Praise for 51’15.657” for a speaking percussionist

“As a fidgety political journalist with the attention span of a fruit fly, I would ordinarily have been happy with a show half as long, but Whiting’s stellar performance kept me mesmerized.”

-Erica Barnett, PubliCola, (Seattle alternative news source) Click here to read the whole article

"For the Washington premiere, Whiting Smith did more than survive the piece. She conveyed seriousness illumination by her performance, not easy with music that isn’t always given the same respect as say a Beethoven symphony. 51 minutes flew by with the help of Whiting Smith’s astute choices. Her instruments worked with the text, creating a symbiotic experience of sounds, sights, and words."

-Zach Carstensen, The Gathering Note (Seattle) Click here to read the whole article

"This was the most thought provoking work of the evening, in part because it plays out an underlying difficulty of Cage's work and thought in general. The text falls into a peculiar interstice between fragmentation and comprehensibility. In the end it was very lively. Bonnie is a fabulous performer and always a pleasure to hear."

-Keith Eisenbrey, Now Music in New Albion (Seattle) Click here to read the whole article.

Look here for Elizabeth Salaam’s description of Bonnie’s 2010 performance on Palomar College’s Concert Hour series in the San Diego Reader.

Other voices. . .

"You look like a vestal virgin. People will mob the stage."
-Frederic Rzewski, 2006

 "The evening's most uplifting moments were reflected in the face of timpanist Bonnie Whiting Smith during the Mahler Symphony. Seldom have I seen anyone so passionate about and enthralled with what she is doing. "

-Charlene Baldridge, San Diego Theatre Scene. Click here to read the whole article.

"When you played that drum solo, it was tight."
-Anonymous 5th grader, Culver Elementary, 2006

"You're a good cop. You are handling this well."
-Steve Reich, after a rehearsal of Music for 18 Musicians, 2008

". . . a cross between Laurie Anderson and Meredith Monk, with a little bit of Karlheinz Stockhausen thrown in for good measure."
-Dr. Charles McGuire, after a performance of percussion and text pieces at the Oberlin Conservatory, 2009.

". . . very moving."
-Bob Becker, on Bonnie's performance of  To the Earth at the Banff Centre, 2009. (Click here to read the whole article.)

On Asterisk's performance at Music 08 in Cincinnati:

After a short break, we headed to Werner Recital Hall for a 6:00 performance by Asterisk, a unique chamber ensemble including flute, oboe, bass trombone, and percussion.  To say that this group is multi-talented would be quite an understatement.  In addition to playing a variety of complex recent works, many from memory, they also incorporated narration, singing, scat-singing, audience participation, and lots of choreography.  The program included works by Elliott Carter, Fredrik Hoegberg, David Loeb, Christopher Berg, and Frederic Rzewski, as well as some settings of traditional Irish folksongs.  It seemed like there was something for just about everyone during this performance.  It juxtaposed things that we don’t usually see together - I had never seen an English Horn player do chorus-line leg kicks before.  Interestingly, all of these showy, extra-musical elements were not a cover-up for a lack of musicality.  These are truly top-notch instrumentalists. . . they clearly wish to bring an alternative concert experience to their audience, and that they did.

-Kyle Werner,  (Cincinnati) Music X blog

 What do you have to say about Bonnie Whiting Smith? contact: bonniewhitingsmith@gmail.com