I would estimate from the time I started in 1988 to when I left in 1995, the orchestra had acquired about $500,000 worth of equipment. NWS's Merle and Michael Orlove Percussion Studio in the New World Center
I looked everywhere for older instruments that could be refurbished and, even constructed a few of the more unusual instruments myself. From that point on, and for the next seven years (I was asked to stay on and start a percussion ensemble after my four-year fellowship with the orchestra ended) I did everything I could to make the inventory of the section capable of handling most any repertoire that we might be asked to play, and to avoid having to rent any instruments from companies in other cities. During the first season I quickly realized that my preliminary ideas were simply not going to be comprehensive enough to handle MTT’s ambitious programming. I started immediately making lists and looking over the standard orchestral repertoire to get an idea of a basic inventory. NWS was starting completely from nothing at that point and it was an incredible challenge to try to anticipate what the needs of the orchestra would be. Shortly after I was invited to join NWS, they asked me to curate its percussion instrument collection. I remember very vividly driving into Miami to where we were to meet the office staff. John Kapenekas: As an NWS Fellow, with David Fishlock, and nowĭavid Fishlock, a very close colleague and friend of mine from the Cleveland Institute of Music, and I were probably the very first Fellows of the new orchestra to arrive January 1988. Now the Principal Timpani of the Royal Swedish Opera and Ballet and owner of Kapenekas Percussion Restoration Services, John reflects on those early years and how he built NWS’s percussion collection. While at NWS, Percussion Fellows perfect their craft within their own studio that is filled with an array of fine equipment, most of it carefully curated by one of NWS’s first Percussion Fellows, John Kapenekas. NWS percussion alumni also hold principal positions in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Cleveland, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Saint Louis, Dallas, Toronto, Stuttgart and Sweden. Over recent years NWS’s Percussion Fellows and alumni have enjoyed much success, winning many of the available auditions and joining the ranks of symphonies in Atlanta, Milwaukee, Kansas City, New York, North Carolina, Utah, Rochester, Seattle, Vancouver, Quebec and Toronto. NWS Percussion Fellows over the years in performances at the New World Center and Lincoln Theatre JanuFrom the Archives: A Percussion Fellowship History
From the Archives: A Percussion Fellowship History.