Akropolis Reed Quintet_ 2023-24_Biographies.pdf

Winner of the 2015 Fischoff Educator Award, Akropolis has engaged more than 40,000 youth during its 13-year history, including an annual, yearlong residency at three high schools in their home Detroit community. As an independent nonprofit they have received grants from the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, and many individuals nationwide to support their educational programming, which comprises a noteworthy portion of their activity.&nbsp;Akropolis delivers fast-paced and informative workshops, including its “The Best Story” presentation for elementary schools, featuring a musical reenactment of the Eileen Spinelli children’s book. At the middle and high school level, Akropolis gives performances, coachings, Q&amp;A's, and offers a side-by-side band concerto by Peter Terry.&nbsp;“I am in awe of your genius in this educational arena and excited for all the young lives that you will impact and change because you are first and foremost extraordinary artists who are bringing that excellence and meticulous preparation and execution to the educational arena.”-Kathy Soroka, Allegheny RiverStone Center for Arts Education

K-12 Education

Akropolis believes that "quality" in classical music comes not only from the technical competency of the performers, but of the relevance an artist creates within their community. To do this, Akropolis engages their communities nationwide through experiences informed by the communities they serve. This includes collaborating with community members on new musical works, including&nbsp;so much more, featuring interviews with local business owners, and&nbsp;Sprocket, featuring a rideable percussion bike created by scrap metal artist, Juan Martinez. They commissioned new work from Detroit poet Marsha Music, and in their travels have performed with guest percussionists in several communities.&nbsp;Akropolis has performed at dozens of workplaces during its Detroit Workplace Concert Series, including hospitals, factories, tech companies, and more. They have performed in juvenile&nbsp;detention centers, homeless shelters, development centers, and senior care centers. They have given dozens of outdoor performances at parks and other pop-up locations, including grocery stores and farmers markets. They have given house concerts, backyard concerts, and concerts on river walks and bike paths.&nbsp; &nbsp;Each concert is custom-designed with community input and shaped to reflect the vibrancy of the community.&nbsp;

Community Engagement

Based on Akropolis' 8 year of experience teaching and entrepreneurship and career development, including courses at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre, and Dance and the Michigan State University College of Music, Akropolis created&nbsp;<a href="https://akropolisquintet.org/mastermind/">Akropolis Mastermind</a>&nbsp;in 2019 and since then have engaged 22 early career artists and over 80 participants&nbsp;in this weeklong career development workshop.&nbsp;Please visit&nbsp;<a href="http://akropolisquintet.org/mastermind">akropolisquintet.org/mastermind</a>&nbsp;to read the testimonials from these participants' experiences.&nbsp;At the university level, Akropolis provides customized workshops derived from their Mastermind, including sessions on health and sustainability, marketing/branding, financial planning, project development, and more.&nbsp;Akropolis also delivers inspiring master classes, reads and premieres works by student composers, and has even collaborated with college students in performance.&nbsp;

Akropolis Mastermind (University)

Akropolis Reed Quintet—Photos for Public Download.zip

Akropolis Reed Quintet

Continuing their multi-year exploration into the influence of jazz on modern American music, the Detroit-based Akropolis Reed Quintet celebrates the inseparable link between the jazz and classical idioms. On the first set, French master Maurice Ravel is paired with modern legend and “true virtuoso composer” (The New Yorker), Augusta Read Thomas, whose music is “always in motion” (Huffington Post), spinning seemingly improvised jazz counterpoints into a ballet suite composed for Akropolis in 2022. The second pairing features works Omar Thomas and Jeff Scott custom-made for the quintet’s tour-de-force ensemble technique and sprawling stylistic contrasts. Between these two works, several new genres are suggested through the influence of a blues shuffle, noir ballad, bebop romp, gospel shout, and more.

Bebop Won’t Stop

Akropolis believes that music reaches its height when it is driven by spontaneity and organically developed relationships with community members. Supported by consecutive grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, Akropolis has collected projects it commissioned as part of its Together We Sound festival in Detroit into one concert program, featuring percussion and spoken word collaborators from the community in which the program is performed. Optional video by filmmaker XUAN is available to accompany Annika Socolofsky’s so much more, a touching composition including interviews with 7 small business owners from Detroit, Kansas, Colorado, and North Carolina. Homage to Paradise Valley tours Detroit’s now-lost Black Bottom and Paradise Valley neighborhoods accompanied by poetry by Detroit author Marsha Music, while Sprocket, originally composed for Akropolis and a rideable percussion bicycle designed and built by Detroit metal artist, Juan Martinez, celebrates Detroit’s long standing “slow ride” cycling culture.

Together We Sound

Over its 15-year history Akropolis has created future masterworks from scratch while reimagining several existing, significant works from the classical canon. This program presents four of these works in two pairs, connecting them with threads spanning 100 years of musical history. When Maurice Ravel composed Le Tombeau de Couperin, jazz was washing over the parlors and salons of France, Europe, and all the Western world. 100 years later, Omar Thomas’ Moods and Attitudes nearly creates a new genre in and of itself, fusing bebop and blues with Akropolis’ tour de force technical mastery. The second pairing compares a new work by West African-inspired composer Derrick Skye with George Gershwin’s seminal An American in Paris.&nbsp;

