Kristen Shiner McGuire

Bio:

Kristen Shiner McGuire is the Coordinator of Percussion Studies at Nazareth College of Rochester, where she has taught since 1984; and was the recipient of the 1998 Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award. The Nazareth College Percussion Ensemble has performed at state at National conventions and in schools across New York State. Kristen holds a Bachelor of Music degree with Highest Honors from the University of Illinois and a Masters degree in Percussion Performance and a Performer’s Certificate from the Eastman School of Music. From 1980-81, she was a marimba student of marimba virtuoso, Keiko Abe, at the Toho School of Music in Tokyo, Japan. Other teachers include Keith Copeland and Jamey Haddad.

Kristen’s performing talents run the gamut from jazz singer and drummer, solo marimbist, orchestral percussionist and timpanist, to contemporary chamber musician. She has performed with Clark Terry, Johnnie Mathis, Mickey Rooney, the Pan Gaia Steel Band, the New Japan Philharmonic, and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestras, among many others. Her recordings include those with the Maelstrom Percussion Ensemble ( www.maelstrompercussion.com), Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra,Dave McGrath, Linda Foster, Jon Seiger and The All Stars, the Rochester Gay Men’s Chorus, John Teleska, and the Pop Tarts. Kristen has performed at the Ocho Rios Jazz Festival in Jamaica, the New Orleans Jazz Festival, the Suncoast Jazz Festival, the Percussive Arts Society International Convention, and several venues in St. Thomas. Currently, Kristen is performing with the Kind of Blue trio, Elle Jazz Trio,the RPO Marimba Band, Maelstrom Percussion Ensemble, and Dave McGrath (www.davemcgrath.com)

Her Ella Fitzgerald style vocals add to her impressive drumming skills in Jon Seiger and The All Stars: A Tribute to Louis Armstrong, her all female jazz trio, Elle, and as the "filling" of the St. Thomas based Pop Tarts. The Buffalo News says of Kristen’s drumset performance with the Maelstrom Percussion Ensemble at Buffalo’s Tralf in 2002: "In many ways, Shiner McGuire was the revelation of the evening, bouncing between an impressive battery of instruments and displaying an acute sense of percussive color in her own composition, "Swamp Gas". The latter was a vehicle which she created to display her prowess behind the drum kit….".

A published author and composer, Kristen is widely known in the percussion field for her distinct and accessible writing style. Her compostions include Declaration, Song, and Dance for solo timpani (Ludwig Music), Please Pass the Beats! for percussion ensemble (Kendor Music),Celestial Welcome (Alfred Publishing) and‘Dis Is How Her Songo, a commissioned drumset quartet written for and premiered by the Women’s Percussion Project 2002. Her articles are published in School Music News, The Instrumentalist, and Percussive Notes.

Kristen has been actively involved in the international Percussive Arts Society for over 15 years. She has served on the Education Committee, the Board of Directors, and as the New York State Chapter President from 1990-1999. Since that time, she has coordinated Days of Percussion annually, edited the State Newsletter, and has given numerous clinics at State and National conventions. In 1993, she received the Outstanding Chapter President Award out of 65 chapters world wide. She served as the Secretary for the Executive Council from 1999-2002; the first woman in twenty years to be chosen for this governing position.

As a clinician for Sabian Cymbals, Mike Balter Mallets, Sleishman drums and Regal Tip Calato Sticks, Kristen is a well known percussion educator and performer throughout the United States. She maintains her own private teaching studio in Rochester, New York, where she lives with her husband David, a composer, pianist, music theorist, and aesthetic education proponent, along with their four stray animals, Tenny, Marco,Smokie, and Ellie. ....

Member Since:

March 22, 2009

Influences:

My father and mother; all my teachers - Tom Brown, Jim Petercsak, Tom Siwe, Keiko Abe, John Beck, Jamey Haddad; Ella Fitzgerald, Steve Smith, Steve Gadd, Sonny Paine, Gary Burton, Philly Joe Jones

Sounds Like:

Myself;

KSM Compositions:
MARIMBA

JUNIPER (Kendor Music) - Intermediate 4 mallet solo, including ostinato/melody combinations and a rolled section. Similar difficulty to Yellow After the Rain.Advanced H.S., early college, for recitals and juries. 5’ 15".Says world reknown marimba virtuoso, Keiko Abe, about Juniper: "This piece reflects the goodness of marimba and has natural music from the very heart. The beginners will appreciate this piece as this is beneficial for them."

