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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9/23/20 Assignments
Great job again this week everybody, its super fun teaching such a talented group!
Ella
Fantastic work this week Ella, I could tell the hi-hat exercise is helping you and that you had put some work in! Keep chunking through stuff and breaking things down this week and really go for pushing those tempos in a relaxed way!
Recommended Practice Time: 30mins
What to practice: Keep working the Breezeblocks hi-hat exercise, then work on all the beats and transitions, and then try doing the whole song. The goal this week week is to keep pushing tempos and try to get to 120.
How to practice effectively: Find a slightly challenging tempo to practice at for the day. Then do the hi-hat exercise and practice all the beats at that tempo, feel free to break down each beat as necessary. Then try going through the whole song and starting the whole process at a faster tempo!
Jonah
Awesome playing this week Jonah! It was really cool seeing you catch on to the new fills, its sounds amazing, keep up the good work!
Recommended practice time: 15mins
What to practice: Keep practicing different fills with the beat we practiced this week. Practice fills on different drums with new beats!
How to practice effectively: Try the 16th note hi-hat beat we did and every 4th repetition, on the last beat try playing a four note fill on the snare drum or toms and all around the drums! Try coming up with your own fill breaks and try fills with different beats at different tempos.
Samson
Super fun playing with you this week Samson! I love your engagement with learning these songs and it was super fun to get working on Crab Rave.
Recommended practice time: 15mins
What to practice: Work through the first half of Crab Rave every day.
How to practice effectively: You’ve got a good eye for reading the part so whats going to be important is to keep the tempo consistent between the different sections. Practice each part separately and then put them together working on the transitions. Try working out the beat as well to get a head start on next week!
Sylvie
Feel better and keep rocking out this week with whatever you feel like playing!
Excited to keep playing and learning with you guys next week!
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.