Masterworks

large_Are We Dreaming the Same Dream  1 (Credit—Danie Harris).jpg

medium_Are We Dreaming the Same Dream  1 (Credit—Danie Harris).jpg

small_Are We Dreaming the Same Dream  1 (Credit—Danie Harris).jpg

thumbnail_Are We Dreaming the Same Dream  1 (Credit—Danie Harris).jpg

Are We Dreaming the Same Dream  1 (Credit—Danie Harris).jpg

“Are We Dreaming the Same Dream?” is an electrifying concert experience blurring the lines between classical, jazz, and contemporary music as the “pure gold” Akropolis Reed Quintet joins forces with the Grammy-nominated composer and jazz pianist Pascal Le Boeuf and drummer Christian Euman.A septet never seen before in the history of both classical and jazz music, their fearless approach to creating new sounds and socially engaged art begs us all to answer the question: Are we dreaming the same American dream? Giving themselves complete musical freedom, the 7 musicians created a large-scale piece of music not possible in any other setting, flush with immense technicality and requiring perfect ensemble cohesiveness.Concert Repertoire Pascal Le Boeuf – Are We Dreaming the Same Dream? (full septet) 50-60′ George Gershwin arr. Raaf Hekkema – An American in Paris (Akropolis) 18′ Geri Allen arr. Le Boeuf – “RTG” (full septet) 5′ Charles Mingus arr. Le Boeuf – “Self-Portrait in Three Colors” (full septet) 7′Watch a sample right here: <a href="https://youtu.be/ImKbAiTnjtE?t=1393" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://youtu.be/ImKbAiTnjtE?t=1393</a>Composed by Le Boeuf, the composition draws upon a careful selection of his musical “ancestors”—Geri Allen, Dave Brubeck, Charles Mingus, and Leonard Bernstein—each of whom have historically represented a variety of perspectives concerning the unity of the American experience.&nbsp;As author Ralph Ellison observed, “the most agonizing mystery sponsored by the democratic ideal is that of our unity-in-diversity, our oneness in manyness.”Ellison also described a “unity of American experience beyond all considerations of class, of race, of religion.” More than a half-century later, have we realized this ideal of what it means to be American? Le Boeuf’s concert-length composition asks: Are we really dreaming the same American dream, or is our consumer culture overshadowing our own sense of belonging?BiographiesEach artist on stage is a powerhouse in their field. Founded in 2009, the Billboard charting, 7-time national prize winning Akropolis Reed Quintet makes music with “infallible musicality and huge vitality” (Fanfare Magazine). Winner of 7 national chamber music prizes including the 2014 Fischoff Gold Medal, Akropolis has premiered and commissioned over 150 works by living artists and composers. Pascal Le Boeuf is a Grammy-nominated composer, pianist, and producer described as "sleek, new" and "hyper-fluent" by the New York Times. He is widely recognized for his polyrhythmic approach to chamber music and hybridization of disparate idioms. Christian Euman, one of Revive Magazine's "six drummers you should know about," has toured with Jacob Collier, Kurt Elling, Billy Childs, Walter Smith III, and Geoff Keezer, among others. He attended the Thelonious Monk Institute where he studied and performed with Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Chris Potter, Jimmy Heath, and Stefon Harris.

Akropolis Reed Quintet | Pascal Le Boeuf | Christian Euman

Are We Dreaming the Same Dream

medium_Akropolis Quintet_Color Bands_credit Steve Korn.jpg

small_Akropolis Quintet_Color Bands_credit Steve Korn.jpg

thumbnail_Akropolis Quintet_Color Bands_credit Steve Korn.jpg

Akropolis Quintet_Color Bands_credit Steve Korn.jpg

Arcis Saxophone Quartet_2023-24_Biographies.pdf

Arcis Saxophone Quartet—Photos for Public Download.zip

Arcis Saxophone Quartet

Endless fascinating prairie landscapes, the exciting pulse of the city that never sleeps and the ‘swinging’ life of the southern states: stories full of dreams, hopes and love. In American Dreams, the Arcis Saxophone Quartet presents the broad range of the American Way of Life.With arrangements which space from Dvorak’s “American quartet”, characterized by folk elements and deeply connected with the nature; to the Dutch “avant pop” composer Jacob TV with his piece “Jesus is coming” which &nbsp;was inspired by the 9-11 trauma and the role of religion today; to excerpts from Leonard Bernstein’ “West Side Story”, inspired from Shakespeare’s play “Romeo and Julia” set in the Upper West Side neighborhood in New York City in the mid 1950s; ending with a Suite from George Gershwin’s “Porgy and Bess”, no opera includes so many famous Jazz-standards at the same time: “Summertime”, “It Ain’t Necessarily So”, “I Got Plenty O’Nuttin”, and much more. The artists will explore their instruments' spectrum of colors, allowing the public to discover new and exciting facets of the saxophone.&nbsp;&nbsp;

American Dreams

In the Great Masters, the Arcis Saxophone Quartet assembles works by many of history’s greatest composers. Every epoch had its masters and masterpieces, and in this program, the quartet presents Ligeti, Haydn, Bach, Bartók, Mendelssohn, and Gershwin in such shining new colors, the Tageszeitung Munich asked, “Do you ever want to hear it differently again?”

The Great Masters

JSB:48 is all about The Well-Tempered Clavier by Johann Sebastian Bach.Original Bach fugues are complemented by newly composed preludes and related to composers all inspired by the Well-Tempered Clavier: Shostakovich, Kapustin and Kuhn.

JSB:48

Arcis is constantly pushing the traditional boundaries and concepts of the saxophone as a classical music instrument. They commissioned British composer Luke Bedford to write a concerto for saxophone quartet and orchestra which received its premiere in 2017 by the Deutsches Symphonie Orchester Berlin at the Philharmonie Berlin. The Philip Glass Concerto for Saxophone Quartet and Orchestra has become a staple of saxophone quartets, and each of the four movements showcases the different timbres and tones of each saxophone. With Rhythm of Americas by the famous saxophonist Bob Mintzer the Arcis Saxophone Quartet brings out the jazzy component of the saxophones which characterizes Mintzer’s style, finding the perfect balance between two music genres which find the perfect synthesis in their instrument: classical music and jazz.

Arcis with Orchestra

Arcis Saxophone Quartet pairs with choirs to perform music from the 1500s to today, showcasing the unique timbres of four saxophones and voice. Meditations, a mass, motets, and love songs round out this thoughtful and insightful program.