COLORS OF EARTH AND SEA (KSM Pub.) – Advanced 4 mallet solo in two movements. Includes some one-handed rolls; some power chops needed as well. Contemporary tonal piece with a Japanese influence. Challenging yet accessible solo recital piece. 8’.

TWO BY TWO : nine duets for two mallet percussion (Kendor Music). Levels II-IV great for young percussion performances and sight reading for college students

PERCUSSION PLUS
THREE PIECES FOR BASS CLARINET AND MARIMBA (KSM Pub.) – Advanced duet in three movements: "A Fine Weave" (chromatic/interlocking parts); "Gotta Gig(ue)" (modal/odd-changing meters); "Epilogue" (modal/adagio). Rhythmically challenging for the bass clarinetist; excellent for working on ensemble playing. Single movements also suitable for performance. 11’ 30"

NARAYAMA for percussion and voice. (KSM Pub.) Advanced duet for multiple percussion (vibraphone, bass drum, triangle, wind chimes, claves, woodblock, brake drum or cowbell, maraca played by singer) and soprano. Based on a Japanese folk song, sung in Japanese (easy pronunciations in English). Melodies/rhythms taken from traditional Japanese musical forms. Contemplative to fiery (bass drum played with wooden dowels like taiko). 7’ 40"

PERCUSSION ENSEMBLES
PLEASE PASS THE BEATS! (or What An Ugly Vegetable) (Kendor Music) – An entertaining Intermediate/Advanced quintet for percussionists surrounding the audience. Small setups per player – one drum, one accessory, and one bowl gong or other ringing metalic sound. (bongos, snare drum, med. tom, large tom, bass drum, wood block, suspended cymbal, tambourine, brake drum; 5 bowl gongs or other). Comedic in spots; uses vocalizations along with instruments. Audiences love sitting in the middle as the rhythms/voices travel around them. Rhythmically easy per player; timing is challenging with players separated. 15’

‘DIS IS HOW HER SONGO , drumset quartet. (KSM Pub. or ReallyGoodMusic.com). Intermediate/Advanced quartet for two half (no toms) and two five piece drumsets. Only high high, splash, and ride cymbals needed per set; one cowbell per player. Based on the songo, this energetic piece presents a great opportunity to feature female drummers, and may be played by anyone. Written for the Women’s Percussion Project 2002. Ernest Muzquiz, copyist. 7’ 45’’

CELESTIAL WELCOME, percussion octet written for Nazareth College President Daan Baveman. Premier performance October 2005. Dedicated to Dr. Everett Gates. . Level V, joyful/peaceful/celebratory opening piece. (Sound file can be found at http://alfred-music.com/product_info.php?item_no=25972) Marimba, vibraphone, glockenspiel, chimes, timpani, snare drum, bass drum, crash cymbals, tam tam.

CABOO for the Maelstrom Percussion Ensemble (manuscript/slated for Kendor Music). Quartet with cajon, ankle shakers, cowbells, graded small drums, temple blocks, tom tom, slapstick. Level VI, Lou Harrison type sound; based on groups of five.

TIMPANI
DECLARATION, SONG AND DANCE FOR SOLO TIMPANI (Ludwig Music). Advanced timpani solo in three movements: "Declaration" (moto perpetuo); "Song" (pedalled melody and accompaniment); "Dance" (syncopated set of grooves including playing on bowls, rims, center of head). Very popular for percussion recitals. 3’ 10" / 3’ / 3’ 30"

MULTIPLE PERCUSSION
LET'S GET THIS OVER WITH! (KSM Pub.). A complete orchestral audition in about two minutes. Multiple percussion solo written for John Beck. Semi-comedic piece for drumset, glockenspiel, triangle, tambourine, and cowbell. 2’ 10"

FOR YOUNG PERCUSSIONISTS BY KENDOR MUSIC
MIXOLYDIA – Beginning mallet solo (level II) for any mallet instrument in the mixolydian and dorian modes. Utilizes independence between hands. 2’ 15"

BLUE LAGOON – Beginning mallet duet (level II) for bells/xylo or xylo/xylo that includes a short improvisation section using the blues scale. Good for learning jazz rhythmical concepts as well. 3’ 25"

RE-ACTION – Beginning percussion quartet (level III). Calls for four graded drums and four accessory instruments (one each per player); guiro, ratchet, vibraslap, cabasa. Good for counting skills, dynamic contrast, and experience with accessories. No rolls or rudiments. 2’ 30"