I was so thrilled to participate in the inaugural Tidriks Distance Learning session today, a Percussion Practicum for Composers with percussionist Chris Froh put together by the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music. I wrote a short percussion sketch for Chris, who enlightened us on a whole range of topics related to it, from beater choice to notation, timbre, and setup issues. I especially enjoyed hearing fellow composer Eliana Echeverry’s sketch, which featured some complex rhythmic subdivisions over a constant pulse. A huge thank you to Gabriela for putting together this new initiative, to Chris for sharing his knowledge, and to all the other composers for weighing in. I can’t wait to hear Chris and Haruka Fujii play the other composer participants’ sketches over the course of the weekend.