Pete's Percussion Podcast - Pete Zambito Pete Zambito

United States Air Force Academy Band Percussionist and Drummer Kathryn Yuill stops by to talk about her military band job, the active scheduling and performing with all of the ensembles that occurs, and living in Colorado Springs (02:20), what it’s like to play in military bands, the audition process, and freelancing and subbing in Colorado (13:20), her internship with the Percussive Arts Society in 2017, the logistics of PASIC, and her recent presentation at 2023 Midwest Band Clinic (23:00), growing up in Wisconsin, getting into drumset and concert percussion, playing golf and participating in the YMCA’s Youth & Government Program (36:00), attending the University of Minnesota for undergrad (48:25), her years as a masters student at Indiana University, the importance of recording during practice sessions, and living and working in the St. Louis area (01:00:15), and settles into the Random Ass Questions, including segments on the importance of drumset in overall percussion study, being a woman in the percussion field, great books, gardening, Minnesota sports, and her Beyoncé fandom (01:19:35).
Finishing with a Rave on Jocelyn Neal’s Country Music (01:49:50).
Kathryn Yuill Links:
Kathryn Yuill’s US Air Force webpage
Other Podcast Guests Mentioned:
Nathan Daughtrey in 2021
Kevin Bobo in 2017
Joshua Simonds in 2017
Josh Gottry in 2020
Fernando Meza in 2020
Jason Haaheim in 2018
Other Links:
U.S. Air Force Band of Mid-America
Steve Houghton
John Tafoya
“Wood, Metal, Skin” - Josh Gottry
“Come Together” - The Beatles
“Rain Dance” - Alice Gomez
“Yellow After the Rain” - Mitchell Peters
Concerto No. 1 for Marimba - Ney Rosauro
YMCA Youth & Government
Instruction Book for Xylophone - George Hamilton Green
Peter Kogan
“Glory and Grandeur” - Russell Peck
“Corker” - Libby Larsen
“An Extraordinary Correspondence” - Nathan Daughtrey
“Memories” - Ney Rosauro
Michael Spiro
“Colas Breugnon” Xylophone Excerpt
The Sound of Music trailer
“I Have Confidence” - Julie Andrews
From Justin to Kelly trailer
Emily Henry
Becoming - Michelle Obama
A Promised Land - Barack Obama
Dreams from My Father - Barack Obama
Cowboy Carter - Beyoncé
Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé trailer
Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé trailer
Raves:
Country Music - Jocelyn Neal

Iowa City-based percussionist, educator, and band leader Ginny Armstrong stops by to talk about her teaching responsibilities in and around Iowa, teaching community steel band,  and performing regularly (03:50), growing up in West Virginia, playing organ, and getting into percussion (30:00), attending West Virginia University for her undergrad (44:30) and her master’s (59:15), moving to Nashville after her master’s, living and working there, and then going to the University of Iowa for her doctorate (01:09:15), and finishes with the Random Ass Questions, including segments on being a woman in the field of percussion, cooking Thanksgiving dinner, great and terrible movies, David Sedaris and Amy Sedaris, Iowa women’s basketball, and some unusual gigs (01:30:00).
Finishing with a Rave on the Unbound Book Festival in Columbia, Missouri and the chance to moderate a panel (02:01:30).
Ginny Armstrong link:
Melissa’s Music Studio
Other Links:
Dan Moore
“Baja” - Steel band traditional
“Jamaica Farewell” - Steel Band Traditional
Iowa Flood of 2008
Phil Faini
Ellie Mannette
Mat Britain
Pan Rocks
Tracy Thornton
New Horizons International Music Association
Adam Mason
Keiko Abe
Concertino for Marimba and Orchestra - Paul Creston
“March” - Elliot Carter
The Texas Tenors
Lalo Davila
West Virginia vs. Iowa 2024 NCAA tourney
Nick Miller
Chaconne in D Minor - JS Bach/marimba
Dune: Part 2 trailer
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood trailer
Masters of the Air trailer
Saw trailer
The Matrix Resurrections trailer
Mad Max: Fury Road trailer
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga trailer
The Queen’s Gambit trailer
Anne Rice
A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving
Me Talk Pretty One Day - David Sedaris
Holidays on Ice - David Sedaris
Strangers with Candy trailer
I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence - Amy Sedaris
“Lay All Your Love on Me” - Caroline Shaw with Sö Percussion
Raves:
Unbound Book Festival
How Can I Help You - Laura Sims
Poet-Librarians in the Library of Babel - Sommer Browning and Shannon Tharp, editors
Margaret Conroy - DBRL

Minneapolis-based percussionist Eri Isomura returns to talk about how she recovered from overuse injuries physically and mentally after undergrad (02:05), her time as a grad student at the Boston Conservatory (MA), studying with great teachers, attending summer festivals, and why it’s so challenging to have a performance career in Boston (12:55), and finishes with the Random Ass Questions segment, including portions on being a woman in the field of percussion, Japanese food, great books, private Karaoke rooms, and Andy Warhol (34:30).
Finishing with a Rave on the 1975 film Nashville (01:11:00).
Eri Isomura Links:
Eri Isomura’s Website
10th Wave Collective
Previous Podcast Guests mentioned:
Matt McClung in 2022
Keith Aleo in 2020
Other Links:
“Velocities” - Joseph Schwantner
“Merlin” - Andrew Thomas
“Reflections on the Nature of Water” - Jacob Druckman
“Psappha” - Iannis Xenakis
Piano Sonata No. 3 in F Minor - Johannes Brahms
“See Ya Thursday” - Steve Mackey
Nancy Zeltsman
Sam Solomon
Doug Perkins
Okonomiyaki
Arrival trailer
Parasite trailer
Snakes on a Plane trailer
Speak, Okinawa - Elizabeth Miki Brina
Nobody Will Tell You This But Me - Bess Kalb
The Nightingale - Kristin Hannah
Crazy Rich Asians trilogy - Kevin Kwan
Born a Crime - Trevor Noah
“Don’t Stop Believin’” - Journey
Andy Warhol - “Art is what you can get away with”
Raves:
Nashville trailer

