Toolbox Percussion has set out to present an extravaganza of cultural diplomacy, TICA2021 Gala Concert, in the form of online screening. The concert will feature commissioned performances by Colin Currie Quartet, Synergy Percussion and Third Coast Percussion, celebrating the virtuosity and diversity of percussion music! Local musicians of Romer String Quartet, Hong Kong Contemporary Music Group and Toolbox Percussion are going to present diversity of music together including percussion & string arrangement pieces by Dr. Fung Lam🎶🎶 Physical concert is cancelling due to the worldwide pandemic, but all of our faculty members and admin team believe that music brings us together! We need your support to stand with us and artists, your every ticket purchased is planting seeds for music in authentic concert/ theatre to happen PHYSICALLY!

Performance Lecture will be playing a pre-recorded performance, followed by live analysis and dissection by TICA Faculty. Participants can communicate with musicians LIVE, while enjoying the masterful performance by professional artists, and appreciating innovative performative techniques for percussion. The Second Performance Lecture will feature Synergy Percussion, Australia's oldest and foremost contemporary music ensemble. Through performance that is paired with analysis, artist sharing and lecture on different repertoires of specific themes, the group will be meeting you online to enjoy the exclusive recital for this festival! 表演講堂系列將透過播放音樂錄像及學院導師現場解說及分析，讓參加者從不同角度賞析音樂，在聆聽樂曲之餘，更可與音樂家即場交流及問答，解構敲擊樂的創新演奏技巧。第二堂表演講堂將邀請澳洲最悠久而創新不斷的敲擊樂匠— Synergy Percussion，以錄像形式演出精選敲擊樂章。

My playing career covers both orchestral and contemporary percussion so I've chosen 2 very different style excerpts. 2 auxiliary instruments which often get neglected are the Tambourine, but more so, the Tam Tam... in fact, have you ever had a Tam Tam lesson? I know I certainly haven't! We're going to take a brief look at the tambourine part in the Storm from Benjamin Britten's Sea Interludes. It's a famous excerpt over here in the UK, but not so familiar overseas and catches many percussionists out. We'll check out the different techniques involved, discuss the pros and cons to using thumbs vs fingers, how to navigate the tricky crescendo's & diminuendo's whilst keeping an eye on the general musicianship around the excerpt. Kroumata Pieces by Sven-David Sandström is a terrific percussion sextet I have had the pleasure of performing a few times. The opening is outrageously powerful and has a tune (yes, tune!) on 4 tam tams. It's tricky to get around and epic fun... we can all have a go here and cover all the parts. I'll be joined by some of my students from the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire to help out too. If we have time, let's talk about audition ''do's & don'ts"... having sat on many exam/audition panels, it's frustrating at times seeing promising players let themselves down on simple things which are easy to fix. Adrian Spillett is Section Leader Percussion with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra as well as a member of the Colin Currie Group & Quartet. He won the BBC Young Musician Competition back in 1998 and has had a varied career playing in groups such as the Graham Fitkin Band, London Sinfonietta, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group and the John Wilson Orchestra. He was a founder member of 4-MALITY Percussion Quartet and is a Percussion Tutor at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. 我的職業演奏生涯包含了管弦樂及當代敲擊樂，所以道取兩邊風格迥然不同的兩首選段作討論，主要解構一下兩種經常被忽略的輔助樂器─鈴鼓及鑼。仔細一想，一個針對鑼的課堂，你和我都絕對未上過呢！ 我們會由布烈頓的海之間奏曲 〈風暴〉 中鈴鼓的部分切入。這是在英國為人熟悉的音樂選段，在海外可能較為陌生，敲擊樂手出錯就更易。我們會解構演奏選段時需用的演奏技巧、討論使用拇指和其他手指演奏的優缺點、處理棘手的漸強與漸弱，同時不失整體的音樂性。
 桑德斯特倫的 Kroumata Pieces 是我其中一首我有幸演奏的敲擊樂六重奏。這選段以四個有音調的鑼配強而有力地開始，這些細節都不容易處理但同時又非常經典。在這我們可以嘗試演奏不同部分，今次英國皇家伯明罕音樂學院的學生亦會參與在我們當中協助我們。
 若時間許可，我們可以討論試鏡時的「該做與不該做」。作為多次考試及樂團考核評審，最令我懊惱的是見到大有可為的樂手因小問題而落選 。
 安卓恩·史賓列特是伯明罕市立交響樂團的敲擊樂首席，亦是柯林．卡瑞四重奏的成員之一。他曾於1998年 BBC青年音樂家比賽中奪冠。他演出生涯非常多樣化，曾參與費特金樂團 (譯名)、倫敦小交響樂團、伯明罕現代音樂室內樂團及約翰威爾森管弦樂團。他是英國馬樂地敲擊樂四重奏的創始成員，現在是英國皇家伯明罕音樂學院的敲擊樂導師。

