Okaidja Afroso introduces Jaku Mumor

Okaidja Afroso ushers in a fresh breeze of musical flavors from the shores of Ghana’s Atlantic Gulf of Guinea, drawing from the ecological knowledge of the indigenous Ga-Dangme fishermen - the power of the nature-based rituals, and the connections that his ancestors had to the elements, particularly the Ocean. With his new project “Jaku Mumor” Okaidja’s distinctive musical style extends ancestral traditions and creates a contemporary African oral tradition, combining percussion, guitar, dance, and native language vocals. His artistry is grounded in traditional dance & rhythms with modern harmonies & updated lyrics.


Jaku Mumor dives deeper into Okaidja’s cultural roots by collaborating directly with the fishermen to share the full artistry of their a cappella singing and chants that awaken the spirit of the human soul. The project will integrate film and live elements and offers extended residency options that can include connections with local indigenous artists for shared storytelling and cultural exchange, as well as classroom discussions on the effects of climate change on fishing cultures – both here and abroad.

GBH and JazzBoston present Donal Fox

GBH 89.7 and JazzBoston presented internationally acclaimed composer, pianist and improviser Donal Fox live in a virtual concert with high-quality TV production on Friday, December 3rd. Fox expertly fuses jazz, Afro-Latin and classical idioms into intricate new works and electrifying performances. The concert was part of GBH's JazzNow series and included compositions inspired by artists such as Bach, Monk, Chopin, Coltrane, Piazzolla, Scarlatti, Horace Silver and others.

NPR's All Things Considered aired an interview between Fox and WGBH host Arun Rath in anticipation of the concert. Access the full interview here.

POSTPONED: The Sirius Quartet will play at Carnegie Hall in January

"These are musicians who enter the very grain of the wood of their instruments... Each time their music is heard one can’t help being impressed by their devilishly good virtuosity."

The Whole Note

The Sirius Quartet takes the stage of Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall on Wednesday, January 12, 2022 at 8pm with music from their recent Navona Records release PLAYING ON THE EDGE 2. The quartet will also perform original world premieres from ensemble members Jeremy Harman, Gregor Huebner, and Fung Chern Hwei. PLAYING ON THE EDGE 2 follows up Navona Records' first Gramophone-lauded album in this series. The Sirius Quartet delivers versatile and innovative repertoire, with contemporary works from living composers that bend genres and push the envelope of classical music.

Rob Schwimmer's "Heart of Hearing" Named One of the "Best Jazz Albums of 2019" by Slate

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"Heart of Hearing", the latest album by virtuoso pianist, thereminist and composer Rob Schwimmer has been named one of the "Best Jazz Albums of 2019" by Slate's Fred Kaplan. Coming in at #4 on a list of Kaplan's Top 10 albums, along with other notable musicians such as Stan Getz and John Zorn, Schwimmer's album is highlighted for his original compositions of "eerie magic". Follow this link to read the review.

Rob Schwimmer will be performing at Bernstein Artists' APAP 2020 Showcase on January 13, 2020 at Shetler Studios. He will present a suite of solo piano pieces showcasing his dynamic mastery of the instrument. Schwimmer's original compositions and his unique take on the Great American Songbook (through jazz, Americana, and fascinating movie soundtracks) leads the listener on a multi-faceted musical adventure through the avant-garde, classical music, and the unclassifiable.

Bernstein Artists Showcase
APAP 2020
Monday January 13, 2020

Shetler Studios
244 West 54th Street. PH1
New York, NY

8:30pm Rob Schwimmer (solo, piano)


Sirius Quartet Releases "New World", plays at Rite of Summer on Governor's Island Sept. 7th

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Timeliness and topicality can be tricky for a classical ensemble to pull off convincingly. But the Sirius Quartet—a group that emphasizes new music, including works composed by its members—hits the target on its latest recording, “New World”, a collection of songs reflecting on immigration, discrimination, and the quest for hope.
Steve Smith, The New Yorker

