June 29, 2019 - Ben Phelps (Percussion/Composer)
Today was our first official Inception off-site class.
I had been to Cal Perc Rentals before for the 2013 Dream Concert. They are a huge percussion rental studio that housed every drum known to humans and everything else you could conceivably bang on.
It was also very close to Bedrock Studios, and easily accessible for students (in Frog Town, next to the LA River, close to Dodger Stadium, for those few not familiar with our local geography.)
This was also the day I met the most enigmatically brilliant person I’ve ever met in my life, Ben Phelps.
Ben was a composer first, and percussionist second. His compositions are engrossing and inspiring. His mallets…. more precise than a machine.
I had a dream that the kids would come and bang on every instrument to discover them. Ben wouldn’t let us touch them, but he demonstrated everything they asked to see with dazzling technique... especially the mallet percussion (xylophone, marimba, etc.)
Ben then reviewed their compositions and gave the most comprehensive set of notes and suggestions than any mentor had yet.
Ben had offered an unexpected and outstanding session.
It turns out that Ben is also the music theory teacher at UCLA, and as Inception’s team grew, all the Bruin alumni had (somewhat) affectionate stories about him. (Kidding! They loved you!)
There is so much more to tell about Ben, but it will have to wait for the Sept 2019 concert entries.
To be continued....
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