April 1, 2004
50 years behind (musical) bars
With a title like 50 Years Behind Bars, you might expect a presentation by a very elderly convict. Instead, it’s a concert on marimba and vibraphone — the “bars” of the title. And the man behind the bars is Tom Collier, director of percussion studies at the UW’s School of Music.
The concert is scheduled for Friday, April 2 because it is the 50th anniversary of Collier’s very first concert, which he gave at the age of 5 in Puyallup. Not only that, but he’ll be playing an updated version of Minka, which he played on the xylophone at that concert, and Dizzy Fingers, which he also played as a child.
Joining Collier for the concert are clarinetist William O. Smith and two of his current graduate students, Miho Takekawa and Ben Thomas. “They represent all the great students I’ve had over the years,” Collier says. He has headed percussion studies since 1980.
One of the more unusual tunes on the program is an original composition Collier wrote in 1972, when he was an undergraduate at the UW. It requires the performer to use six mallets instead of the usual four. Other works include favorite jazz tunes from the 60s and 70s, in which he’ll be joined by Mark Ivester, drums; and Clipper Anderson, bass. The trio has presented more than 300 jazz concerts in Washington public schools for the Washington State Arts Commission’s Arts in Education Program.
In addition, Collier and his guests will perform some of his recent original compositions for mallet jazz ensembles, funded by a UW Royalty Research Fund grant. A CD of these works, recorded at Capitol Studios in Los Angeles, will be out later this year.
The concert is at 7:30 p.m. in Brechemin Auditorium. Tickets are $10, $8 for students and seniors, and are available at the door.