Arcis with Choir

large_Arcis Saxophone Quartet 4 (Credit—Harald Hoffmann).jpg

medium_Arcis Saxophone Quartet 4 (Credit—Harald Hoffmann).jpg

small_Arcis Saxophone Quartet 4 (Credit—Harald Hoffmann).jpg

thumbnail_Arcis Saxophone Quartet 4 (Credit—Harald Hoffmann).jpg

Arcis Saxophone Quartet 4 (Credit—Harald Hoffmann).jpg

Philip Glass&nbsp;–&nbsp;Concerto for Saxophone Quartet and OrchestraLuke Bedford&nbsp;–&nbsp;Concerto for Saxophone Quartet and Orchestra Arcis is constantly pushing the traditional boundaries and concepts of the saxophone as a classical music instrument. They commissioned British composer Luke Bedford to write a concerto for saxophone quartet and orchestra which received its premiere in 2017 by the Deutsches Symphonie Orchester Berlin at the Philharmonie Berlin. The Philip Glass Concerto for Saxophone Quartet and Orchestra has become a staple of saxophone quartets, and each of the four movements showcases the different timbres and tones of each saxophone.

medium_Screen Shot 2023-04-09 at 11.18.06 AM.png

small_Screen Shot 2023-04-09 at 11.18.06 AM.png

thumbnail_Screen Shot 2023-04-09 at 11.18.06 AM.png

2xdanced

What do you get when you combine game show constraints with two choreographic visions of the same 20-minute piece of music? Arcis Saxophone Quartet invites you to join the beauty and the hilarity of "2XDanced" to find out. The presenter secures one local choreographer and two or more dancers from their community. Arcis Saxophone Quartet arrives 10 days before the performance, bringing with them the second choreographer, Roberta Pisu.Let the games begin!&nbsp;The ProcessEach receiving 5 days of devoted time, the two choreographers work independently with the two (or more) local dancers and the Arcis Saxophone Quartet to create one 20-minute choreography apiece, to the same piece of music. And the pressure is high because everyone has to abide by the rules of the game:<ol><li>The choreographers only have 5 days to create.</li><li>The music will only be delivered 5 days before the start of rehearsals.</li><li>The music is the same for both choreographies.</li><li>The musicians are part of the scene.</li><li>Props and costumes are only what you can find.</li></ol>&nbsp;The Performance (total time = 60 minutes without intermission)After 10 days, it's time to perform, no matter what! Both choreographies are performed one after the other so that the audience can experience how differently the creative brains of the choreographers tick. The audience will also witness the dancers and musicians themselves transform entirely as they inhabit the different choreographies. The artists involved host a conversation with the audience throughout, offering insights into the motives for the respective artistic decisions and inviting shared experience and reflection. Repertoire SamplesEmma O'Halloran – Night MusicCaroline Shaw – Entr'acteJacobTV – Jesus is ComingLeonhard Kuhn – Morning MusicFor the presenter, in addition to engaging the choreographic and dance talents of your institution or community, there is also the opportunity to commission the 20-minute work of music from the composer of your choice.&nbsp;Interested? What you need to know…How long will the final performance last?With two choreographies each 20 minutes and a talk with the audience in between we aim for a total length of 60 minutes.&nbsp;What do we need for the creation process?We need a rehearsal space for 10 days, which is suited for dance practice. That‘s it!Which artists will be involved?The music part is covered by the Arcis Saxophone Quartet and the artistic direction is in the hands of Roberta Pisu, who will also contribute one of the two choreographies. This leaves us with one choreographer and at least two dancers missing. We are happy to cooperate with local artists of your institution or community. Let‘s discuss! Additionally parts of the music could be newly written by a composer of your choice.&nbsp;BiographiesArcis_CollectiveThe collective consists of choreographer Roberta Pisu and the Arcis Saxophone Quartet, who began their collaboration with the full-length production <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QAhkwSj1QU">HEIMAT</a>, which premiered on September 21, 2020 in the Philharmonie am Gasteig Munich. The goal of the collective is to transfer the idea of chamber music to contemporary dance: to create an intimate form of expression in a small ensemble in order to implement subtle and refined artistic ideas.&nbsp;A very important aspect is the joint creative process. The relationship between classical music and contemporary dance and the possibilities and interfaces that result from them should be explored more and more and thus a common statement brought to the stage. For this reason, the musicians are involved in the entire process and not just at the end of the creation process, as is usually the case. With their unique saxophone sound, the musicians, like the dancers, are part of the performance on stage.&nbsp;While Roberta Pisu and the Arcis Saxophone Quartet form the core of the collective, it is more than open to collaboration with any type of music, choreographic approach and any type of art form willing to share an intimate and stimulating creative process.<a href="https://www.arielartists.com/artists/arcis-saxophone-quartet#section-biography" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Arcis Saxophone Quartet</a>Roberta PisuRoberta Pisu received her dance training at the Académie de Danse Classique “Princesse Grace” in Monte Carlo and at the Accademia Nazionale di Danza in Rome. She was a member of the ensemble “La Compagnia” in Rome. She gained her first choreographic experience in 2010 as an assistant to Ismael Ivo, the artistic director of the Venice Biennale. Since 2013 she has been dancing in the ballet of the Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz Munich, where she also works as a choreographer (Momo, Minutemade, Je suis Faust, and others).

Arcis_Collective | Arcis Saxophone Quartet | Roberta Pisu

2XDANCED

small_Unbenannt-1-750x750.jpeg

thumbnail_Unbenannt-1-750x750.jpeg

Unbenannt-1-750x750.jpeg

JSB:48 is all about The Well-Tempered Clavier by Johann Sebastian Bach. Spanning a ten year recording project by the Arcis Saxophone Quartet, the original Bach fugues in their version for saxophone quartet are complemented by newly composed preludes all inspired by The Well-Tempered Clavier. Beginning in 2020, the collection of 48 fugues and new preludes will gradually grow over the next ten years as a growing playlist (found on <a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1ljoYy83Rf277TQzBeMu8I?si=d47451c311f8456c">Spotify</a> &amp; <a href="https://music.apple.com/de/playlist/jsb-48-arcis-saxophon-quartett/pl.aa3c7dc426a74729a857cad402474333">Apple Music</a>).&nbsp;DIVERSITYWe believe there is so much more music to discover. Music that may not be so close to us at first, but is all the more exciting. We deliberately want to immerse ourselves in the most diverse worlds and take our listeners on this journey.GENREThe composers we commission come from a wide variety of genres. The basis will always be classical music, but we love diving into other worlds as well.GENDER RATIOFemale composers are still underrepresented. We do not want to accept that and make it very simple: 50% of our composition commissions go to female composers.CULTURESWe have divided the world into different earth culture parts. The new preludes are then distributed evenly among them. That challenges us and is a lot of fun when we are allowed to deal with music that works completely differently than, for example, classical Western music.&nbsp;Repertoire SampleCenterpiece:J.S. Bach paired with new works by contemporary composers – Selection of newly-composed preludes paired with fugues from The Well-Tempered Clavier&nbsp;In addition, selections from:Nikolai Kapustin – 24 Preludes and Fugues, Op. 82&nbsp;Dmitri Shostakovich –&nbsp;Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87Leonhard Kuhn – Fugue &amp; Loops