Masterclass will be split between presentations by the faculty / speaking artist and participant work with faculty feedback. In order to get feedback, participants are required to submit score of their own creation that will be viewed in the class, either way will be followed by a teaching / short open lesson with the faculty member. 大師班將分為學院導師/講者的演講及參加者演奏並獲取學院導師意見兩個部分。如參加者希望獲得導師針對演奏的意見，需要提交一段近期拍攝、未被剪輯的練習曲、獨奏或管弦樂曲選段用於課堂上觀看或與導師進行公開課堂。

As someone who has a pretty varied musical life, it is really important to be able to adapt and prepare for the very different scenarios. One day I can be in tails playing the xylophone in a shostakovich symphony, the next day could be in blacks playing some stockhausen, and the day after I could be dressed as a fairy playing the sugar plum fairy out the front of an orchestra. All of which are enjoyable! In the class we will be discuss simple technical and mental warm-ups, then what happens when we first see the music, to what happens before we play the first note. Once all that is decided we then move onto the actual music, and becoming a better musician... Owen Gunnell is one half of O duo, a member of the Colin Currie Group/quartet, Artistic Director of Childrens Classic Concerts, as well as appearing with other several other orchestras and groups. He is also Professor of percussion at The Royal Welsh College of music and Drama, The Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and the Royal College of music. 作為多元的音樂人，游走於不同界別的適應力及準備至關緊要。今日我一襲燕尾服在木琴上演奏蕭斯達高維契的交響曲；另一天我又一身黑西裝演奏著施托克豪；換一天我又可以搖身一變扮演糖梅仙子在管弦樂團前演奏 - 這一切我盡都享受！ 在課堂上，我們會以基礎技巧、心理預備入手，探討由初見樂譜到彈出第一個音的應對策略。熟演以上種種，我們才開始談，何謂一名更好的樂手。 Owen Gunnell 是 O duo 的成員、柯林·卡瑞四重奏的成員、兒童經典音樂會的藝術總監，也與不同樂手組成樂隊。他同時以敲擊樂教授身份，任教於英國皇家威爾士音樂戲劇學院、英國皇家伯明罕音樂學院和皇家音樂學院。

As orchestral snare drummers, we often approach practice and performance with the attitude that evenness of sound and deadly accuracy are to be ideally sought. We neglect the fact that, in actuality, the snare drummer can offer so much more than this; we can bring a dance to life, or evoke military drama by how we play certain excerpts. In my class, I will look at some well-known examples from the snare drum repertoire (Scheherazade, Lieutenant Kije, Hary Janos, Bolero and Shostakovich 7), and try to get you to change your approach to these excerpts, focusing on sound, musicality, phrasing and context. Sam Walton is Co-Principal Percussion of the London Symphony Orchestra, and Principal Percussion of the John Wilson Orchestra. He is a member of the Colin Currie Group and Quartet. He is Professor of Percussion at the Royal Academy of Music and the Royal College of Music. He is also Percussion Tutor for the European Union Youth Orchestra.

Dr. Min-jeong Koh, associate professor of violin at University of Oklahoma’s School of Music, will be back to TICA2021! Praised for her “extreme versatility” and “simply unbeatable beauty of tone” (Berliner Zeitung), Dr. Koh will host a series of masterclass, creative workshop and string lesson, partnering with Dr. Caitlin Boyle, who has over thirty years of experience in string music performing, and is Dr. Koh’s former partner in the Cecilia String Quartet. They worked together from 2004 to 2018, touring around the world as one of Canada’s most celebrated classical ensembles. They will present and answer musical issues faced in quartet, as well as new ways of understanding and creating music together in the midst of the pandemic, delving into different issues such as practical techniques for living through uncertainty, in the present and future.

How does a professional percussionist analyse the notes on the scores? How do they present the details in the music with marimba? TICA faculty Colin Currie provided a sneak peek in his coming masterclass in TICA!