survivor: Eye of the Tiger–WHOLE SONG
–The biggest thing is just knowing when to deploy the fills. Ask your dad for help!
–Fill a) what what chicken butt
–Fill b) Flam on “4”
–Fill c) I Saw a hippopotamus
–See chart in google drive for the roadmap to this song (Hull, Chris\Student Specific Resources\Finn Romeo)
Robbie
Warmups:
–Gminor and Bb Major arpeggios (G-Bb-D-G; Bb-D-F-Bb)
Canticum:
–First melody is great. Now we need to work on the second half
Snare drum: be sure to read the part! The answers are right there in front of you. Count each section aloud.
Francisco
Warmups (30sec/ea., find goal speed):
–8 on a hand (140bpm)
–Singles (sixteenths at 140bpm)
–doubles (16ths at 90)
–Paradiddles (16ths at 90)
Stevie Wonder: Superstition–up until the middle of page 2 (big fill)
–Drills: R-L-K triplet rolls
—-Floor tom, Snare, kick, repeated
—-hi-tom, med-tom, snare, as written in the fill
Noah
Warmups (1min each per practice session):
–Triplet Exercise (1mm RH, 2mm LH) @ 95bpm
–Sixteenth-note Exercise 75bpm
–Rhythm Exercise (60bpm)
Green Day: American Idiot–up to the end of Coda 1
–Drill the tricky bits (you know which ones) at different tempos like we did in today’s lesson to help them be really stable
–remember, the end of Coda 1 is the same as the end of the regular Chorus section
Preferred Books for TCHRNAME Students
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