large_ArcisSaxophonQuartett_Credit_arcisvisuals_1.jpg

medium_ArcisSaxophonQuartett_Credit_arcisvisuals_1.jpg

small_ArcisSaxophonQuartett_Credit_arcisvisuals_1.jpg

thumbnail_ArcisSaxophonQuartett_Credit_arcisvisuals_1.jpg

ArcisSaxophonQuartett_Credit_arcisvisuals_1.jpg

Danae Doerken_2023-24_Biographies.pdf

Danae offers a 45-60 minute school visit where she gives students an insight into the world of classical music. The engagement includes playing and speaking segments, where Danae presents some pieces, talks about the composers, the piano as an instrument and answers any questions that the students might have. She frequently runs this project at her festival, Molyvos International Music Festival, in Greece and also in Germany with the established "Rhapsody in School" project.

Music Key (K-12)

Danae offers open master classes to students of all levels. Danae will work one-on-one with students to focus on a piece of their choice.

Master Classes (Ages 12 and Up)

Danae Doerken—Photos for Public Download.zip

Danae Doerken

East and West embodies Danae Dörken’s feeling that our diversity is what ultimately brings us together and gives us enormous strength. All of the works in this program share the commonality of being heavily influenced by folk music traditions of different countries around the world. The folkloristic character of these compositions highlights the individual elements of each culture that render the pieces unique and underscore the necessity for them to be loved and remembered forever.Chopin’s Polonaise in C-sharp minor embeds the melancholy of the tunes of polish folk music, while Bartók’s Romanian Folk Dances feature the unusual rhythms of the Transylvanian peasant polka. Schubert’s 12 Ländler reflect the melodies of alpine folk dances, while Danza ritual del fuego by de Falla is reminiscent of guitar performers that can be heard in village squares in Spain. Grieg’s inspiration for Wedding Day at Troldhaugen came from the mighty chords that characterise Norwegian folklore and Manolis Kalomiris’ compositions are influenced by Greek folk music. At first glance, the Huit Nocturnes by the French neoclassical composer Francis Poulenc might seem a little out of place, but while this composition is not directly influenced by folk music, the simplistic elegance of the Nocturnes render them ideal counterparts to the remaining pieces on the program.

East and West

This program combines works that were inspired by sounds and melodies the composers heard as well as images the composers saw. Schumann’s Forest Scenes are short musical depictions of nine settings he experienced when walking through the forest, while Schubert’s Fantasy Op. 15 is based on his own famous song “Der Wanderer” that speaks about trying to find happiness. Claude Debussy’s impressionist music is an accurate description of three images through sound, while Bartòk’s Romanian Folk Dances were influenced by folk tunes that he heard on the street. The program ends with two famous works by Liszt, his Love Dream No. 3 and his Rigoletto-Paraphrase, which is composed around four different melodies that stand for four different characters from his own opera “Rigoletto” that sing together in harmonious unity.

Songs and Images

ODYSSEY

Apollo & Dionysus

piano

large_B0D49E67-B386-4E36-BD4B-3869565220A5.jpeg

medium_B0D49E67-B386-4E36-BD4B-3869565220A5.jpeg

small_B0D49E67-B386-4E36-BD4B-3869565220A5.jpeg

thumbnail_B0D49E67-B386-4E36-BD4B-3869565220A5.jpeg

B0D49E67-B386-4E36-BD4B-3869565220A5.jpeg

Duo Kayo_2023-24_Biographies.pdf

Duo Kayo—Photos for Public Download.zip

Duo Kayo

Take a tour of millennial American music with this wild collection of works by some of the most talented and inspiring voices of the 21st century. With pieces ranging from expansive and richly harmonic, to avant-garde and aleatoric, this program is sure to have something for everyone.

Americana Contemporanea

Homeward Bound

No one expects a viola cello duo, but what about two viola cello duos put together?! On this program, duo kayo explores the vast range of repertoire composed or arranged for viola and cello. And for la bombe surprise the duo will be joined by two local artists for a double dose of viola and cello in two amazing quartets.&nbsp;

An Unexpected Pairing

For the ultra-refined classical music lover, this program offers a delectable sampling of works by some of the 18th century’s most well-known composers, as well as a few you might not know!

The Classical (in) Style

viola and cello

large_DuoKayo_Front_Photo.jpg

medium_DuoKayo_Front_Photo.jpg

small_DuoKayo_Front_Photo.jpg

thumbnail_DuoKayo_Front_Photo.jpg

DuoKayo_Front_Photo.jpg

Excelsis Percussion Quartet_ 2023-24_Biographies.pdf

Introducing the percussion family while demonstrating the instruments. Open with a piece together. Then, one by one, one person describes the snare drum, demonstrating it. The next person can demonstrate a tambourine, relating it to the snare drum, and playing a little on it. We can also discuss the sister instrument of the tambourine, the pandeiro, and its rich cultural history. Next, we can discuss pitched versus unpitched instruments. The next person can introduce the mallet instruments and discuss the origins in Africa and South/Central America. We can end by selecting a few students to come up, one by one, and have a mini lesson on each instrument.

What is Percussion? (Grades 2–6)

Review all of the above, making a condensed version. Add on more facts about percussion within the different genres of music. For example, the creation of the bass drum pedal in New Orleans as a part of the parade traditions there. Then, its use in jazz music has influenced all the popular genres we listen to today: blues, pop, rock, hip hop, and country. Play an arrangement of a jazz tune and ask the students to listen to specific elements: melody, repetition, bass line, groove. One person can demonstrate hand drums and discuss the rich cultural history of hand drum playing in Africa and South America.Discuss the makeup of the group and our cultural backgrounds, and the role of female percussionists in particular.Students can go up to try the instruments, one by one, or we can do a canon game where one group repeats one rhythm, and the other group repeats another rhythm.

