Arts Alive! podcast: Florida Orchestra percussionists

John Bannon, who has been principal tympani with The Florida Orchestra for nearly 40 years, downplays his considerable talents in this playful Arts Alive! interview.

“First you tune it, and then you hit it. Preferably in that order.”

What becomes clear is that the tympani is an integral part of not just the percussion section but of the full orchestra itself, and that Bannon’s talents as both an interpreter and a creative driver have made the TFO experience richer by degrees, leaps and considerable bounds.

He first plied his percussive trade locally in the Florida Gulf Coast Symphony, a precursor to The Florida Orchestra.

Joining Bannon in the podcast studio is John Shaw, the orchestra’s principal percussionist, who adds insight and color to the conversation about the role of percussion – and drums in particular – in symphonic music.

Shaw is also present to say nice things about Bannon, whom he’s played alongside since the 1990s. Following this weekend’s performances of Mahler’s Symphony No. 3, Bannon is retiring from TFO.

Bannon’s percussionist son, Kelsey, will play second tympani at these concerts (Saturday night and Sunday afternoon at the Mahaffey Theater). It is the orchestra’s final Masterworks program of the season.

The veteran tympanist might be slowing down, but no way is he hanging out the “Gone Fishin’” sign. He is in demand as both an educator (at St. Pete College and Hillsborough Community College, as well as an every-summer gig coaching chamber music and teaching percussion at a music school in Vermont) and a guest conductor.

“I intend to remain active,” he says. “People say ‘What are you going to do when you retire?’ My answer is ‘Less.’”

Click on the arrow to listen to the interview.