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A Grand Night For Singing - Matt Ordaz

Matt Ordaz's setup for A Grand Night For Singing at the Richard and Karen Carpenter Center in Long Beach, California.

Matt's write-up and gear list below photos.

Matt Ordaz's setup for A Grand Night For Singing at the Richard and Karen Carpenter Center in Long Beach, California.Matt Ordaz's setup for A Grand Night For Singing at the Richard and Karen Carpenter Center in Long Beach, California.Matt Ordaz's setup for A Grand Night For Singing at the Richard and Karen Carpenter Center in Long Beach, California.Matt Ordaz's setup for A Grand Night For Singing at the Richard and Karen Carpenter Center in Long Beach, California.Matt Ordaz's setup for A Grand Night For Singing at the Richard and Karen Carpenter Center in Long Beach, California.Matt Ordaz's setup for A Grand Night For Singing at the Richard and Karen Carpenter Center in Long Beach, California.Matt Ordaz's setup for A Grand Night For Singing at the Richard and Karen Carpenter Center in Long Beach, California.Matt Ordaz's setup for A Grand Night For Singing at the Richard and Karen Carpenter Center in Long Beach, California.Matt Ordaz's setup for A Grand Night For Singing at the Richard and Karen Carpenter Center in Long Beach, California.Matt Ordaz's setup for A Grand Night For Singing at the Richard and Karen Carpenter Center in Long Beach, California.Matt Ordaz's setup for A Grand Night For Singing at the Richard and Karen Carpenter Center in Long Beach, California.Matt Ordaz's setup for A Grand Night For Singing at the Richard and Karen Carpenter Center in Long Beach, California.Matt Ordaz's setup for A Grand Night For Singing at the Richard and Karen Carpenter Center in Long Beach, California.Matt Ordaz's setup for A Grand Night For Singing at the Richard and Karen Carpenter Center in Long Beach, California.Matt Ordaz's setup for A Grand Night For Singing at the Richard and Karen Carpenter Center in Long Beach, California.

"This production of A Grand Night for Singing with Musical Theatre West features a cast of Broadway veterans directed by a member of the original Broadway cast, a wonderful on-stage band, and a great venue (with Karen Carpenter’s drums on display in the lobby!).

The show is a Rodgers and Hammerstein revue with non-stop music, featuring chamber orchestra arrangements for a 6-piece band. The styles between numbers can change rapidly, from an orchestral rendition of 'Some Enchanted Evening' with delicate mallet passages, to a fast up-tempo swing version of 'Kansas City', and everything in between.

Since a few passages require bells or xylophone to be played while simultaneously continuing time on the kick and hi-hat, having those mallet instruments tucked under and over my hats was a necessity. When possible, I also prefer to have my music and stick tray directly in front of my snare to aid in quick stick changes. Although there are many quick stick/mallet changes, I was very surprised to find that no specialty combination sticks are needed (as long as you don’t mind playing set with xylophone mallets a few times)!

I’m taking full advantage of my two Miller Machines thanks to a few moments in the book in which quiet triangle notes are written 1 beat after finishing a heavy swing section, and a similar moment later in the book for finger cymbal. Thankfully, the new beater upgrades arrived just in time to use them on this run! I knew the upgraded beaters would be better, but I was really surprised with how good they sound! I still play the triangle by hand when I can for more control, but the sound between my Stoessel beaters and the brass beaters with the upgrade is nearly indistinguishable."

Drums: Ludwig Birch Classic

  • 16"x20" Kick Drum
  • 8"x10" Small Tom
  • 14"x14" Floor Tom

Snare:

  • Gretsch 5.5"x14" Brooklyn Standard

Cymbals:

  • Istanbul Agop 10” Xist Splash
  • Istanbul Agop 14” Sultan Hi-Hats
  • Istanbul Agop 18” Traditional Dark Crash
  • Istanbul Agop 20” 30th Anniversary Ride
  • Weiss 18” China

Mallet Instruments:

  • Deagan 830 Master Lite Wate Xylophone
  • Jenco Wide Bar Bells
  • Deagan 580 Vibra-Harp
  • Deagan Chimes

Auxillary:

Sticks/Mallets:

  • Vater Fusion Maple Drumsticks
  • Vic Firth WB Jazz Brushes
  • Ron Vaughn Cymbal Mallets (with long rattan handles)
  • Stoessel Triangle Beaters (white and black)
  • Innovative CL-C2 Chime Hammers
  • Innovative JT23 Vibraphone Mallets
  • Malletech DS18 Dave Samuels Vibraphone Mallets
  • Malletech BB34 "Becker Blues" Xylophone Mallets (also used on glock for soft passages)
  • Encore 207R Bell Mallets

A Grand Night For Singing - Regional - Matt Ordaz
October 2021

Matt Ordaz's setup for A Grand Night For Singing at the Richard and Karen Carpenter Center in Long Beach, California.

"Conducting a National Tour is incredibly challenging, but so rewarding. Stepping on to the podium with a new orchestra every few weeks really keeps you on your toes. Every player responds differently so you are constantly adjusting to get the desired result. I would compare it to playing a multi-percussion piece where the instruments are constantly moving."
"After a grueling four years at SUNY I still had one theory class left to finish. I was really depressed. A classmate of mine recommended me for a tour of a Broadway show. This completely changed the course of my life."
"When I first got the call to start working on Ain’t Too Proud - The Life And Times Of The Temptations, I was curious about which era the show was going to focus on. Their career began in the early 1960’s and they’re still releasing albums today."
"The timpani tunings are the real challenge of The Little Mermaid. Changing pitches must be done by feel, that was my biggest challenge. Memorizing the mallet parts was also very necessary."
"As you can see in the pictures, I prefer to have as much 'stuff' right in front of me, as close as possible. Because there are so many instruments close in, I have mounted a music stand off of the tom mount.
"Different from the tour, the original Broadway production had acoustic drums, an acoustic set of timbales, and an acoustic tambourine - the tambourine is now programmed in the SPD-SX."
  • 2 min read

Gene Krupa's drum solo from "Gene's Blues" from the album Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich released November 1955.

Steve Jordan's drum solo from the title track of the album Casa Loco.
Robbie Ameen's drum solo from the track "Spring Fling".

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