The Role of Percussionists (Grades 7–8)

Review the basics of percussion^ (depending on the level). The discussion of pitched versus unpitched instruments, origins of all the instruments, with demonstrations/performances. The class is significantly more interactive, and students go up to play. They can either play their own pieces if they are percussionists, or we can do call and response and break up the classroom into groups to make “canon.”

Percussion Masterclass (High School)

Excelsis Percussion Quartet—Photos for Public Download.zip

Excelsis Percussion Quartet

This program features the great chamber works of percussion that paved the way for new voices and contemporary masterpieces. Excelsis Percussion believes that sound exploration and expressivity are timeless and ever-expanding. This program simultaneously takes a step into the past while looking toward the possibilities of the future.

An Ode to the Classics

This program celebrates multi-genre music through a juke-box inspired performance of pop music with a classical twist. Combined with elements of surprise and audience participation, this program creates a fun and accessible concert experience for all audiences and age groups.&nbsp;

Excelsis Percussion: Pops!

A blend of multiple styles, cultures, and soundscapes, this enticing program reimagines the classical concert experience through embracing contrast and the vast globality of cross-genre exploration. Excelsis Percussion brings together their different experiences and identities to share one unified program of powerful, multicultural chamber music.

Latitude, Longitude

large_ExcelsisPercussionQuartet-4.jpg

medium_ExcelsisPercussionQuartet-4.jpg

small_ExcelsisPercussionQuartet-4.jpg

thumbnail_ExcelsisPercussionQuartet-4.jpg

ExcelsisPercussionQuartet-4.jpg

Benedict Kloeckner_2021-22 Biographies.pdf

Benedict Kloeckner—Photos for Public Download.zip

Benedict Kloeckner

Robert Schumann’s works for violoncello and piano have accompanied and inspired me ever sinceI started playing the cello. It was our wish to combine works by Schumann with 20th century compositions that shared his spirit of innovation, his love for the music of the past (in particular that of Johann Sebastian Bach) and his efforts to achieve a simplicity of expression&nbsp; a “folk style” that, in its approachability and highest artistic standard, appealed to the public’s interest back then.Schumann’s music is characterized by poetry, sensibility, and sincerity; they are also indispensable elements for Dmitri Shostakovich and Bohuslav Martinů, even if these contrasted sharply with external conditions –perhaps to even counter the disorders of the world with something deeply intimate and human. In keeping with the spirit of Leonard Bernstein,&nbsp; I wish to do justice to the relevance of this music. “This will be our reply to violence: to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before.”

Between Nostalgia and Revolution

Inspired by Bach explores the influence of Johann Sebastian Bach, a major influence to many composers, through two of the most beautiful cello sonatas of the repertoire. Mendelssohn is known for being a great advocate of Bach’s music, and in his vibrant, virtuous Cello Sonata, it is especially clear in the slow third movement, which touches the listener as a slow Bach-style chorale and quotes parts of Bach’s chromatic Fantasy and Fugue. It is not known how familiar Beethoven was with Bach’s work, however in his magnificent Cello Sonata, he quotes Bach’s Johannes Passion “es ist vollbracht.” Beethoven’s Cello Sonata then became its own inspiration for many composers, who attempt to echo its perfect instrumental balance and compositorial genius.&nbsp;

Inspired by Bach

Forgotten Romance is a program of works by three great Romantic pianists and composers who didn’t write very much chamber music, but had a particular love for the cello. Sergei Rachmaninov wrote his Cello Sonata after a long personal and artistic crisis, in which he had to fight back his way to mental health and artistic creativity. His Cello Sonata is a journey of the soul –from darkness, struggle, and despair to blazing joy and glory Following a similar journey, Chopin’s Cello Sonata was one of his last works, a complex masterpiece full of poetry, virtuosity, and intensity. The program opens with Liszt’s beautiful and lyrical Romance oubliée and his famous Dream of Love, conveying the composer’s great emotional depth in what&nbsp; Frederic Delius calls “an outburst of the soul.”&nbsp;

Forgotten Romance

Legendary cellist Pablo Casals once said that Johann Sebastian Bach’s 6 Suites for Violoncello “is the quintessence of Bach’s music, and Bach himself the quintessence of all music itself.” Casals made these works famous as one of mankind’s great achievements. They are inspired by fashionable court dances of the time and some musicologists also suspect a connection to biblical stories from the New Testament. Experiencing the complete cycle in one (or optional two) evenings is both an adventure for the listener and a challenge for the interpreter, with both facing some of the most virtuosic, emotionally deep, and musically genius art ever made.

A Dancing Miracle

cello

large_Benedict Kloecker2019-2.JPG

medium_Benedict Kloecker2019-2.JPG

small_Benedict Kloecker2019-2.JPG

thumbnail_Benedict Kloecker2019-2.JPG

Benedict Kloecker2019-2.JPG

Mirari Brass Quintet_2023-24_Biographies.pdf

THE SCIENCE OF SOUND&nbsp;How do brass instruments work? What are the differences between them? How do you make so many sounds? These are some of the questions we are often asked by young students, and we will demonstrate the answers through a range of interactive games&nbsp;MIRARI BRASS GOES TO THE ZOO!&nbsp;Story time with the brass quintet. Along with narration, we play two animal-based works for quintet that introduce students of all ages to the sonic possibilities offered by brass instruments. The first, Anthony Plog’s Animal Ditties, is a lighthearted and humorous set of Ogden Nash poetry, featuring such fun movements as the Ant, the Python, the Rhinoceros, and the Mule. The second is “The Race” by Gwyneth Walker, a contemporary retelling of “The Tortoise and The Hare.” We welcome a teacher or school principal to be the narrator for this piece! In the middle of the program, we will have time for questions from the students.