Sirius Quartet has released a brand-new album of original compositions and evocative arrangements of classic tunes: New World, out August 23rd on Zoho Music, features Sirius Quartet's signature blend of classical, jazz and improvisational techniques over ten exquisite tracks. The title track "New World, Nov. 9, 2016" ominously refers to the shadow cast by the election of Donald Trump to the presidency. “With two immigrant violinists, we in the quartet feel that it’s important to create music that speaks to the moment in which we live and gives hope,” says composer and violinist Gregor Huebner. The piece was originally written for the “New World Initiative”, a composition competition by the New York Philharmonic, and it also received its Grand Prize in 2017. The success of this work inspired the quartet to create this entire album that deals with similar themes.

To celebrate the release of this album, Sirius Quartet will be playing at Rite of Summer, a series of free concerts on NYC’s Governor’s Island, on Sept. 7th at 1pm and 3pm. This concert and their new album was recently highlighted by Steve Smith in “Goings On About Town” in The New Yorker! Read more here.

Aritmia to Perform at "ELLNORA | The Guitar Festival" at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts

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Aritmia, the accordion and guitar duo from Merima Kljuco and Miroslav Tadic, will be performing at ELLNORA | The Guitar Festival at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts on Sept. 7th, 2019. ELLNORA brings together a diverse array of musicians and programming to showcase the many genres, styles, musicians and sounds of this iconic instrument. Tickets and scheduling information are available now at ellnoraguitarfestival.com.

Read more about Aritmia on our website here.

PABLO ZIEGLER TRIO WINS Grammy: "Best Latin Jazz Album"

Tango maestro Pablo Ziegler - the Buenos Aires-born pianist and composer who helped shape the modern tango - brings home a Grammy for his latest release, Jazz Tango, for Best Latin Jazz Album.

On Jazz Tango, Pablo Ziegler presents his US-based trio featuring bandoneonist Hector del Curto and guitarist Claudio Ragazzi. They play seven soulful, virtuosic originals by Ziegler, along with three nuevo tango standards by Astor Piazzolla, whose pianist Ziegler was for many years.

Writes Latin Jazz Net: "Pablo Ziegler is a giant among men and, like his illustrious musical ancestor Astor Piazzolla, he worships at the altar of originality, creating furiously beautiful arabesques whose black dots leap off the page as he (Mr Ziegler) commands them to pirouette and fly airborne into the rarefied realm of his art."

This Grammy victory follows a win for Best Tango Album at the 2005 Latin Grammys, along with three additional nominations from 2008 to 2016. It also represents a historic first for the genre of nuevo tango, as the first major Grammy win for a nuevo tango recording.

Find an official trailer for the Pablo Ziegler Trio, two exceptional recent reviews, and excerpts from the album below.



Lemon Wire

"With Pablo Ziegler's new CD, "Jazz Tango," the tango lives and breathes - a common theme in Ziegler's work; to ordinary people, there seems only so much a person can do with a tango. On this release, the music moves as if it possessed its own blood and limbs, and renders the tango a sinewy and electric thing, a move that impresses old and new fans alike."

Jazz Weekly

"Filled with complex moves, sensuality and drama as the strings are tapped, strummed and spliced. The dynamics rise and fall like a wave on "La Fundicion" and Old World charms are in abundance on "Elegante Canyenguito." Ziegler is misty-eyed on "Milonga Del Adios" and the team plays a game of Peek-A-Boo on the clever "Blues Porteno.""

Listen to selections from JazzTango:

Watch a trailer for the Pablo Ziegler Jazz Tango Trio:

Sirius Quartet Embarks On Spring Tour

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This spring, New York City's Sirius Quartet will share their highly acclaimed and inventive style with audiences across the United States.

Their season starts at Sō Percussion's Brooklyn Bound Series, a unique chance to see Sirius Quartet and other new music luminaries in an intimate setting.

The group will then travel to The Carlsen Center at Johnson County Community College for a special engagement featuring Tracy Silverman, formally of Turtle Island string quartet. Silverman will bring his electrically charged violin playing to Sirius Quartet's boundary-pushing compositions, and Sirius Quartet will focus their visionary interpretive skill upon Silverman's genre-defying works. This is one not to be missed!

