John Bergamo is an American percussionist and composer. Since 1970 he has been the coordinator of the percussion department at the California Institute of the Arts

California Institute of the Arts

The California Institute of the Arts, commonly referred to as CalArts, is located in Valencia, in Los Angeles County, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the United States created specifically for students of both the visual and the...

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In 1959 Bergamo attended the Lenox School of Jazz in Lenox Mass. next door to Tanglewood, the summer home of the Boston Symphony. Under a scholarship, Bergamo studied drumset with Max Roach; had Percy Heath and Kenny Dorham as jazz band instructors; studied history and theory with Gunther Schuller, Marshall Stearns and George Russell; and was classmates with Ornette Coleman, and Don Cherry. In 1962 Bergamo earned an M.M. degree from Manhattan School of Music (studying percussion with Paul Price and composition with Michael Colgrass), followed by three summers in Tanglewood and time in New York City as a freelance musician.

In the fall of 1964, he joined the Creative Associates at the State University at Buffalo. This group was formed by Lukas Foss, and its members included percussionist Jan Williams; composers George Crumb, Sylvano Bussoti, Mauricio Kagel, and Fred Myrow; Bassist Buell Neidlinger; oboist / saxophonist Andrew N. White III; singers Carol Plantamura, Sylvia Brigham Dimiziani, and Larry Bogue; composer / trombonist Vinko Globokar; violinist Paul Zukofsky; clarinetist Sherman Friedlander; cellist Jay Humeston; composer / pianist Michael Sahl; violist Jean Depuey; and flutist Karl Kraber. The Creative Associates at SUNY Buffalo explored the avant-garde in a wide variety of 20th Century styles, and performed regularly in Buffalo and in New York's Carnegie recital Hall. Some of the results of this group included the first book of madrigals by George Crumb, Vibone by Vinko Globokar, Passion Selon Sade by Sylvano Bussotti, and Songs From the Japanese by Fred Myrow. From this group Bergamo became involved in smaller "sub-groups" with Buell Neidlinger, Charles Gayle, and Andrew White; and a trio with George Crumb and Paul Zukofsky.

Relocating to the west coast in 1968, Bergamo taught briefly at the University of Washington, before coming to CalArts in 1970, where he taught from when the school's doors first opened until his retirement in 2005. Upon moving to the West Coast Bergamo became heavily involved in the study of North and South Indian drumming as well as other non-European drumming traditions. Bergamo studied tabla with Mahaparush Misra, Shankar Ghosh, Swapan Chaudhuri, and South Indian drumming with T.H. Subashchandran, T.H. Vinayakram, T. Rangnathan, Poovalur Srinivasan, P.S. Venkatesan. Bergamo has also studied North Indian classical music with Ali Akbar Khan at the Ali Akbar College of Music in San Rafael, California, leading to a spell as Khansahib's road manager in late 1960s, and later playing with Ali Akbar Khan on works of a contemporary nature (e.g. the album: Journey in 1990). In 1979 Bergamo became perhaps the first Westerner to study the thavil in Chennai, India.

Over the course of his career, he has performed with Frank Zappa

Frank Zappa

Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...

, Nexus

Nexus (percussion ensemble)

Nexus is a Toronto-based percussion ensemble that performs jazz, world music, and western avantgarde music.The ensemble is made up of percussionists Bob Becker , Bill Cahn , Robin Engelman, Russell Hartenberger, John Wyre, and Garry Kvistad. Founding member Michael Craden died of liver cancer in 1982...

, Dave Liebman

Dave Liebman

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, Ali Akbar Khan

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, Lou Harrison

Lou Harrison

Lou Silver Harrison was an American composer. He was a student of Henry Cowell, Arnold Schoenberg, and K. P. H. Notoprojo Lou Silver Harrison (May 14, 1917 – February 2, 2003) was an American composer. He was a student of Henry Cowell, Arnold Schoenberg, and K. P. H. Notoprojo Lou Silver Harrison...

, Malcolm Goldstein

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, Mickey Hart

Mickey Hart

Mickey Hart is an American percussionist and musicologist. He is best known as one of the two drummers of the rock band the Grateful Dead. He was a member of the Grateful Dead from September 1967 to February 1971, and from October 1974 to August 1995...

, Emil Richards

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, Shadowfax

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, L. Shankar

L. Shankar

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, Glen Velez

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, Repercussion Unit, Lukas Foss

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, Gunther Schuller

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, Charles Wuorinen

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 (The Group for Contemporary Music

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 at Columbia University

Columbia University

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), Shakti

Shakti

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 with John McLaughlin

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, Trichy Sankaran

Trichy Sankaran

Trichy Sankaran is an Indian percussionist, composer, scholar, and educator. He is acknowledged as one of the foremost virtuosos of the mridangam and also plays the kanjira on occasion. Since the early 1970s, he has performed and recorded in a number of cross-cultural projects.Sankaran has lived...

, and Steve Gadd

Steve Gadd

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, and participated in the "World Drums" performance at EXPO 86

Expo 86

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In addition, he has performed on the soundtracks of a number of Hollywood films, including Act of Violence, Altered States, Bad News Bears go to Japan, Chapter Two, Crossroads, The Exorcist II, The Heretic, Island of Dr. Moreau (1996), L.A. Story, National LAmpoon's Class Reunion, Perfect Weapon, Popeye, The Possessed, Project X, A Reflection of Fear, The Scarecrow Sniper, Tarzan the Ape Man, and Who's Harry Crumb.

Bergamo has co-founded two all-percussion groups: The Repercussion Unit in 1976 with Larry Stein, Ed Mann

Ed Mann

Ed Mann has been "a drummer and piano dabbler since childhood", best known for his mallet percusion recorded and live work with Frank Zappa from 1977 to the end of Zappa's career.- Career :...

, James Hildebrandt, Greg Johnson, Paul Anceau, and Steven "Lucky" Mosko; and The Hands On'Semble with Andrew Grueschow, Randy Gloss and Austin Wrinkle in 1997.

His music is published by Smith Publications.

Discography

• 1977 - Zappa, Frank. Zappa in New York. Barking Pumpkin.
• 1986 - Bergamo, John. On the Edge. CD. Cologne, Germany: CMP Records.
• 1990 - Harrison, Lou. Music for Guitar and Percussion. [Netherlands]: Etcetera; N[ew] Y[ork]: Dist. by Qualiton Imports. (John Bergamo, conducts the Cal Arts Percussion Ensemble in the first work, Canticle no. 3.)

Filmography

• 1987 - World Drums. Directed by Niv Fichman. Produced by Rhombus Media.
• 1990 - Bergamo, John. The Art & Joy of Hand Drumming. Directed by Toby Keeler. Brattleboro, Vermont: Interworld Music Associates.

External links

• John Bergamo faculty page at California Institute of the Arts site