

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
A show I have performed many times. I used the MalletKat for all the melodic percussion and timpani. A lot of jumping around on the mallet parts, so the MalletKat, along with being able to split the keyboard and use the "hang mode" feature, made negotiating the parts much easier. I also used a Rhythm Tech mounted cabasa for the interesting part in the song, "Six Languages", so I could make fast instrument changes. Some of the orchestrations in Spelling Bee require very fast instrument changes, so I had to really think and create a set-up that was based around those instrument changes. So what I came up with was this: From left to right: bongos, guiro, triangle machine, MalletKat, drum set tambourine, mounted cabasa, drum set with blast block & cowbell, small splash cymbal. Not seen in the photo was a metal Alexandria darbuka, which would have been next to the floor tom. In my most recent attempt at this show, I actually sampled some cymbal bowing sounds, and played them on electronic pads. This was another practical/logistical choice because, there was a quick change to timpani right after the cymbal bow, and second, cymbal bowing is difficult to do. It worked out well for me!
Photo taken on site in the orchestra pit at the Media Theater in Media, PA