In April, the Quartet will play Wave Hill in the Bronx after the buzz generated by last season's concert demanded a return engagement.

A week-long residency at The Clarice at University of Maryland will undoubtedly be a highlight of Sirius' season. While there they will work with students at UMD's School of Music, and perform a featured concert at MilkBoy ArtHouse.

Find information and dates for each of these engagements below!

Wave Hill
Sun. April 15 @2PM
Bronx, NY
More Info

The Clarice at University of Maryland
MilkBoy ArtHouse

Thu. April 19 @8PM
College Park, MD
More Info

Sō Percussion's Brooklyn Bound Series
Mon. February 19 @8PM
Brooklyn, NY
More Info

The Carlsen Center at Johnson County Community College
w/ Tracy Silverman

Sat. March 24 @8PM
Overland Park, KS
More Info

Tanya Tagaq Prepares For Extensive Spring Tour

Celebrated performer Tanya Tagaq brings her jaw-dropping stage shows to several major venues across the US this spring.

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Tagaq opens the season by bringing her acclaimed reimagining of the 1922 film "Nanook of the North" to Colorado College, South Puget Sound College, Juniata College, and the Modlin Center for the Arts at the U of Richmond

She will also join the Kronos Quartet at Stanford University for their series Fifty for the Future for which Tagaq composed a commissioned piece entitled Sivunittinni. See below a video from Kronos Quartet where they detail some of the unique extended techniques that Tagaq's piece requires.

In April, Tagaq travels to the Ordway Center For The Arts for their Music & Movement Series where she will present Retribution, from her 2016 album of the same name. The work landed on many of the year's 'best of' lists, with Fader calling it "one of the most stunning records you'll hear this year, or maybe ever." Tagaq will be joined this time by a local, volunteer choir led by frequent Tagaq collaborator Christine Duncan. 

Tagaq will continue her season by performing at Le Poisson Rouge in New York City presented as part of the World Music Institute's Counterpoint Series.

Find information about all of Tanya's spring performances below, and stay tuned for exciting announcements about upcoming international engagements!


Watch the Kronos Quartet demonstrate key techniques for Tanya Tagaq's "Sivunittinni"

Colorado College
Tanya Tagaq in concert with Nanook of the North
Mon. January 29 at 7pm
Colorado Springs, CO
More Info

Minnaert Center for the Arts
South Puget Sound Community College
Tanya Tagaq in concert with Nanook of the North
Thu. February 1 at 7:30pm
Olympia, WA
More Info

Juniata College
Tanya Tagaq in concert with Nanook of the North
Fri. March 30 at 7:30pm
Huntingdon, PA
More Info

Stanford University
w/ Kronos Quartet

Fri. April 6 at 7:30pm
Stanford, CA
More Info

Ordway Center for the Performing Arts
Fri. April 20 at 7:30pm
Saint Paul, MN
More Info

Modlin Center for the Arts
University of Richmond

Tanya Tagaq in concert with Nanook of the North
Thu. April 26 at 7:30pm
Richmond, VA
More Info

Le Poisson Rouge
w/ the World Music Institute

Fri. May 11 at 7:30pm
New York, NY
More Info
 


Rob Schwimmer Announces New Album "Heart of Hearing"

Pianist and theremin virtuoso Rob Schwimmer's new touring program and upcoming album, Heart of Hearing, includes stunning originals paired with his unique take on the Great American Songbook through jazz, Americana, and Bernard Herrmann's iconic "Scene d'Amour" from Hitchcock's Vertigo.

A veteran player, Schwimmer has worked with beloved legends like Stevie WonderSimon and GarfunkelWayne Shorter, and Antonio Carlos Jobim, as well as celebrated young contemporary artists such as Esperanza Spalding and Gotye.

