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Henry Baldwin

Orchestra of the Royal Opera House

Henry started his orchestral career in the percussion section of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra before becoming Co-Principal Percussion at the London Philharmonic Orchestra and subsequently Section Principal Percussion at the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House. Henry has played with many other UK orchestras as a guest including the London Symphony, the Philharmonia, the City of Birmingham Symphony and Halle Orchestras, and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. 

Henry is also Principal Percussion with and a founding member of the critically acclaimed Aurora Orchestra, with whom he has performed a wide range of repertoire. Highlights include Boulez’s ‘Le Marteau sans Maître’ as part of the International Chamber Music Series at Southbank Centre, and solo performances on tour internationally.

Henry teaches at the Royal Welsh College or Music and Drama and has given masterclasses at many other conservatoires in the UK.

Henry Baldwin signature series

A range of wooden xylophone mallets designed to give an unparalleled range of colour and attack whilst keeping that special wood on wood character. These premium mallets were specifically designed to bring the best out of top of the range symphonic xylophones

HB - X1

These hugely powerful mallets have to be heard to be believed! They effortlessly draw enormous tone and volume out of the xylophone making them perfect for those special occasions when you need the xylophone to rise above with the awesome power of a full symphony orchestra.

It is advised HB-X1 should be used with caution as overplaying may result in damage to instruments with soft wooden bars.

Specification

Instrument:  Xylophone 

Tone:  Very bright

Head material:  Blackwood

Head shape: Super ellipse

Weight:  32/33gr

Overall length:  37cm

Handle:  Rattan

Suggested repertoire

Shostakovich:    Symphonies 4, 5, 7 and 11

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HB - X2

This extrovert mallet is perfect for occasions when you don’t want the xylophone to blend but instead want the xylophone’s solo personality to shine.

Specification

Instrument:  Xylophone 

Tone:  Bright

Head material:  Leadwood

Head shape: Super ellipse

Weight:  31/32gr

Overall length:  36cm

Handle:    Rattan

Suggested repertoire

Britten:  Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra

Saint-Saens:  Carnival of the Animals

Shostakovich:  The Bolt

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HB - X3

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This is a powerful mallet that also loves to blend and is perfect for prominent xylophone passages that require you to combine with the woodwind, piano or upper strings.

Specification

Instrument:  Xylophone 

Tone:  Medium Bright

Head material:  Ebony

Head shape: Super ellipse

Weight:  29/30gr

Overall length:  36cm

Handle:    Rattan

Suggested repertoire

Gershwin:  Porgy and Bess

Shostakovich:  Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk

Copland:  Appalachian Spring

HB - X4

This mallet is perfect for those quieter moments when you don’t want to unleash the full power of your xylophone but instead need to move delicately and dexterously around the instrument.

These lightweight mallets are manufactured with softwood heads and should only be used for appropriate xylophone repertoire.

Specification

Instrument:  Xylophone 

Tone:  Medium 

Head material:  Bubinga

Head shape: Super ellipse

Weight:  27/28gr

Overall length:  35.5cm

Handle:    Rattan

Suggested repertoire

Stravinsky:  Firebird

Debussy:  Images 1. Gigues

Bernstein: Chichester Psalms

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