Excellent Concert

Okay, so I'm biased, but last night's concert by the Northern Illinois University Percussion Ensemble was terrific. A great variety of music from several cultures, including one North American premiere and one World Premiere performance. Special guests for the concert were Valerie Naranjo and Barry Olsen. Most of you are likely familiar with Valerie's work as the percussionist in the Saturday Night Live band on NBC, and/or for her work with Broadway's The Lion King. But she is extremely talented in many areas, not the least of which is on the West African gyil. Her husband, Barry, is a really fine trombonist, pianist and percussionist, who is a fixture on the NYC Latin Jazz scene. The students had an awesome time working with both of them and getting to perform with them. Congratulations to my colleagues Robert Chappell and Greg Beyer for putting together such a fantastic concert.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!