PASIC.org : PASIC Artists

Alan Abel, Gerald Unger, John Beck, Anthony Cirone,
Arnie Lang, Stanley Leonard, Salvatore Rabbio
Symphonic Emeritus Concert
Friday, 2:00 p.m.


Alan Abel	Anthony Cirone
Alan Abel, former associate principal percussionist of the Philadelphia Orchestra, retired in 1997 after thirty years of service. He graduated from the Eastman School of Music and was a part time member of the Rochester Philharmonic while there. After two years in a U.S. Air Force Band, he joined the Oklahoma City Symphony where he was principal percussionist for six years before going to Philadelphia in 1959. Abel has taught graduate students at Temple University for thirty-four years and at Rutgers University for five. Abel served on the PAS Board of Directors, was inducted into the PAS Hall of Fame in 1998, and became chairman of the PAS Symphonic Committee at its inception. He has compiled two books on orchestral studies for timpani and percussion and has designed and produced symphonic triangles and bass drum stands that are used throughout the world.	Anthony J. Cirone received his bachelor of science and master of science degrees from the Juilliard School of Music, where he studied with Saul Goodman. Upon graduation, he was offered the position of percussionist with the San Francisco Symphony. During his ensuing tenure with the Symphony, he performed under the baton of Seiji Ozawa, Edo DeWaart, Herbert Blomstedt, and Michael Tilson Thomas as music directors with noted guest conductors such as Leonard Bernstein, Igor Stravinsky, Aaron Copland, Eugene Ormandy, Kurt Mazur, Rafael Kubelik, Leonard Slakin, and James Levine. In addition, Cirone also served as professor of music at San Jose State University from 1965 to 2001, where he chaired the percussion department and taught the manuscript preparation/computer engraving section of music technology. Cirone also served on the faculty of San Francisco State University and Stanford University. He served as professor of music and chair of the percussion department at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University from 2001 to 2007. A prolific composer, he has published over ninety titles including books such as Portraits in Rhythm, three symphonies for percussion, four sonatas, a string quartet, three pieces for wind ensemble, and seven works for orchestra. In 1999, he received a Special Distinction Award from ASCAP for his Pentadic Striations for Orchestra.

Stanley Leonard	John H. Beck
Stanley Leonard achieved prominence in the music world during his thirty-eight year tenure as principal timpanist of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. He performed internationally with the PSO in concerts, television productions, and recordings. Additionally, as a solo artist, he premiered several major, new works for solo timpani and orchestra. Leonard’s extensive compositions for percussion and other musical mediums are published in the United States and Europe and performed around the world. He is author of the method book Pedal Technique for the Timpani. Leonard can be heard performing and directing his compositions for percussion on the CD, Canticle. He has also presented master classes at leading conservatories and universities in the United States and abroad. Currently, Leonard serves on the PAS Symphonic Committee and has served on the PAS Board of Directors. He taught for many years as an adjunct professor at Duquesne University and Carnegie-Mellon University.	John H. Beck received his bachelor of music and master of music degrees from the Eastman School of Music, where he has also served on the faculty since 1959. Beck’s career as a performer and teacher includes posts as percussionist, timpanist, and marimba soloist with the United States Marine Band, principal percussionist with the Rochester Philharmonic, and timpanist with the Rochester Philharmonic. He has made numerous solo appearances, including performances with the Eastman Wind Ensemble, Syracuse Wind Ensemble, Chautauqua Band, Rochester Chamber Orchestra, Corning Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic, Memphis State Wind Ensemble, Pennsylvania Festival Band, and Filharmonia Pomorska, Poland. As a conductor, Beck has appeared with the Eastman Percussion Ensemble and the Aeolian Consort. His compositions have been published by Carl Fischer, Boston Music, Kendor Music, Meredith Music, MCA, Wimbledon Music, Inc., Studio 4 Productions, and CPP/Belwin. He has served as PAS New York Chapter President (1976–82), PAS Second Vice-President (1982–84), PAS First Vice-President (1984–86), and PAS President (1987–90). He was inducted into the PAS Hall of Fame in 1999.

Arnie Lang
Morris Lang is a graduate of the Juilliard School of Music. He was a student of Saul Goodman, Morris Goldenberg, and Billy Gladstone. He has performed with the New York City Ballet, the American Opera Society, and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. In 1955, he was appointed associate principal timpanist and percussionist with the New York Philharmonic. Recordings featuring Lang include Stravinsky’s Histoire du Soldat and Carter’s Eight Pieces for Timpani. Lang is professor of percussion at the Conservatory of Music at Brooklyn College and in charge of the doctoral percussion program at CUNY. Under his direction, the Brooklyn College Percussion Ensemble has premiered some sixty works, many of them commissions. Lang retired from the New York Philharmonic in 1996 in order to devote more time to Lang Percussion, Inc. In 2000, Lang was inducted into the PAS Hall of Fame.