One of the generous supporters of the League and the principal percussionist for more than 30 years of the Santa Rosa Symphony is Allen Biggs. He has been featured at Festival of Parties events and at League luncheons to the delight of audiences. Now like so many in the Symphony, he is grappling with vagaries of sheltering in place, most recently entertaining his neighbors and his dog, Moofa, with a marimba concert in his driveway. “The response was great,” said Biggs, who got several thank you cards in his mailbox, a bouquet of flowers, very nice works of art and a gift card to a local restaurant. “Connecting through music remains basic to the human experience, even in this remarkable time,” added Biggs whose San Francisco State students are playing together on Zoom. To keep himself centered, Biggs unplugs his phone and computer for at least 24 hours every weekend. He also goes to srisri.org/live at 7 every morning for a 30-minute lived guided meditation. “It is so relaxing and requires absolutely no experience or equipment. It is a great way to feel connected because over a million people are watching live.” Bigg’s introduction to music began at age three when his mother received a Fulbright from San Francisco State to teach in Northern Spain. The family of six moved to Pamplona directly across from the building housing the famous bull ring. “A student of my mother’s came to live with us,” he explained. He was a wonderful guitarist and saw that I was captivated by his music. He made me a simple drum and that started me on my percussionist career!” Biggs said being a percussionist allows him to play so many different styles of music – from Bach on the marimba [it gives him a lift] to the Broadway opening of “Wicked” in San Francisco and playing with the legendary Dave Brubeck at the San Francisco Jazz Festival and his son, Matthew at Yoshi’s Jazz Club. His band, Jamalicious, was scheduled to perform at Iron Springs Brewery in San Rafael in mid-May which had to be cancelled. “I love this band because we think as one musician. Maybe it is because we trust each other musically and there is a lot of spontaneity,” he said. Perhaps, unknown to Bigg’s musical fans, are his work on MetLife and Volkswagen TV ads. He also has won two Grammy awards for his Lamentations and Praises CD.
Allen Biggs