The Really Terrible Orchestra Of the Triangle (RTOOT) features John Cashwell as timpanist. Mr. Cashwell is a much better tenor than percussionist, appearing regularly with the Longleaf Opera Company (longleafopera.org). He also has a gig at Aldersgate Methodist Church in Chapel Hill as Minister of Music.
Cameron Price, eminent film auteur with the 301 films collective (301films.com) will be playing drumkit. Cameron also is working in film at Vis-Art video rental. Real claim to fame: writing screenplay and producing Fast Freddie Fantastic, in which Mr. Hobgood played a leading role.
John Dornblazer, who also plays with the Wake & District Public Safety Pipes & Drums (forourfallen.org), is our principal percussionist. He just came to this area in 2005, moving from north central West Virginia, where he played percussion in a community band. A Civil Engineer in his other life, he works (on Labour Day even) in Durham. He has been trying to join the Really Terrible Orchestra Of the Triangle (RTOOT) for weeks, but his emails to My Strow Hobgood have been going to spam. Who knows, there may be dozens more people in the spam folder that want to join us .... Mr. Hobgood, the Really Terrible Webmaster, is also not very adept with email either.
The percussion section is unique in that it features a set of Italian cowbells, played by Sr. Francesco Spinillo, who hails from the tiny hamlet of St. Arsenio, Italy. Francesco came to the US as a teen and his family settled in Jersey City. Currently, he lives in the farming community of Eli Whitney, NC and is therefore quite appropriately suited to play the cowbells. If you read Italian, see our guestbook where Sr. Spinillo explains (we think) how delighted he is to be a member of RTOOT.
The Really Terrible Orchestra of the Triangle (RTOOT) is also unique in that it includes a resident handbell section known as the Dingalings. The Dingaling members include
Lyna Rogers grew up in church music.......then developed this thing for Heavy Metal. . .
Von Cole says “after many years of singing in choirs and choruses and thinking that black pants and white tops would be a nice change over a robe, I decided to respond to that inner voice that queried, ‘To ring or not to ring, Dingaling?’"
Sarah Paliulis notes that "I like to do things that are fun and make me happy, which is why I joined the handbell choir -- It is also why I am not afraid to eat dessert first and eat ice cream every day as a rule." Sarah now resides in Seattle but, dagnab it, once you’re a Dingaling you’re always a Dingaling and she will play with us whevever she is in town!
The Dingalings are collectively competent to play the fundamental instruments of the percussion section such as tambourines, triangles, claves, cymbals, as well as a range, though somewhat limited, of tuned percussion such as timpani and marimba.
We are beside ourselves to introduce our Resident Mandolin player, Mark McNiff.
Mr. McNiff in His Studio,
Playing Vivaldi by Ear
Mark will be featured as soloist with the Really Terrible Orchestra
Of the Triangle (RTOOT) in Raleigh next spring. Mr. McNiff is the
epitome of Really Terrible, as he does not read music atall and has
never played in a group larger than your typical 5-8 people old
time string band. But whilst he is learning the mandolin solo (by
ear!) he will be strumming along occasionally with our strings. The
Really Terrible Orchestra Of the Triangle (RTOOT) believes itself
to be the only
orchestra in the Triangle with a
Resident Mandolin player.