i'm rob.
10 years ago i was trying to figure out what to do after high school, but now i play percussion with the greatest orchestra on earth: the met orchestra. before that, i studied at juilliard and i was a fellow in the new world symphony. i consider myself to be unbelievably lucky.
my story
ever since i can remember, i've been obsessive. whether it was about collecting elvis stamps (what?), creating giant domino rally constructions and then knocking them over (omg), or playing diablo ii for more than a year (legit), i’ve always approached everything all-or-nothing.
when i found music, i knew that i found something to obsess over forever without getting bored. so, in high school, i threw myself into percussion, music, and auditions, and never looked back.
why did i start a blog?
as i traveled along my percussion journey, from naive high schooler to rookie met orchestra member (where i’m currently a 4th-year percussionist), i always found myself hungry for information. if i was playing a tambourine excerpt, i wanted to know a thousand different ways to play it, who plays it each way, and a thousand ways i can practice it.
before i got my job at the met, i failed my way through years of unsuccessful auditions and rejected applications.
my goal with this blog is to reach keen and motivated musicians like yourselves and help you get where you're going quicker and smarter than i did.
so, where do i start?
the first thing you can do is to tell me if you're here to learn about percussion or auditions. i have two separate communities: percussionhacker and auditionhacker. there's a super useful giveaway for either one, or you can get both. you'll also be connected with me through my newsletter.
show me some other stuff.
ok, you asked for it. here are some of the most popular things i've ever written. they range from audition-related things to my crazy (and obscure) album project, delécluse: douze études for snare drum.
- what to do if you get rejected from every summer festival
- the complete guide to self-recording (part one)
delécluse: douze études for snare drum and interview with jacques delécluse
released on october 26th, 2014, delécluse: douze études for snare drum celebrates the fiftieth anniversary and the first-ever recording of snare drum's most influential and elaborate composition. i also traveled to hyéres, france to conduct an in-depth interview mr. delécluse, and asked him every question i could think of about his amazing pieces.