Primary Instrument
Vibraphone
Location
Toronto
Willing to teach
Beginner to advanced
Credentials/Background
Stewart has been playing and teaching jazz and rock drumming, vibraphone and orchestral percussion for over 30 years. Currently a private teacher at Toronto’s Crescent School, he also presents drum clinics in Toronto area schools for both music educators and students, and at music camps.
He studied percussion with Elden C. “Buster” Bailey at the Juilliard School, where he received his undergraduate and graduate degrees in music.
Stewart has backed headliners at Royal York's Imperial Room, performed musicals at the Stratford Festival, Petrolia’s Victoria Playhouse and Toronto's O'Keefe – now the Hummingbird – Centre, and was a member of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Maracaibo in Venezuela and the orchestra of the Festival de Due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy.
He has also performed with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the orchestras of the National Ballet of Canada and the Canadian Opera Company, and recorded for CBC radio and television. He has been leading his own bands, in which he plays vibraphone and drums, for over twenty years.
Rates for private lessons: $50.00/hour; $37.50/45-min; $25.00/30-min
Clinic/Workshop Information
Read more
Primary Instrument
Vibraphone
Location
Toronto
Willing to teach
Beginner to advanced
Credentials/Background
Stewart has been playing and teaching jazz and rock drumming, vibraphone and orchestral percussion for over 30 years. Currently a private teacher at Toronto’s Crescent School, he also presents drum clinics in Toronto area schools for both music educators and students, and at music camps.
He studied percussion with Elden C. “Buster” Bailey at the Juilliard School, where he received his undergraduate and graduate degrees in music.
Stewart has backed headliners at Royal York's Imperial Room, performed musicals at the Stratford Festival, Petrolia’s Victoria Playhouse and Toronto's O'Keefe – now the Hummingbird – Centre, and was a member of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Maracaibo in Venezuela and the orchestra of the Festival de Due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy.
He has also performed with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the orchestras of the National Ballet of Canada and the Canadian Opera Company, and recorded for CBC radio and television. He has been leading his own bands, in which he plays vibraphone and drums, for over twenty years.
Rates for private lessons: $50.00/hour; $37.50/45-min; $25.00/30-min
Clinic/Workshop Information
Stewart’s percussion clinics and workshops are designed to benefit students and teachers at all levels of experience. They strive to address technical needs without neglecting the importance of playing and thinking musically.
Student Drum Clinics
Drum clinics may focus on technical concerns and questions on performance, or on the ensemble performance of scores being prepared for a concert. Often teachers opt for a combination of the two, with a preliminary session on percussion techniques followed by an ensemble rehearsal of a challenging piece.
Just some of the topics that clinics may address are:
* Holding the sticks, Dropping (vs. Hammering), and the Relaxed Stroke
* The Rudiments: Lifts and Levels at the Snare Drum
* The Buzz Roll
* Feeling Jazz: Swing, Fills, and Stage Band Drumming
* Jazz Independence
* Sight Reading on Xylophone and Bells
* Timpani Basics
* Bass Drum and Cymbal Techniques
* Ensemble Performance
Stewart will be happy to discuss any concerns you have regarding your students’ performance and will work with you to develop a workshop that best addresses your needs.
“Hands-on” Workshops or Lecture Demonstrations for Junior High and High School Band Directors
Groups of four to ten educators will gain valuable insights and confidence participating in this hands-on workshop. Stewart discusses and demonstrates percussion techniques, then circulates and coaches participants as they try them out for themselves. Questions on evaluation and organization may also be addressed.
Some of the topics available for discussion, presentation and practise are:
* Approaching the Snare Drum: Holding the sticks, Dropping (vs. Hammering), and the Relaxed Stroke
* The Rudiments: Lifts and Levels at the Snare Drum
* The Buzz Roll
* Feeling Jazz: Swing, Fills, and Stage Band Drumming
* Sight Reading on Xylophone and Bells
* Timpani Basics
* Bass Drum and Cymbal Techniques
* Choosing Percussionists for your Band/Orchestral Program
* Evaluating Percussion Performance
* Organizing your Percussion Section
Larger groups may be more suited to a lecture-demonstration and discussion. In this format, Stewart discusses and demonstrates any or all of the topics listed above, as well as his own philosophy of teaching percussion in a junior high or high school setting. The workshop wraps up with a question and answer session.
To tailor a clinic or workshop for your organization or school, call 416 462-9615, or email [email protected]
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