Minneapolis (MN)-based freelance percussionist and educator Eri Isomura stops by to discuss her freelancing work, 10th Wave Music, networking, and the amount of planning needed to put it all together (03:40), her responsibilities when she taught at St. Olaf (MN), changes in her life once she became a mom, and the “Three M’s of Freelancing” (22:30), more about 10th Wave Collective and her entrepreneurship training in Boston (33:25), growing up in Minneapolis, her father the cellist, and her extensive piano background (42:20), and discusses her time as an undergrad at St. Olaf, the development of one’s musical taste, and how to create great sound from percussion instruments (56:45).
Finishing with a Rave on the 2022 book Overdue: Reckoning with the Public Library (01:15:00).
Eri Isomura Links:
Eri Isomura’s website
10th Wave Collective
Previous Podcast Guests mentioned:
Matt McClung in 2022
Matthew Coley in 2021
Other Links:
Heartland Marimba
Peter Klatzow
Doodle
LettuceMeet
Dave Hagedorn
Nancy Zeltsman
Black Lives Matter
American Composers Forum
New Music U.S.A.
Piano Concerto No. 3 - Sergei Prokofiev
Piano Concerto No. 23 - W.A. Mozart
Ballade No. 1 - Frederic Chopin
Piano Concerto No. 3 - Sergei Rachmaninov
“Merlin” - Andrew Thomas
The Golden Girls TV theme song
Sonatas and Interludes - John Cage
American Songbook No. 1 - George Crumb
Raves:
Overdue: Reckoning with the Public Library - Amanda Oliver

Allen Otte returns to talk about getting to Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, taking over the percussion program, establishing the Percussion Group Cincinnati at the school, and building a program (01:40), the changing personnel of PGC, commissioning composers, performing with students, being the “institutional memory”, and his decision to retire (17:15), and finishes with the Random Ass Questions, including segments on percussion literature choices, “Otte-speak”, diversity issues, The Met Opera Online, English novels, sports in the 1960s, and Renaissance Choral Music (38:10).
Finishing with a Rave on Nick Tosches’ 2005 book on Arnold Rothstein (01:12:05).
Allen Otte Links:
Part 1 with Allen Otte
The Innocents
Percussion Group Cincinnati
Other Links:
Ben Toth
Jack Brennan
Bill Youhass
Herbert Brün
“Third Construction” - John Cage
Mark Saya
Lou Harrison
Tár trailer
Eugene Onegin - Piotr Tchaikovsky
Middlemarch - George Eliot
Jane Austen
Thomas Hardy
Charles Dickens
The 1960s Green Bay Packers
Warren Spahn
Henry Aaron
Lift-Off - Russell Peck
“Ave Maria” - Josquin des Prez
“Sick cervus” - Giovanni da Palestrina
“Ave Maria” - Tomás Luis de Victoria
Raves:
King of the Jews - Nick Tosches

Retired Cincinnati Conservatory of Music Professor, co-founder of BlackEarth Percussion Group and the Percussion Group Cincinnati, and performing percussionist Allen Otte stops by to talk about his current work with an early music improvisational group and The Innocents Project with John Lane (03:50), growing up in Sheboygan, WI, playing in church and with polka bands, his beginnings in piano and percussion, and studying with Michael Rosen (32:20), attending Oberlin (OH) for undergrad and getting into improvisation and new chamber music (43:50), and his work with BlackEarth, “inhaling music” vs. building repertoire and programs, and eventually making his way to CCM (56:40).
Finishing with a Rave on Ireland, its people, and its parades (01:17:30).
Allen Otte Links:
Percussion Group Cincinnati’s PAS Hall of Fame page
The Innocents
Previous Podcast Guest Mentioned:
John Lane in 2023
Other Links:
Anthony Braxton
“The Fall of the Empire” - Frederick Rzewski
Herbert Brün
Garry Kvistad
“Guantanamera” - Pete Seeger
“If I Had A Hammer” - Peter, Paul, and Mary
“So What” - Miles Davis
“My Favorite Things” - John Coltrane
Michael Rosen
Richard Weiner
Cloyd Duff
George Hamilton Green
“Log Cabin Blues” - G.H. Green
The Polka Belt in the USA
“Zyklus” - Karlheinz Stockhausen
“Concertino for Marimba” - Paul Creston
George Szell
Pierre Boulez
“Oiseaux Exotiques” - Olivier Messiaen
The Rite of Spring - Igor Stravinsky
“Third Construction” - John Cage
“Music for a Summer Evening” - George Crumb
Jan Williams
“Suite for Percussion” - Lou Harrison
“Inuksuit” - John Luther Adams
“Ionisation” - Edgard Varése
“Bolero” - Ravel
“Atmospheres” - György Ligeti
“String Quartet” - Witold Lutoslawski
String Quartet No. 14, Op. 131 - Ludwig van Beethoven
Al O’Connor
Tom Siwe
The LaSalle Quartet
Bill Youhass
Raves:
Marching Mizzou at St. Patrick’s Day Parade 2024