Elementary School Outreach

The Mirari Brass Quintet offers a variety of lecture/demonstrations on more specialized topics. These can be tailored as necessary to suit the needs of any given audience, and can be mixed and matched as well.&nbsp;Topics include:&nbsp;<ul><li>CREATIVE IMPROVISATION</li><li>PHRASE AND FLOW</li><li>FEARLESS PERFORMANCE</li><li>INSTRUMENTAL YOGA</li><li>THE ENTERPRISING ARTIST</li><li>FORM AND FUNCTION: MUSIC OF AND FOR THE PEOPLE</li></ul>

Specialized Lectures/Demonstrations

The Mirari Brass Quintet has decades of collective educational experience, and loves to work with students of all levels, whether they specialize in brass or simply have a general interest in music and performance. The Mirari can work one-on-one, with small groups, or with large audiences. In addition to the traditional master class setting, in which specific pieces are used to bring focus to larger performance concepts, the Quintet can also speak as a group on areas of expertise. These topics can be geared towards audiences of all ages and ability levels, and can be mixed and matched to suit the needs of any event:&nbsp;<ul><li>BRASS FUNDAMENTALS</li><li>CHAMBER MUSIC FUNDAMENTALS</li><li>MUSIC BUSINESS AND MARKETING</li><li>THE ART OF PERFORMING</li></ul>

Master Classes

The members of the Mirari Brass have for years worked with students of all ages across the United States and around the world. With your band program, we can set up a customized residency experience with a variety of different activities. Some of these specialized activities are detailed below, but we can also work with the full ensemble on your concert music. We will be happy to sit side-by-side with your students, conduct the ensemble, or make comments Typically a short Mirari Brass performance for your students will accompany a residency. Each of these activities works equally well with high school, junior high, or middle school ensembles.BREAKOUT SESSIONS&nbsp;Fundamentals Classes (30 – 60 minutes): We will individually take out the trumpet, horn, and low brass sections and work with them on air support, sound production, articulation, flexibility, and other basic concepts.&nbsp;Brass Sectionals (30 – 60 minutes): We can work individually with brass sections on their band music, teaching them technical as well as musical concept.MINI CLINICS FOR THE FULL BAND&nbsp;Breathing, Posture, and Yoga for Musicians (30-45 minutes): Find out how proper body alignment, air support, and physical fitness can improve music making for everyone! We will take your students through simple stretching and breathing exercises designed to reduce tension and perform with a beautiful sound.How to Play Music in College (30-45 minutes, High Schools Only): Geared towards any student looking to play music at the college level regardless of their major. Learn about the opportunities available to students, how to select a college, the audition process, and important tips for success as a music major. The members of the Mirari Brass collectively have nearly 50 years of college teaching experience!&nbsp;Creative Improvisation (30-45 minutes): We will take your students through a variety of games and exercises that build creativity in style and musical expression. They will have opportunities to each be leaders, soloists, and ensemble members and learn how to communicate and collaborate with each other in an experience unlike any they have had before! Students on any instrument or voice can participate and no prior experience in improvisation is necessary.

Band Clinics

Mirari Brass Quintet—Photos for Public Download.zip

Mirari Brass Quintet

"Celebrated Classics" is our nod to the long and storied history of the brass quintet, and features concert music with traditional structures and tonal language. Spanning from the sublime to the profane; from the absolute to the programmatic, Mirari takes our audience on a journey that begins with Bach and ends with Bernstein.&nbsp;This program is packed full with masterworks for the brass quintet, including one of the earliest pieces written for the ensemble by the Romantic Russian composer, Victor Ewald. Along with Wilke Renwick’s vibrant Dance, Morley Calvert’s humorous Suite from the Monteregian Hills, and Jan Koetsier’s charming Quintet, this is truly a “greatest hits” playlist for brass quintet. While the majority of the program was written specifically for five brass, we’ve taken some favorite vocal works by composers like William Grant Still and Clara Schumann and have adapted their gorgeous melodies to fit the brass quintet. Sticking with vocal music, the program closes with Jack Gale’s expert arrangement of music from Leonard Bernstein’s masterpiece, West Side Story. For lovers of more traditional classical chamber music, this program is right up your alley!

Celebrated Classics

"Hidden Perspectives" showcases some of our favorite brass quintet repertoire that has not yet made its way into the traditional canon. The repertoire all comes from the 21st century, representing a wide array of&nbsp; identities and experiences. Central to Mirari’s mission is to elevate works by composers from underrepresented populations and this program does just that. Zoe Cutler’s Personality Test serves as the centerpiece of the first half. It features each member of the quintet playing the part of one of what Cutler defines as the five different personality types. There is humor, virtuosity, and a variety of styles in this clever, engaging multi-movement work. Along with Anthony Barfield’s tuneful and rhythmic Gravity, Tony Di Lorenzo’s fiery Go!, and the majestic Sleepy Hollow, the first half brings light to some relatively unknown composers who bring their unique artistry and fresh perspective to chamber repertoire.The second half begins with two winners of Mirari’s “Call for Scores,” Fleeting Images by Florence Maunders, a driving, high-energy opener inspired by UK club/electronic music and the wildly chaotic but captivating Three Episodes for Brass Quintet by Ian Lester. We close with two incredibly evocative works to close the program, Reena Esmail’s Tuttarana and Joan Tower’s Copperwave. This program delicately balances innovative repertoire with listener satisfaction so that it is appropriate for any audience.

Hidden Perspectives

“Mind the Gap” is a program inspired by the phrase delivered to passengers on the London Underground (aka “the tube”). The phrase is a warning repeated at every stop to help riders traverse the space between the stationary platform and the moving train. With this program, we traverse the space between standard and innovative, groundbreaking repertoire, displaying that both can exist side-by-side in complete harmony.With brass quintet standards like Joan Tower’s Copper Wave and Eric Ewazen’s Colchester Fantasy (each movement is named for a British pub!) anchoring the halves of the program, Mirari incorporates new works for quintet by up and coming composers as well. Sleepy Hollow and Four English Madrigals celebrate the lyrical qualities of brass while Tony Di Lorenzo’s Go! and Chick Corea’s Spain bookend the concert with the virtuosity one expects from the brass quintet. Fleeting Images and Ian Lester’s Three Episodes for Brass Quintet were winners of Mirari’s Call for Scores competition in 2021 and 2020, respectively, and we are so excited to champion these amazing new works. This program is the perfect mixture of old and new, standard and innovative.

