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.
"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:
- Miller Machine with Alan Abel 4" Triangle
- Miller Machine with Zildjian Finger Cymbal
- Alan Abel 6" Triangle
- Black Swamp Grenadillo Castanets
- Black Swamp TC1 Tambourine
- LP Hand Hammered Cow Bell
- Rustic Percussion Temple Blocks
- Spectrasound 35 bar “Zebra” Mark Tree
- Weiss Classic Ratchet
- Weiss Bell Tree
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