Schwimmer boasts a unique instrumental triple threat: piano, theremin (represented by a stunning and haunting take on Kurt Weill's "Lost In The Stars" as an elegy to a departed friend), and an amazing new instrument called the Haken Continuum, which raises electronic expression into the realm of the immediacy and depth of what has previously been the domain of only acoustic instruments.

Writes Ethan Iverson of the Bad Plus in his liner notes for the album: "Schwimmer is a strikingly advanced polymath, a wizard on multiple instruments... assorted esoterica combine in Rob's subconscious for an unprecedented presentation."

Schwimmer will be including selections from Heart of Hearing in an upcoming concert at U of Vermont.

Watch Rob Schwimmer perform a striking rendition of "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning"

Details below:

UVM Lane Series:
ROB SCHWIMMER: theremin, piano, Haken Continuum
Date and Time: Friday, January 26, 7:30pm
Venue: UVM Recital Hall
Address: 384 South Prospect Street, Burlington, VT 05405
More Info

 

Pablo Ziegler nominated for Grammy: "Best Latin Jazz Album"

Tango maestro Pablo Ziegler - the Buenos Aires-born pianist and composer who helped shape the modern tango - is nominated for a Grammy for his latest release, Jazz Tango, for Best Latin Jazz Album.

Ziegler joins Lalo Schifrin and Gato Barbieri as one of the few Argentine artists ever to be nominated for a Grammy. It also marks the first time for a nuevo tango release to be acknowledged with a nomination.

On Jazz Tango, Pablo Ziegler presents his US-based trio featuring bandoneonist Hector del Curto and guitarist Claudio Ragazzi. They play three nuevo tango standards by Astor Piazzolla - whose pianist Ziegler was for many years - and seven soulful, virtuosic originals by Ziegler.

This is Ziegler's first-ever Grammy nomination, and follows a win for Best Tango Album, along with four additional nominations from 2005 to 2016, at the Latin Grammys.




Lemon Wire

"With Pablo Ziegler's new CD, "Jazz Tango," the tango lives and breathes - a common theme in Ziegler's work; to ordinary people, there seems only so much a person can do with a tango. On this release, the music moves as if it possessed its own blood and limbs, and renders the tango a sinewy and electric thing, a move that impresses old and new fans alike."

Jazz Weekly

"Filled with complex moves, sensuality and drama as the strings are tapped, strummed and spliced. The dynamics rise and fall like a wave on "La Fundicion" and Old World charms are in abundance on "Elegante Canyenguito." Ziegler is misty-eyed on "Milonga Del Adios" and the team plays a game of Peek-A-Boo on the clever "Blues Porteno.""

Listen to selections from JazzTango:

Watch a trailer for the Pablo Ziegler Jazz Tango Trio:

Tanya Tagaq joins star-studded list of performers at Carnegie Hall for the Pathway to Paris climate justice event

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Continuing her landmark ascent into stardom, Tanya Tagaq joins Patti Smith, Michael Stipe, Cat Power, Talib Kweli, Flea, and others, for a Pathway to Paris climate justice event at Carnegie Hall. In the lead up to COP 23 taking place in Bonn, Germany, Pathway to Paris in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme are organizing a concert event at Carnegie Hall with incredible musicians and leading thinkers to highlight the importance of making Paris Agreement a reality. Pathway to Paris will be announcing a new initiative at the event called 1000 cities, inviting all cities of the world to transition to 100% renewables by 2040. All proceeds from the event will be donated to 350.org, Pathway to Paris, and the UNDP.

Meanwhile, Tagaq just put out her latest music video, "Sivulivinivut," and recently released a new track, "Frostbite" for Adult Swim's singles series.

Listen to the Adult Swim single here. Watch the new video here. Learn more about Tanya Tagaq here.


Jenny Scheinman's Kannapolis - a critical darling

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Jenny Scheinman continues to earn glowing critical acclaim for her live music and film project Kannapolis: A Moving Portrait, and the accompanying album, Here On Earth. Kannapolis has already traveled to many major venues, including the National Gallery of Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, U of Vermont, Middlebury College, the Capitol Center for the Arts, U of Missouri, U of St. Joseph, Portland Ovations, and many others, with goals to bring it to the West Coast in the upcoming season as it continues to tour throughout the U.S.

