HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I can hardly believe it's 2007. Where do the years go?

I start my new officer position for the Percussive Arts Society as Immediate Past President, a two-year term (after which I will have completed my 8 years as an officer - whew!). Gary Cook of the University of Arizona is the new President, Steve Houghton (Indiana University and well-known performer and author) is the President-elect, Lisa Rogers of Texas Tech University is the Vice President, Steve Beck of Pro-Mark is the Treasurer, John R. Beck (no relation) is the Secretary, and Michael Kenyon is the Executive Director. Together we comprise the PAS Executive Committee. Our first meetings as a committee are for 4 days later this week in Indianapolis. There is much exciting work going on with PAS, so I'm really looking forward to these next two years and what we'll be able to accomplish.

I have some performances coming up with the awesome lyric baritone Robert Sims. Robert specializes in spirituals, and for the past couple of years we've been collaborating and performing around the country. On January 15 we're performing at a celebration of Martin Luther King's life at the Rockefeller Chapel on the campus of the University of Chicago, and on January 26 we'll be performing in Detroit.