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
Saturday, June 15th
Jack
Zelda themes (Talus Battle; Guardian Battle)
Benny Greb Rhythmic Alphabet (click here to access – bookmakr for future use)
–Practice clapping out the different letters from Q-X
–As a bonus, begin on th letters A-P (note: these are counted in four as opposed to 3 like Q-X are)
Jared
Warmups (1min/ea)
–Linear triplets: hi tom–>mid tom–>snare goal tempo 190bpm
–Triplet ex. (Goal Tempo=130)
–Sixteenth-Note Exercise (goal tempo = 100)
–Singles, Doubles, Paradiddles – goal tempo: 110bpm
Stevie Wonder: Superstition
–Drill the first two bars of that big fill on p2 (counting aloud, stitching the quilt together)
–As a bonus, begin learning the next measure
–Next week, we’ll start with the new material****
Koel
Warmups (1min each):
–Triplet Ex. 125bpm**
–***Ride pattern exercise with sixteenth exercise on the cymbal (goal tempo 105)
Syncopation
–Learn ex. 1-2 from p33 (in the google drive) playing the written line on the snare with the swing beat underneath***
Van Halen: Jump
–Working with the chart, make sure everything is on the right count
–Add in the small fill before the verse
–Drill the P.C. material–we’ll start with this section next week
Nova
Warm Ups:
–Singles, Doubles, Paradiddles (1min)
Conan Gray: Maniac
–Drill the main beat SLOWLY, making sure to think of your right hand as the “anchor” (1-2min)
–Then, work on building up speed gradually until you can reach performance tempo (remember to keep the right hand as your anchor–it’s the one keeping the tempo!)
Xylophone
–Piano Adventures book p45: keep playing aiming for hand-to-hand (r-l-r-l…) sticking
–Pno Adventures 46: if you feel ready, go ahead and learn this next song
Tracie
Warmups
–Triplet Exercise 85bpm*** (1min)
–Rhythm Ex 60bpm–aim for one measure for each rhythm
Deftones: Minerva
–Drilling the main beat with counting aloud, slowly tidying the rhythm to perfection
–Add in cymbal variations
Josh
Warm-ups (2 min each):
–“repeat after me” rhythms and jamming
–Singles, doubles, paradiddles
–practicing the fill rhythms
Survivor – Eye of the Tiger –whole song!**
–Great job, keep practicing this 2-3 times each session to continue refining it. Next week will be finishing touches!
Drumset note-reading worksheet
–See google drive
–Notes in the bottom space are Bass Drum; the middle space is Snare Drum; the Xs up top are Hihat
–Read and identify when the different isntruments play
–Work on exercises 1-4, aiming for four repetitions each as a goal
Will
Scales: C major, G major, F major, D major, Bb major
–Regular scale (ascending and descending)
–Arpeggio (1, 3, 5, 8, 5, 3, 1; eg: C-E-G-c-G-E-C)
–Broken thirds (eg: C-E-D-F-E-G-F-A-G-B-A-c-B-d-c…)
Up to page 42 in the piano
George Hamilton Greene exercises (in google drive)
Preferred Books for TCHRNAME Students
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