John F. Best This is Me

Education

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1. 1. John F

   www.johnfbest.com/bio.html - [Cached]

   Published on: 2/9/2008   Last Visited: 2/9/2008

   John F. Best
   
   John Best is a native Houstonian, but his musical tastes are as diverse and exotic as the locations he has received his musical training. After studying in the Bluegrass, the Arizona desert and the arctic cold of Northern Sweden, John has emerged as a virtuoso percussionist, spending most of his time improvising on mallet percussion. He has traveled around the globe as a musician and has performed as a soloist and clinician in the United States, Austria, Germany, Sweden, and Australia.
   
   John continues his musical craftsmanship both as a concert percussionist on the stage and as a vibraphonist in jazz venues. He enjoys a diverse array of performance opportunities. Groups he has performed with include Global Percussion Network (Stockholm, Sweden), Percussion One (Houston, TX), Orchestra X (Houston TX), the Arizona Opera (Phoenix/Tucson, AZ), the Da Camera Society (Houston), Erik Westberg's Vokalensemble (Piteå, Sweden), the Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra (Lexington, KY), the AIMS Festival Orchestra (Graz, Austria), the Gerald Blakeman Quartet (Houston), John Best Trio (Houston), and the rock-exotica band Clouseaux (Houston). He has performed as a featured soloist at such venues as the 2000 World Expo in Hannover, Germany and the 2001 Melbourne International Percussion Festival.
   
   As an educator, John's experience extends all levels of teaching. He currently is the Instrumental Music Director at Royal High School in Simi Valley, California, teaching 3 wind ensembles, a marching band and two jazz ensembles. Previously, he spent two years as the Percussion Area Coordinator at Sam Houston State University, and has also worked as an Affiliate Artist at the University of Houston's Moores School of Music. In 2005-2006, he was the Jazz Band Director and also Percussion Instructor at Lake Highlands High School in Dallas, TX.
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   John Best uses Innovative Percussion mallets and sticks. He serves on the Music Technology Committee for the Percussive Arts Society. He also is a member of the International Association of Jazz Educators and the Texas Music Educators Association.
   
   John received a Bachelor's degree in Music Performance from the University of Kentucky in 1999. John then continued graduate studies at the University of Arizona. He completed a Masters in Percussion Performance from Musikhögskolan i Piteå, Sweden in 2002 where he also studied in a studio musician's program.

2. 2. PASIC 2004

   www.pasic.org/2004/biosphotos/ - [Cached]

   Published on: 3/4/2004   Last Visited: 2/3/2005

   Panelists: Anders Åstrand, John Best, Donnie Christian, Jeff Crowell, Allan Molnar, Norman Weinberg
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   John Best is the coordinator of percussion studies at Sam Houston State University and an affiliate artist at the University of Houston. He has traveled around the globe as a musician and has performed as a soloist and clinician in the United States, Austria, Germany, Sweden, and Australia. He has performed with the groups Global Percussion Network, Percussion One, Orchestra X, the Arizona Opera, the Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra, the Gerald Blakemon Quartet, John Best Trio, and the rock-exotica band Clouseaux. Best has also taught in the Spring, Cypress-Fairbanks, and Conroe school districts in Texas. He received a bachelor's degree in music from the University of Kentucky in 1999, continued graduate studies at the University of Arizona, and completed a master's degree in music from Musikhögskolan i Piteå, Sweden in 2002.

3. 3. www.johnfbest.com

   www.johnfbest.com/contact.html - [Cached]

   Published on: 4/28/2007   Last Visited: 2/9/2008

   John F. Best