Vic Firth facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Vic Firth
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Vic Firth in 2006
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Everett Joseph Firth |
| Born | June 2, 1930 Winchester, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | July 26, 2015 (aged 85) Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, business owner |
| Instruments | Percussion instruments, drums, timpani |
| Years active | 1946–2015 |
Everett Joseph "Vic" Firth (born June 2, 1930 – died July 26, 2015) was a famous American musician. He also started the Vic Firth Company, which makes drumsticks and mallets for percussion instruments.
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Vic Firth's Musical Journey
Vic Firth was born on June 2, 1930, in Winchester, Massachusetts. He grew up in Sanford, Maine. His dad was a great trumpet player, and Vic started learning music very early.
He began playing the cornet at just four years old! Later, he learned many other instruments, including percussion, trombone, clarinet, and piano. By the time he was in high school, he was a full-time percussionist. He even started his own 18-piece band when he was only 16. He played many different percussion instruments, like the vibraphone, timpani, and the drum set.
Vic Firth studied music and earned a special honorary degree in music from the New England Conservatory in Boston.
Playing for the Boston Symphony Orchestra
Vic Firth became the main timpanist (a type of drummer) for the famous Boston Symphony Orchestra. He held this important role from 1956 to 2002. When he first joined the orchestra in 1952, he was their youngest member!
Books by Vic Firth
Besides playing music, Vic Firth also wrote several books to help others learn. In 1963, he wrote The Solo Timpanist. The next year, he wrote Marching Drums.
He also created books for people just starting to learn the snare drum. These were called Snare Drum Method Book I - Elementary (1967) and Snare Drum Method Book II - Intermediate (1968). These books taught how to play the snare drum for orchestras and included 30 important Drum rudiments (basic drumming patterns). He also wrote a more advanced book called The Solo Snare Drummer in 1968.
Vic Firth passed away on July 26, 2015, at the age of 85, at his home in Boston, Massachusetts.
The Story Behind Vic Firth Company
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| Industry | Manufacturer of percussion sticks and mallets, salt and pepper mills, and rolling pins |
| Founded | 1963 |
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Key people
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Vic Firth, founder |
The Vic Firth Company started in 1963. Its main office is in Boston, Massachusetts. This company is known as the world's largest maker of drumsticks and mallets. These products are made in Newport, Maine.
Why Vic Started His Company
Vic Firth started his company because he needed better drumsticks! After playing with the Boston Symphony Orchestra for 12 years, he found that the drumsticks available weren't good enough for the music he was playing. So, he decided to design his own.
He carved the first sticks himself from bigger pieces of wood. He sent these first designs to a wood turner in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. These two original designs became the SD1 and SD2, which were the first models the company ever made. Vic Firth said he started the company "out of necessity," meaning he needed the sticks, not because he planned to start a business.
At first, he only made the sticks for himself. But his students loved them, and soon, music stores started selling them.
By 2012, the company offered about 300 different products. They made an amazing 12 million sticks every year! In 2010, the Vic Firth Company joined with the Avedis Zildjian Company, another famous music company. Even though they joined, both companies continued to run their businesses separately.
See also
- List of drum manufacturers