Mind the Gap

large_DSC01862.jpg

medium_DSC01862.jpg

small_DSC01862.jpg

thumbnail_DSC01862.jpg

DSC01862.jpg

Palaver Strings_2024-25_Biographies.pdf

What exactly is “classical” music? Join Palaver Strings for an engaging presentation exploring string music by Bach, Mozart, and Haydn, as well as groundbreaking voices of the modern age. This 45-minute workshop introduces the sounds of the string instrument family (violin, viola, cello, and bass), as well as the diverse voices, eras, and styles under the classical umbrella, with an emphasis on music by women and composers of color. This presentation is designed for grades K-8, with no prior musical experience required.

Outside The Bachs (Grades K-8)

Designed for school orchestra students, this workshop puts Palaver Strings musicians side by side with students, introducing the fundamentals of chamber music and conductorless ensemble playing. We also introduce the concept of improvisation and spontaneity as tools for creative musical expression. This 60-minute workshop is designed for grades 4-12, with some prior string instrument study required. Repertoire will be chosen in consultation with the school’s orchestra director/string teacher and tailored to the age and experience of the students.&nbsp;

SideXSide (Grades 4-12)

Hear the classic story of Ferdinand the Bull with a full string orchestra and narrator! With music by Alan Ridout and text by Munro Leaf, Ferdinand the Bull tells the story of a young bull who feels different from others, and eventually learns to accept himself for who he truly is. This 10-15 minute performance is designed for students age 5-10, with no prior music experience required. Palaver Strings or the host organization may provide a narrator.

Ferdinand The Bull (Ages 5-10)

Join Palaver Strings for an engaging and hands-on experience that empowers students to unleash their creativity! Guided by experienced musicians, participants will explore music through interactive activities such as instrument-making and painting to live music.&nbsp; This multi-sensory approach encourages students to explore and experiment freely. These 45-60 minute workshops can be customized according to age group, with no prior musical experience required. Additional costs for materials may apply, depending on the activities involved.

Touching Sound

Music and emotion are inextricably linked; music evokes a wide range of emotions in listeners, from happiness to sadness to excitement to calm. Join Palaver Strings in an interactive concert of music and emotion through active listening, musical expression, movement, and mindfulness.This 45-minute presentation is designed for students ages 5-9. No prior musical experience is required.

Harmony of the Heart (Ages 5-9)

Creative collaboration brings together people from different backgrounds, skills, and experiences. This 60-minute workshop/performance features Palaver Strings and collaborating artists, and includes a short performance and discussion of musical style, cultural values, power dynamics, and strategies for equitable collaboration across cultures, genres, and artistic disciplines. Examples of collaborating artists include Kinan Azmeh (clarinet/composer/improviser), Heather Stewart (modern dance), Chris Pattishall (jazz pianist), and Lauren Stevens (traditional Wabanaki song). This presentation is designed for students age 8 and up, with no prior musical experience required. Note that this workshop is dependent on the availability of collaborators, must be booked at least one year in advance, and that additional costs for guest artists may apply. &nbsp; &nbsp;

Come Together: Palaver and Friends (Ages 8+)

Palaver Strings–Photos for Public Download.zip

Palaver Strings

Featuring Grammy award-winning tenor Nicholas Phan, this program explores our country’s rich legacy of protest songs. Repertoire includes traditional songs of protest and music inspired by social movements and historical events, including Nico Muhly’s Stranger, Akenya Seymour’s Fear the Lamb, and a new commission by Errollyn Wallen. Spanning genres, eras, and movements, A Change Is Gonna Come provokes conversation, confronts our past and present, and celebrates the act of protest as one of our most precious rights.

A Change is Gonna Come - Album Release 

Centered around a new commission for Palaver entitled ḥawwāsh, written by Kareem Roustom, Dancing Home explores the interconnected nature of dance music to cultural heritage, our sense of belonging, and what it means to make your home in a new place. The ḥawwāsh is the lead dancer in traditional Arab dance from the near east who sets the tone and pace for a given dance which the other dancers follow and support. In Roustom’s new piece, each member of Palaver can be the ḥawwāsh at any given moment. This work grapples with the anguish of displacement and the uncertainties of life in unfamiliar settings, but also celebrates the resilience needed to survive and thrive. Another piece commissioned by Palaver Strings in 2023, Kinan Azmeh’s Syrian Dances explores similar themes of finding home and belonging through the vehicle of traditional dance melodies. Paired with this is Bela Bartok’s iconic Romanian Folk Dances, a piece many will recognize but played in Palaver’s own way with the solo line passed among the many players and instruments. The program is rounded out with a set of original fiddle tunes by Jamie Oshima and Palaver’s own Maya French.

Dancing Home

Palaver Strings revisits Ready or Not, a celebration of the groundbreaking visions of female composers from the renaissance to the present day. Featuring wide ranging selections by Jessie Montgomery, Hildegard von Bingen, inti figgis-vizueta, Tanner Porter, Sato Matsui, Leilehua Lanzilotti, Pétalo Seslar and Lili Boulanger, Ready Or Not celebrates the diverse voices and unique artistic visions of women throughout the ages, who have always made music whether the world was ready or not.

Ready or Not Revisited

Vuyo Sotashe will be featured in concert with Chris Pattishall and Palaver Strings in a celebration of the rich musical and linguistic cultures of South Africa. The program will range from traditional folk songs to works by South African jazz musicians (including by Sotashe himself), with songs sung in Xhosa, Sepedi, and Zulu. The music includes celebrations of women from several perspectives (Sylvia; Mus'ukundilahla, Nkosi; Madlamini), and the interaction of humans with nature (Seliyana).

Songbook with Vuyo Sotashe & Chris Pattishall

With each of these pieces, what we as listeners initially hear is often unclear, fragments of themes revealing themselves over time often slowly and imperfectly. It’s almost as though we are looking into the dark trying to decipher what is in front of us only to discover that what we thought was a small object is only a portion of a greater being. But at its core, each of these pieces is a passage, a journey. Like life, there are twists and turns and bumps along the way. No journey worth taking is ever smooth and therefore, it begs the question of why we embark in the first place and how we change as a result of our experiences.

