Have Drums, Will Travel!

 

Have Drums, Will Travel!

At the Concertgebouw

At the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, 1996

Welcome to Kettledrummer.com! This is the personal website of yours truly, Andrew P. Simco. With over forty years experience as a timpanist, percussionist, educator and clinician, I have had a lot of fun during my career. Having performed with many fine ensembles such as the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Albany Symphony Orchestra, Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra, Owensboro Symphony Orchestra, the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra, the Kenosha Symphony Orchestra, the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra, the Elmhurst and Elgin Symphony Orchestras as well as the Lake George Opera and the Des Moines Metro Opera Festival, I have indeed been very fortunate. Note the subtitle. This is an affectionate tip of the hat to an old TV western that starred the actor Richard Boone, called “Have Gun, Will Travel.” Having been free-lancing and hauling timpani from one gig to another over the course of the last eighteen years, I kind of feel like the character Palladin from that show.
This website is designed not only to let you know who I am and what I have done and am currently up to, but to talk about the timpani and related matters. It is an interesting profession and I am still having a blast after all these years. The site will be built around a series of blog posts – and I hope that as they are posted that you will read and enjoy them.

The EMI Recordings- 1987-1997|Part Six

The EMI Recordings- 1987-1997|Part Six The year 1991 Shostakovich and Wagner Like the year 1990, the year 1991 saw the Oslo Philharmonic produce two recordings for EMI. The first was in the early part of the year –if memory serves me correctly, we did this recording in late January 1991. These sessions were devoted to …

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Cloyd Duff

Cloyd Duff | Reflections on a Remarkable Musician

  Cloyd Duff | Reflections on a Remarkable Musician   I have been lucky in my musical career to have come into contact with several outstanding musicians who have in one way or another influenced my musical style and preferences. The first and biggest influence was the late Fred D. Hinger, who was the subject …

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Fred D. Hinger

Fred D Hinger | Reflections on a Great Musician

  Fred D Hinger | Reflections on a Great Musician Each year when the month of February rolls around, I tend to think a lot of my relationship with one of the most musical and original minds that I have had the pleasure to know, and that is Fred D. Hinger. I suppose this is …

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Bartok

The EMI Recordings- 1987-1997 | Part Five

  The EMI Recordings- 1987-1997|Part Five The year 1990 Bartok and Sibelius   In my last blog post, My Musical Career | Part Thirty-Nine, I wrote a little about our recordings for the year 1990, but confined myself to a broader overview of the happenings of that particular season. In this blog post, I can …

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