Here are just a few of the many recent press highlights:

  • "Packed with moments of joyous ecstasy and wind-swept solemnity... [Scheinman is] a meticulous interpreter of emotion and a composer of cinematic vision and scope... Timeless."

    Brian Zimmerman, Downbeat Magazine 
     
  • "At their bittersweet best, Scheinman and company both evoked and musically commented upon the broader aspects of the period culture... a presentation that confirmed the powers of film and music to provide materials for a deeper understanding of, as well as a fuller appreciation for, the times of our lives."

     Steve Feeney, Portland Press Herald 
     
  • "A dusty yet revelatory blast from the past... Scheinman's songs celebrate Kannapolis, North Carolina's alter ego as the City of Looms, meditate on small-town movie culture, and contain at least one immortal line in "You got those 'n' I got these, / I can share my cooties with who I please."

    Richard Gehr, The Village Voice

Learn more about Jenny Scheinman's Kannapolis: A Moving Portrait here.


Pablo Ziegler releases new Trio CD: Jazz Tango

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Tango maestro Pablo Ziegler's latest trio album Jazz Tango has been earning high praise from critics.

Here are some highlights:

  • "Romantic, moving, kinetic, majestic and sexy... with only guitar (Claudio Ragazzi) and that lovable, ever-present squeezebox accordion known as a bandoneon (Hector Del Curto), Ziegler makes magic."

    Mike Greenblatt, Goldmine Magazine
     
  • "The music moves as if it possessed its own blood and limbs, and renders the tango a sinewy and electric thing, a move that impresses old and new fans alike."

    Dodie Miller-Gould, Lemonwire
     
  • "A masterful work by a master that loves tango so much he'd rather use his energy and smarts to move the form forward in fine style rather than keep it embalmed in amber."

    Chris Spector, Midwest Record

Learn more about the Pablo Ziegler JazzTango Trio here.


Paul Dresher's Sound Maze fascinates visitors young and old

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Acclaimed composer, performer and instrument inventor Paul Dresher continues to bring wonder to curious audiences and museum-goers with his interactive installation known as Sound Maze.

Writes Leah Garchik for The San Francisco Chronicle:

"Fascinated adults listened to explanations, and kids jumped into action, making noise by hitting, strumming, pinging Dresher's instruments... I watched as 5-year-old Felix Boucou, who was there with his mom, played the Big Wheel. He picked up a variety of wooden balls, sent them down a chute, turned a wheel to pop them against a wooden surface and bounce them through a hole, through which they went cascading down a set of metal pipes. Young Felix moved from one side to the other, reaching up for those balls, bending down to listen to that silvery sound. He set a great example, so I did it, too."

Get the full SF Chronicle article and video feature here (scroll down to the second half for the section about Sound Maze). Learn more about Paul Dresher's Sound Maze here.


Yumi Kurosawa releases her solo Koto arrangement of Vivaldi's Four Seasons

The newest addition to the Bernstein Artists roster, koto virtuoso Yumi Kurosawa, released her latest album, her exquisite solo koto arrangement of Antonio Vivaldi's Four Seasons. 

Listen to a movement here. Learn more about Yumi Kurosawa here.


Koto Player Yumi Kurosawa Joins the Bernstein Artists Roster

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We're proud to welcome koto virtuoso Yumi Kurosawa to our touring roster. One of today's most exciting soloists on Japan's national instrument, Kurosawa's koto repertoire includes classical Japanese compositions, as well as her own innovative and enchanting original works. She has played at venues including Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center and the Apollo Theater and been principal soloist with the Tokyo Symphony, the Orchestra of the Swan and Houston Grand Opera among others.  Her many collaborations have included a piece with the Beyonce-affiliated dance duo Les Twins.