But There is This

large_08.13.2023_Palaver_0091_edit.jpg

medium_08.13.2023_Palaver_0091_edit.jpg

small_08.13.2023_Palaver_0091_edit.jpg

thumbnail_08.13.2023_Palaver_0091_edit.jpg

08.13.2023_Palaver_0091_edit.jpg

This 3-day residency will explore the expressive potential of collaborative music-making, storytelling, and protest through song, and how themes of hope and justice can connect us with each other. The project will celebrate the release of the&nbsp;Change is Gonna Come&nbsp;album while working closely with local&nbsp;community members to write their own stories through the lens of Palaver's Lifesongs Project. Presenters can choose which community, and which members within that community, would benefit most from participating in the Lifesongs songwriting workshop.&nbsp; Examples of communities could include: an LGBTQ group, an Osher lifelong learning group, an Alateen group, a group of inmates pursuing higher education degrees, etc.&nbsp;After a day of songwriting followed by a day of revision/demoing, Palaver and the community songwriters will offer a culminating public performance of the songs, as well as the process-sharing discussion. In a tech-savvy twist, the Lifesongs performance and process-sharing will take place on a green screen, so that the live performers can afterwards be transformed into holograms to be geo-pinned&nbsp;in the community for several weeks to come. Community members can revisit and interact with these augmented reality (AR) performances after the live performance has ended, extending the Lifesongs residency impact and engaging community members in a fun&nbsp;new performance format, powered by the AR platform,&nbsp;<a href="https://immersphere.io/">ImmerSphere</a>.&nbsp;Day 1:&nbsp;Lifesongs songwriting workshop. Palaver musicians will work with 3-5 members of the community of your choice to write songs about their life stories or issues that are important to them.Day 2:&nbsp; Lifesongs songwriting revision session and creation of take-home demo recordings. Palaver musicians and participating community members will finish the songs and record demo recordings for the community member's&nbsp;personal use.Day 3:&nbsp;Lifesongs green screen live performance and process-sharing session with public audience, followed by a culminating&nbsp;Change is Gonna Come&nbsp;performance by Palaver Strings and Nicholas Phan1-3 Months following: &nbsp;Lifesongs performances will be geo-pinned in the community as an AR installation to be revisited. Any community member can engage with the hologram performances for free using their own smartphones. &nbsp;A Change is Gonna ComeFeaturing Grammy-nominated tenor Nicholas Phan and Palaver Strings,&nbsp;A Change is Gonna Come&nbsp;explores our country’s rich legacy of protest songs. Repertoire includes traditional songs of protest and music inspired by social movements and historical events, including Nico Muhly’s Stranger, Akenya Seymour’s Fear the Lamb, and the premiere of Errollyn Wallen’s Protest Songs. Spanning genres, eras, and movements, A Change Is Gonna Come confronts our past and present and celebrates protest as one of our most precious rights.RepertoireNico Muhly – Stranger Roberta Slavitt, Alfred Hayes, Malvina Reynolds, arr. Domenic Salerni – Freedom is a Constant Struggle/I Dreamed I Saw Joe Hill/It Isn't Nice Harry Burleigh/ Langston Hughes, arr. Ian Gottlieb – Lovely, Dark and Lonely One Abel Meeropol/Billie Holiday, arr. Jonathan Bingham – Strange Fruit Akenya Seymour – Fear the Lamb Bob Dylan, arr. Domenic Salerni – Blowin’ in the Wind Joni Mitchell, Pete Seeger, Phil Ochs, arr. Domenic Salerni – Fiddle and the Drum/Where Have all the Flowers Gone/What Are You Fighting For? Errollyn Wallen – Protest Songs (Project Commission) Sam Cooke, arr. Domenic Salerni – A Change is Gonna Come

featuring Palaver Strings and Nicholas Phan

A Change is Gonna Come Performance and Lifesongs Project

medium_Screen Shot 2023-07-14 at 2.10.36 PM.png

small_Screen Shot 2023-07-14 at 2.10.36 PM.png

thumbnail_Screen Shot 2023-07-14 at 2.10.36 PM.png

Screen Shot 2023-07-14 at 2.10.36 PM.png

Paragon Ragtime Orchestra_2023-24_Biographies.pdf

The Orchestra also creates customized programs for special events, centennials, celebrations, and holidays. With over 20,000 historic scores covering every musical style popular from the Civil War era to the Jazz Age, and with acclaimed American-music expert—and showman—Rick Benjamin in charge, we have the power and experience to custom-build programs especially for your venue, event, or theme. Your imagination is the only limit! Our client list over 30 years ranges from billion-dollar entertainment conglomerates to major performing arts centers and museums to small not-for-profit groups (and everything in-between).

Special Events & Customized Programs

The PRO also offers condensed 50 minute versions of all of the above programs for young audiences in schools; we have different versions of each designed for specific age levels: kindergarten–grade 2, grades 3–5, middle school, and high school students.

Educational Programs for Schools

Paragon Ragtime Orchestra–Photos for Public Download.zip

Paragon Ragtime Orchestra

Note: Paragon has one of the world’s largest libraries of historic American orchestral music, and the particular pieces played on each of Paragon’s concert programs are subject to change to reflect this unique resource.Travel back to the early 1900s as modern life begins: America falls in love with electricity and automobiles, flying machines take to the sky, and vaudeville creates American idols. A two-hour concert program of approximately 15 pieces played from historic orchestrations drawn from the Orchestra’s legendary 22,000 title collection. Joplin’s music takes center stage, but all performances are one of a kind as conductor and pianist Rick Benjamin shares his score discoveries with the audience – and the Orchestra – in a voyage of discovery tracing the roots of American music. This is PRO’s most popular program – critically acclaimed across 48 U.S. states and seven countries. Composers represented on this program include Scott Joplin, Joseph F. Lamb, James Scott, George Botsford, May Aufderheide, and Kerry Mills.

Artists