Vibesworkshop.com with the help of Steve Weiss Music and Malletech are putting on a weekend festival featuring some of the greatest names in the percussion world. These names include, Leigh Stevens, Nancy Zeltsman, David Friedman, Warren Wolf, Jon Singer, Andrea Venet, Jay Hoggard, Tony Miceli, Behn Gillece, Temple Univ. Students and others. Events will take place as follows:

August 5th 7pm - Settlement Music School, Mary Louise Curtis Branch - 416 Queen St, Philadelphia, PA 19147 - THIS IS A FREE CONCERT - Performing will be Leigh Stevens, Nancy Zeltsman, Andrea Venet, Jon Singer, Jay Hoggard, David Friedman and Tony Miceli, Temple University Students.

August 6th 8pm - Chris’ Jazz Cafe - All Start Vibraphone Jam Session - GENERAL ADMISSION - $15 - Performing: Warren Wolf, David Friedman, Tony Miceli, Behn Gillece, Anrea Venet, Tom Lawton, Lee Smith and Byron Landham.

August 7th 12:30-1:15 pm and 2:30-3:15 pm - Barnes Museum. - ADULTS $25, CHILDREN $5 - Performing will be Nancy Zeltsman, David Friedman, Tony Miceli, Andrea Venet, Jon Singer, Temple University Students.

Artists

Leigh Howard Stevens’ repertoire ranges from Renaissance music and the Preludes and Fugues of J. S. Bach, to original marimba works written by contemporary composers expressly for him. Many of these original compositions were considered too challenging, both technically and musically, to be performed by solo marimbists until the development of Mr. Stevens’ new system of four-mallet technique. Percussionists and marimbists, the world over, have adopted his revolutionary approach to 4-mallet technique, as set forth in his ground-breaking book, Method of Movement, which has been published in six languages.

There isn’t a single aspect of marimba technique, repertoire or design that has not been profoundly influenced by the work of Leigh Howard Stevens. From “Stevens Grip” to the types of motions used to play the instrument; from the length and material of the mallet handles to the wrapping and stitching of the heads; from the first height-adjustable all wooden marimba frame in the 1980s to the first fully-tunable resonators in the 1990s; from one-handed rolls and baroque ornaments to the use of expressive contrasting roll types; from the early polyphonic Helble Preludes to the works of John Serry, David Maslanka and Joseph Schwantner, to his own original compositions and transcriptions.

Considered “revolutionary” at the time, many of his ideas are now considered to be basic technique, and in fact, have become routine in contemporary marimba compositions and performance. It is no exaggeration to say that Leigh Howard Stevens has been at the very heart of the growth of marimba repertoire, development of its pedagogy, and improvement of the instrument’s design over the last 45 years.

David Friedman

David Friedman is considered to be one of the most influential vibraphonists in the history of the instrument. Internationally renowned as a vibraphonist, marimbist, composer and jazz educator, he has his own musical message, born of fascinatingly diverse musical influences.

Having worked with such varied musical personalities as Leonard Bernstein, Luciano Berio, Bobby McFerrin, Wayne Shorter and Yoko Ono, few jazz musicians can claim as broad a spectrum of performing and recording experience.

Nancy Zeltsman

Zeltsman is a professor at joint institutions Berklee College of Music and Boston Conservatory at Berklee. She has taught marimba at both schools since 1993 in positions that were created for her. Since 2013, she has been regular guest professor of marimba at Conservatorium van Amsterdam, and a Guest Artist at University of Michigan since 2021. Nancy has presented master classes across the United States and Europe, and in Japan, China, Mexico and Brazil – at The Juilliard School, Curtis Institute of Music, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Lawrence Conservatory of Music (Appleton, WI), Cleveland Institute of Music, Royal College of Music (London), Académie supérieure de musique (Strasbourg, France), Escola Superior de Música (Lisbon, Portugal) and more. She has performed or presented at 12 Percussive Arts Society International Conventions, and at PAS chapter events in 17 states and Stockholm, Sweden, in addition to numerous other percussion festivals.

Warren Wolf

Warren Wolf is a multi-instrumentalist from Baltimore,MD. From the young age of three years old, Warren has been trained on the Vibraphone/Marimba, Drums, and Piano. Under the guidance of his father Warren Wolf Sr., Warren has a deep background in all genres of music.

Musicians that Warren has played with or recorded with are Wynton Marsalis and The Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, Jeremy Pelt and “Creation”, Nicholas Payton, Tim Warfield, Adonis Rose, Donal Fox, Anthony Wonsey, Aaron Goldberg, Cyrus Chestnut, Lewis Nash, Willie Jones, Eric Reed, Mulgrew Miller, Terri Lyne Carrington, Yoron Israel, Larry Willis, David “Fathead” Newman, Stefon Harris, Reuben Rogers, Kevin Eubanks, Curtis Lundy, Steve Davis, Duane Eubanks, Ron Carter, Wycliffe Gordon, Robert Glasper, Esperanza Spaulding and many others.