Kurosawa has been described by Allan Kozinn of The New York Times as "an inventive, seemingly cosmopolitan composer... Ms. Kurosawa presents her themes gracefully and then undertakes intricate, sometimes adventurous variations, drawing on a timbral palette that ranged from warm and rounded to bright and metallic." 

She is currently working on a collaborative program with tabla player Anubrata Chatterjee, son of the world-renowned tabla master Anindo Chatterjee. She'll also be playing a special concert at the Kennedy Center celebrating the re-opening of the Terrace Theater where she will be joined by guest artist, hip hop dancer Virgil Gadson, for a special collaboration.

Kurosawa was just interviewed in a profile for Wall Street International. Learn more about Yumi Kurosawa here.


Tanya Tagaq shortlisted for 2017 Polaris Prize, subject of new documentary

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After winning the prestigious Polaris Music Prize for her 2014 album, Animism, celebrated experimental vocalist Tanya Tagaq has been nominated a second time for her latest release, Retribution. Tagaq will perform at the Polaris Prize gala in September. This year's shortlist also includes albums from Feist, Leonard Cohen, and BADBADNOTGOOD.

Tagaq is getting ready to release a new music video for "Sivulivinivut," the latest single from Retribution. Meanwhile, she's the subject of a new feature-length documentary that's being prepared for a 2018 premiere. Tagaq will be officially confirmed as a Member of the Order of Canada, one of the country's highest civilian honours, at a ceremony in Ottawa on August 25.


Sirius Quartet's Gregor Huebner wins Grand Prize from NY Phil for new work; inspires new program: New World

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Sirius violinist Gregor Huebner recently won the Grand Prize in the New York Philharmonic's New World Initiative Composition Challenge. The contest was open to all NYC-based composers with the challenge being to create an original composition based on one or more themes from Dvorak's New World Symphony.

Huebner's New World Nov. 9 2016 serves as a daring critique of our current tumultuous politics. Contrasting idyllic, hopeful themes of Dvorak's Largo from New World Symphony with the brutal gestures of Shostakovich String Quartet #8, Huebner encapsulates the changing attitudes towards the immigrant experience in America. The work is the centerpiece of a new concert program of original compositions and covers that reflect on today's uncertainty and instability while, in the end, creating a prevailing feeling of hope for the future.


Donal Fox announces new project with poet Quincy Troupe

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Donal Fox is unveiling a new collaboration with renowned poet Quincy Troupe.  The two are reuniting for the first time since their work together on Donal Fox's 1997 album Gone City (New World Records), which The Green Mountain Jazz Messenger described as "powerful vernacular poems of African-American experience. These are not only enhanced by Fox's keyboard and string embroidery, but in effect turned into songs... Fox is an astoundingly swift and alert collaborator, and his running pianistic commentaries reinforce Troupe's impassioned delivery of his works."

The new program, Star Spangled Banner Fractured, is a vehicle to inspire, educate, and fuel dialogue in the critical fight for social justice in America.

Learn more about this project here.


Twelve Hours: Argentina Meets Japan

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Pablo Ziegler with guest artists

Hector Del Curto, bandoneon
Yumi Kurosawa, koto

Named for the time difference between the port cities of Buenos Aires and Yokohama, this program explores a marriage of Argentine nuevo tango with Japanese traditional music, while celebrating the long legacy of the tango in Japan. The tango arrived in Japan in the 1920's and its popularity boomed through the 30's and 40's, spurred in part by the prohibition of American jazz during World War II. Ziegler, who first visited Japan in 1988 while on tour with his longtime collaborator Astor Piazzolla, has held a longstanding interest in Japanese traditional music ever since this first encounter. 

The evening will include solo and duo works from each culture, and culminate in the piece 12 Horas, commissioned from Pablo Ziegler by the Yokohama Noh Theater and the Yokohama Arts Foundation and premiered at Minato Mirai Hall in Yokohama in February 2016. 12 Horas is a mixed ensemble suite that celebrates the respectful exchange between these two vital cultural traditions, combining shakuhachi (traditional Japanese vertical bamboo flute), koto (traditional Japanese harp), bandoneon, piano, percussion and string quintet. With 12 Horas, Ziegler brings these traditional Japanese timbres in dialogue with the bittersweet sounds of Argentine tango.

