Triangle

Finger Cymbal

Triangle Plus

Horizontal

Order 2 or more Machines. Get 5% off each. Discount in cart.

Triangle Arm

Body

Finger Cym Arm

Plus Body

Horizontal Mount

All pieces interchangeable. Mix and match.

Beater Upgrade Kit

Extra Plastic Ties

Finger Cymbal Mount

Triangle Suspension Mount

Order 3 or more. Get 10% off all. Discount in cart.

Brown/Gold

Long Sleeve

Grey/Black

Short Sleeve

Grey/Red

Long Sleeve

Evita - Craig Given

Craig Given’s percussion setup for Showbiz Christchurch’s production of Evita at the Isaac Theatre Royal in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Craig Given’s percussion setup for Showbiz Christchurch’s production of Evita at the Isaac Theatre Royal in Christchurch, New Zealand.Craig Given’s percussion setup for Showbiz Christchurch’s production of Evita at the Isaac Theatre Royal in Christchurch, New Zealand.Craig Given’s percussion setup for Showbiz Christchurch’s production of Evita at the Isaac Theatre Royal in Christchurch, New Zealand.Craig Given’s percussion setup for Showbiz Christchurch’s production of Evita at the Isaac Theatre Royal in Christchurch, New Zealand.Craig Given’s percussion setup for Showbiz Christchurch’s production of Evita at the Isaac Theatre Royal in Christchurch, New Zealand.Craig Given’s percussion setup for Showbiz Christchurch’s production of Evita at the Isaac Theatre Royal in Christchurch, New Zealand.Craig Given’s percussion setup for Showbiz Christchurch’s production of Evita at the Isaac Theatre Royal in Christchurch, New Zealand.Craig Given’s percussion setup for Showbiz Christchurch’s production of Evita at the Isaac Theatre Royal in Christchurch, New Zealand.Craig Given’s percussion setup for Showbiz Christchurch’s production of Evita at the Isaac Theatre Royal in Christchurch, New Zealand.Craig Given’s percussion setup for Showbiz Christchurch’s production of Evita at the Isaac Theatre Royal in Christchurch, New Zealand.Craig Given’s percussion setup for Showbiz Christchurch’s production of Evita at the Isaac Theatre Royal in Christchurch, New Zealand.Craig Given’s percussion setup for Showbiz Christchurch’s production of Evita at the Isaac Theatre Royal in Christchurch, New Zealand.Craig Given’s percussion setup for Showbiz Christchurch’s production of Evita at the Isaac Theatre Royal in Christchurch, New Zealand.Craig Given’s percussion setup for Showbiz Christchurch’s production of Evita at the Isaac Theatre Royal in Christchurch, New Zealand.

“While this isn't a technically difficult show - it is a fairly busy show and requires a fair degree of concentration in order to keep pace with the often changing tempos and time-signatures. There is plenty of scope for the percussionist and drummer to think carefully and work collaboratively on the South American inspired themes throughout the music. This revival version of Evita has had a fair amount of revision from the original arrangements - which were of a rock-opera (1970s) style. The new orchestration, with a couple of new charts, appears to take a lot of it's inspiration from the 1996 film version starring Madonna and Antonio Banderas (an excellent Che in my opinion!) in the lead roles. I've also played the original orchestration, so it was really nice to be able to play this version and experience the improvements in the score.

A few notes about the percussion book:

Lots of tasty concert bass drum! It would have been really nice to have a big concert bass drum - but due to availability, I had to use a medium sized (vintage) rope-tuned drum. I took the opportunity to look at suspending the bass drum using an aluminum scaffold frame and several different length bungee (elastic/shock) cords. The resulting tone and resonance was outstanding - as the whole drum could resonate freely with minimal dampening. I received many comments from the cast about the bass drum sound and how surprised they were when they saw the actual size of it. The bass drum sound / tone is especially important in ‘Requiem’, but also needs a good sound engineer to assist with miking and mix to ensure that it is given the context it deserves in the front of house.

As mentioned previously the new version of the show has a lot more South American influences in the music. This extends nicely into the percussion and drum parts, where there are some really good opportunities for the drummer and percussionist to work closely together to develop rhythms that stylistically work well together. Buenos Aires is one such chart, and allows the percussionist and drummer to trade fills throughout. I enjoyed being able to mix guaguanco and samba influenced conga rhythms in this tune, along with some nice opportunities for timbale fills and cascara patterns. Much of the approach I used for ‘Buenos Aires’ was from Dave Roth's Broadway Video - so thanks for that Dave!

There are some really tasty marimba parts in the score as well. There are also some nice marimba and guitar lead melodies (‘Another Suitcase’), odd time signature arpeggio work (‘Money Kept Rolling') through to some interesting mechanical incidental music and 3 mallet parts.

I'd do this show again without hesitation. Great fun, some good challenges and plenty of scope to develop percussive soundscapes to support the themes and story on stage!”

Percussion:

  • Premier Timpani (28" and 25")
  • Concorde 4 & 2/3 Octave Marimba
  • Glockenspiel (home-made)
  • Deagan 834 Super Lite-Wate Xylophone
  • UFIP Tam-Tam
  • Bass Drum/Gran Cassa (old brass-band drum) with DIY suspension mount
  • Gretsch 14" Snare Drum
  • LP Patato Valdes Congas
  • Meinl Professional Series Bongos
  • LP Stainless Steel Timbales (13" & 14") with LP Blue Jam Block, LP Salsa Timbale Cowbell & Rhythm Tech Cowbell (small)
  • Temple Blocks (2) - Homemade
  • Grover 10” Silver/Bronze Combo Tambourine
  • TreeWorks 6" Triangle mounted on a Miller Machine
  • Meinl Fiberglass Guiro
  • LP Soft Shake

Cymbals:

  • Meinl 20" Byzance Dry Ride Cymbal
  • Zildjian 16" K Custom Dark Crash
  • UFIP 8" Class Series Splash

Sticks:

  • Vic Firth Timpani Mallets
  • Mike Balter Marimba Mallets
  • Mike Balter Brass and Aluminium Mallets
  • Grover Pro Xylophone Mallets
  • Innovative CG2S Concert Gong/Bass Drum Mallet
  • Innovative CB4 Hard Concert Bass Drum Mallet
  • Vic Firth Buddy Rich Signature Sticks
  • Vic Firth American Custom SD1 Sticks

Evita - International - Craig Given
September 2016

Craig Given’s percussion setup for Showbiz Christchurch’s production of Evita at the Isaac Theatre Royal in Christchurch, New Zealand.

"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".

Search