M.Mus (UofT) in-progress
B.Mus (Eastman)
Gordon is a percussionist and educator interested in performing, creating, and engaging within a multitude of musical styles, invested in how music might be embodied in a variety of forms through joyful exploration.
From Tampa, Florida, Gordon became acquainted with music through piano lessons, eventually moving on to drum set and marching percussion in high school. In 2019, Gordon completed his undergraduate studies at the Eastman School of Music under the tutelage of Michael Burritt. At Eastman Gordon performed and premiered works with the Eastman Wind Ensemble, Eastman Percussion Ensemble, and Musica Nova in addition to serving for two years on the board of the student-led new music ensemble, Ossia.
He is also interested in the intersection between music and technology and has contributed to creative projects with the Eastman Audio Research Studio and the University of Toronto Percussion Ensemble.
Gordon is currently working towards completing his Master’s degree at the University of Toronto under the instruction of Aiyun Huang.
Get to know Gordon…Beyond the Bio!
Hobbies: Spending time with family and friends, watching movies, reading, spending time outside, tossing a frisbee and playing Spikeball
Musical influences: Rush, Mutemath, Max Roach, My Brightest Diamond, Son Lux, Rachel Podger, Michael Burritt, Steve Schick, Paul Rennick, Sarah Kirkland Snider, Jess Ray, Mark Andre…
Favourite food: Kanafeh (Middle-Eastern dessert)
Least favourite food: Brussel sprouts
Favourite music: Rock, Jazz, Contemporary Classical, Indie-folk, Electronic
Favourite song: One favorite is Humble Heart by Jess Ray
Favourite movie: Another favorite is Tree of Life by Terrence Malick
Favourite movie music: Bernard Herman in Vertigo, Ennio Morricone in Once Upon a Time in the West
Favourite musical theatre/opera: Hamilton, Invisible Cities by Christopher Cerrone
Best quote from your teacher: “Listen…”
Favourite quote: Romans 8:37-39
Favourite book: The Giver by Lois Lowry
Best thing about teaching at ABC: Sharing music with the students.
Latest Homework from Gordon
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March 30th Assignments
Sebastian
What to practice: This week Sebastian I want you to write in the counts and practice the Lesson 3 reading and hand exercises
How to practice effectively: Start with writing the counts above the notes for the rest of the Lesson 3 Reading we didn’t cover today. Then once you’ve written in the counts and double check they are right, count it out loud and clap your hands. Then try it with the sticks making sure to use good technique and hand position. For the hand exercises, play them first with just the hands, then once youre feeling confident, alternate the feet on each beat, meaning the bass drum on beats 1 and 3 and the hi-hat pedal on beats 2 and 4. This is tricky so try breaking it down when you practice!
Great job today, keep it up!
Lucas
How many minutes to practice: 15-30
What to practice: This week Lucas I want you playing the beats for Lesson 7
How to practice effectively: Try the beats out slowly and remember to count if you have trouble. Additionally you can break it down and work two out of the three parts one at a time before putting it back all together.
Good job getting started on these beats!
Jonah
How many minutes to practice: 30
What to practice: This week Jonah I want you to work on Lesson 13 Reading and Beats, here is the video I made to help: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Z8sbQp1mhvKWPvneeFPFwrqAtkikqS7V/view?usp=sharing
Also, here is an article to help explain how different notes are related to each other, it should help with this lesson: https://www.schoolofcomposition.com/music-notation/
How to practice effectively: Hey Jonah, good work today! The Lesson 13 beats still need a bit more practice but you’ve got a great start on it. Be sure to check out my video if you need some reference to how the beats sound! Hopefully soon we can start a new song!
Thanks for a fun lesson as always!
Samson
How many minutes to practice: 15-30
What to practice: Your assignment this week Samson is to keep working through Todd Rundgren’s It Wouldn’t Have Made Any Difference. Here is the UPDATED TRANSCRIPTION.
How to practice effectively: Really great job today, it was all coming together pretty nicely! At this point you’re ready to start playing the song without the music so try and only use the sheet to refresh your memory. Play with the song a lot and make sure that you’re not slowing down in the transitions. Remember to keep the triplets tight and listen to make sure you’re playing in time with the song. Next week we’ll keep trucking through it and hopefully finish. Also here is my video about the last fill if you still need it: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dpRnvgQnxVGb170Cutx89abLskSNlVOc/view?usp=sharing
Sooo great to see you in person!!
Samuel
How many minutes to practice: 3omins
What to practice: This week Sam focus on working through the fill in Come Home and finishing out the song
How to practice effectively: This is a tricky fill but if you work it slowly and break it down like we did you’ll be nailing it! Chunk it into the three parts we did: the hi-hat and snare at the beginning, the tom part after that, and then the two low tom notes. Try that till you can play the whole thing with just the hands no problem. Then do the same process but with the hi-hat foot playing quarter notes. Then the last step will be adding the sloshy hi-hat on the first note.
Heres a video of me going through it: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1O94y3wMzXXa9wV5ymxICanPqLgxjBmIH/view?usp=sharing
This is tricky stuff, really impressed with how well you handled it!
Preferred Books for Gordon’s Students
Click to buy them here, and they’ll come right to your house! What could be easier?
STICK CONTROL
George Lawrence Stone’s Stick Control is the bible of drumming. In 1993, Modern Drummer magazine named the book one of the top 25 books of all-time. In the words of the author, it is the ideal book for improving: control, speed, flexibility, touch, rhythm, lightness, delicacy, power, endurance, preciseness of execution and muscular coordination, with extra attention given to the development of the weak hand.
Reading, Rudiments, and Rock Drumming
This beginner book contains the basic 3 R’s of drumming-Reading, Rudiments, and Rock, in an easy to learn format.
Intermediate Snare Drum Studies
The Art of Bop Drumming
The definitive book on bop drumming—a style that is both the turning point and the cornerstone of contemporary music’s development. This comprehensive book and audio presentation covers time playing, comping, soloing, brushes, more jazz essentials, and charts in an entertaining mix of text, music, and pertinent quotes.