Learn more about the program here.


Cyro Baptista brings 'Sound of the Community' to Buffalo

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Percussion maverick Cyro Baptista recently realized the latest iteration of his 'Sound of the Community' project in Buffalo, NY in the last week of July. In this version, he conducted free daily inclusive music workshops along with collaborators Billy Martin (Medeski Martin & Wood) and keyboardist Brian Marsella. 

The community workshops coincided with Baptista's artist residency at Artpark, during which he collaborated with Buffalo-based sculptor Shasti O'Leary Soudant and students from the University of Buffalo to create an interactive, sound-generating public art work called "Beat Blossom." Baptista created an original composition that was performed at the installation's opening event.

Watch video from a previous iteration of Sound of the Community in Aguascalientes, Mexico here.


Pablo Ziegler offers new quartet program: Tango Suites

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Tango maestro Pablo Ziegler - the Buenos Aires-born, Latin Grammy-winning pianist and composer who helped shape the modern tango - brings the rich Argentine musical tradition into a chamber music setting with his latest concert program: Tango Suites. 

The program features Ziegler's arrangement of his late, longtime collaborator Astor Piazzolla's iconic suite, Silfo y Ondina.  Ziegler, who was pianist for Piazzolla for over a decade and played on many of his most iconic recordings, is widely regarded as one of the finest interpreters of Piazzolla's music. Ziegler pairs the Piazzolla suite with his own tango suite: Buenos Aires, a tribute to the city of his birth and the ground zero of tango music and dance. Finally, Ziegler presents his Rhapsody in Tango, a brand new chamber work inspired by Gershwin's famous Rhapsody in Blue.

Learn more about the new program here.


Paul Dresher offers new program for Invented Instrument Duo with Joel Davel

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Acclaimed composer, performer and instrument inventor Paul Dresher pairs up with percussionist Joel Davel for a new evening-length duo program that finds them performing live on a pair of large-scale invented musical instruments. Allan Kozinn, writing for the Portland Press Herald describes the project as "supremely inventive... The novelty of the instruments, not to mention Dresher's and Davel's imaginative use of them, gave the proceedings an exciting sense of mystery and surprise."

Playing the 15-foot Quadrachord or the 10-foot Hurdy Grande, both controlled by the late synthesizer pioneer Don Buchla's magical Marimba Lumina, Dresher and Davel create lush textures and rhythmically propulsive grooves that fascinate the ear and the eye. Exploring unique sound-colors amplified by live digital looping, this electroacoustic duo creates complex sonic layers as rich as a full orchestra.

Meanwhile, Dresher's interactive installation Sound Maze of large scale invented instruments has been receiving praise from critics and audience during its 3-month residency at the Napa Valley Museum.  It will next travel to the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

Learn more about the Invented Instrument Duo here.


Rob Schwimmer preps for Theremin 100th anniversary

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Pianist and theremin virtuoso Rob Schwimmer has been earning critical acclaim for his contributions to the Mark Morris Dance Group's Pepperland, a new dance work inspired by the Beatles's Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, with a score by Ethan Iverson (The Bad Plus) that re-imagines music from the iconic album. Writes London Jazz News

"The feel throughout is perhaps part Berlin cabaret, part woozy Nino Rota, with the sound of the theremin absolutely key, although Schwimmer's virtuosity makes it closer to a second, female, vocal line to complement the deeper register of Clinton Curtis, echoing the classical recordings of Clara Rockmore - the instrument's most celebrated exponent, and inventor Lev Theremin's great protege - more than the usual cheapo science fiction-signifier."

Schwimmer is wrapping up work on a new album of original solo piano works that will be offered as a touring program. Schwimmer will also be organizing a major event in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the development of the theremin in 2019, including new commissions for contemporary theremin works.

Learn more about Rob Schwimmer here.