Tony Miceli

Internationally renowned jazz vibraphonist Tony Miceli has established himself as one of the primary voices on the mallet instrument, winning hearts and minds wherever he plays. His achievements, however, go much further beyond. A sought-after recording artist, Miceli is an inspired educator who delivers vibraphone master classes the world over, enriching the students of Ireland, Germany, South Korea, Italy, for example, with an accompanying concert finale. Miceli promotes the instrument through his brainchild, vibesworkshop.com, a virtual meeting place and teaching tool for some 4000 student and professional members. He is also the co-creator of the World Vibes Congress, a formal gathering of players who share the desire to bring public awareness to the vibraphone. It is worth noting that Miceli is part of Team Omega, an elite group of vibes players that includes only three others, headliners David Friedman, Joe Locke, and Stefon Harris. At All About Jazz, Victor Schermer describes him as

“... a vibraphonist of astonishing virtuosity, musical resilience,
and inventiveness. His vibes playing is nothing short of
phenomenal.”

Jay Hoggard

Vibraphonist, Composer Jay Hoggard’s music has touched the hearts and souls of listeners around Planet Earth for 40 years. Jay Hoggard has long ranked with the greatest vibraphone innovators. Jay’s music is positive, spiritual, uplifting, and happy. He masterfully draws on traditional and contemporary musical vocabulary to develop new directions for the vibraphone. Jay seamlessly blends jazz and gospel roots with African marimba rhythms. His performance repertoire represents the three B’s of the jazz tradition (Blues, Bop, Ballads) with original innovations.

Jay Hoggard has recorded 22 CD’s as a leader and over 50 as a collaborator. His newest CD, released in 2016 on the JHVM label, is HARLEM HIEROGLYPHS. This two disc recording features Gary Bartz saxophones, James Weidman piano,organ, Nat Adderley,Jr piano,organ, Belden Bullock bass, and Yoron Israel drums. Noted jazz writer Owen McNally recently declared in his Jazz Corridor column for WNPR.org :

Jon Singer

Included among the Village Voice's "Best of New York," percussionist Jonathan Singer has been praised for his "superb four-mallet technique" (New York Times) and described as an "artistic assault on the sensory order of nitrous oxide." His solo appearances include performances with the Detroit Symphony and Grammy-winning Nighthawks. As the leader of the Brooklyn-based novelty band, Xylopholks, Singer has performed across the United States, India, Japan, Brazil, and Canada and on the stages of Alice Tully Hall, City Center, 92nd Y, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He has been heard on WNYC, Air America, and made on-screen appearances in Boardwalk Empire, Royal Pains, and David Grubin's Downtown Express. Singer is the recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship and Queens College grant to study in India. Presently an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the College of Staten Island and Queensborough Community College, Singer has had previous appointments at Brooklyn College and Queens College. Since 2013, Singer has taught xylophone performance and improvisation at the University of Delaware Xylophone Institute. Singer is a graduate of the Interlochen Arts Academy, Berklee College of Music, Queens College and CUNY Graduate Center, where he earned a doctorate with a dissertation focusing on improvised xylophone music. An endorser of the Malletech company, he helped design the Jon Singer signature xylophone mallet.

Andrea Venet

Dr. Andrea Venet is a percussion artist, soloist, educator, and composer specializing in contemporary and classical genres. She is currently Assistant Professor of Percussion and head of the department at the University of North Florida, where she directs the UNF percussion ensemble, teaches applied lessons, pedagogy, methods and percussion literature. Her creative activity includes performance, composition, and commissioning new works.

As an international soloist, chamber musician, and clinician, Andrea maintains an active performance schedule, having held appointments in Europe, Japan, Canada, and Trinidad. Andrea has been a featured soloist at the Celebrate Marimba Festival, The Steve Weiss Mallet Festival (Barnes Foundation, PA), Prairie Music Residency (SK, Canada), with the Kutztown University Symphony, in addition to being a featured performer with SNL percussionist Valerie Naranjo, Ivan Trevino, the Lawson Ensemble, Project Trio, and the Eastman Percussion Ensemble. Early in her career, Andrea was a member of the award winning Santa Clara Vanguard Drum and Bugle Corps from 2002-2004 and performed with Grammy winning alternative band TOOL with the Gilbert Drumline in 2001.

Behn Gillece

With over a decade on the New York jazz scene, vibraphonist Behn Gillece has built a reputation as a virtuosic instrumentalist and prolific composer. With inspiration from such legends as Milt Jackson and Bobby Hutcherson, Gillece, throughout his career, has committed himself to advancing the art form of the vibraphone while flourishing as a jazz composer. A New Jersey native, Gillece had many early performance opportunities in his home state, as well as Philadelphia, before moving to New York City in 2006. Since then, he has made quite a name for himself as a sought after sideman, as well as a bandleader and recording artist.

From 2009 to 2013, Gillece co-led four transformative recordings on Posi-Tone with tenor saxophonist Ken Fowser, all receiving international acclaim and extensive radio play. Gillece’s first four debut albums as leader, Mindset (2015 Posi-Tone), Dare To Be (2016 Posi-Tone), Walk Of Fire (2017 Posi-Tone), and Parallel Universe (2018 Posi-Tone) helped the ascension of his public appreciation and made immediate splashes in the press and radio, picking up a 2018 Downbeat Rising Star award. The vibraphonist has also appeared as a sideman on many recordings, most recently contributing his playing to albums by Michael Dease, New Faces, Walt Weiskopf, Melody Gardot, Idle Hands, Out To Dinner, and Ensemble Novo.

Steve Weiss Mallet Festival 2022

Steve Weiss Mallet Festival