The New York Percussion Trio was a three-member percussion ensemble active in the New York City area during the 1950s and 1960s. The group consisted of Ronald Gould, Arnold Goldberg, and David Shapiro (Shapiro was later replaced by Rolf Barnes). They commissioned a number of new works from contemporary composers, including Halim El-Dabh (Hindi-Yaat no. 1 and Tabla-Tahmeel no. 1, both 1959, and Tabla-Dance, 1961) and Gitta Steiner (Trio, 1969). They were one of the first American percussion ensembles to utilize traditional percussion instruments from India (including tabla and mridangam), which Gould brought back following a tour of that nation with the New York Little Symphony.
Through their performances (3,000 in all), the group did much to promote percussion music to the general public. They released an LP recording, entitled Holidays for Percussion (Vox, 1958), and a film, Percussion, the Pulse of Music (produced by Arts and Audiences, Inc., for the Educational Television and Radio Center, 1957), and appeared on the I've Got a Secret television program, hosted by Steve Allen, on January 24, 1966.
In addition to their work with the trio, Goldberg and Gould served for many years as members of the New York City Ballet Orchestra; Gould retired from his post with the orchestra in 2005 and Goldberg remains as timpanist and orchestra manager.
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