Akropolis Reed Quintet_ 2021-22 Biographies.pdf

Winner of the 2015 Fischoff Educator Award, Akropolis will reach more than 6,000 K-12 students during its 17/18 season alone. Deeply passionate and experienced, 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 full band workshops, master classes, interactive performances, and Q&amp;A’s.“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 Outreach

Akropolis custom-designs satellite performances so that community members outside the concert hall can engage the arts. During its Corporate to Corner Tour in 2017, Akropolis presented office space concerts in Detroit high rises and pop-up concerts throughout Detroit’s downtown as part of a community residency funded by Chamber Music America and the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs. Akropolis has performed at two homeless shelters in Portland, Oregon, hosts a house concert and barbecue each year in Ann Arbor, MI, held its 3rd CD release concert at a local distillery, and has performed at numerous non-traditional venues. Akropolis is committed to diversifying classical music’s audience, and can do this in your community.

Community Engagement

Akropolis has designed and taught music business management courses at the University of Michigan and Michigan State University, and delivered workshops on marketing, strategic planning, audience engagement, competition success, and more at dozens of universities around the country. Akropolis gives inspiring master classes, reads new works by student composers, and has even collaborated in performance with students during its visits. Visit <a href="http://www.akropolisquintet.com/akropolisworks">akropolisquintet.com/akropolisworks</a> to view sample workshop templates, lecture topics, webinars, and more.

Akropolis Works (University)

Akropolis Reed Quintet—Photos for Public Download.zip

Akropolis Reed Quintet

Celebrating the inseparable link between the jazz and classical idioms, the Detroit-based Akropolis Reed Quintet presents jazz-influenced music with Harlem roots. Even from the other side of the world, classical composers have long sought to make the co-evolution of classical music and American jazz clear to their audiences, including this concert’s opening work by Dmitri Shostakovich. Infusing each arrangement with their award-winning, mini-big band style dynamism, Akropolis transforms Gershwin’s massive An American in Paris into an intimate, café-style romp and Leonard Bernstein’s Prelude, Fugue, and Riffs into a Dixieland style celebration. Two Harlem natives, Jeff Scott and Arthur Cunningham, bring elements of gospel, blues, and jump jazz to the classical stage, letting loose Akropolis’ award-winning, tour-de-force spirit.

When Harlem Met Detroit: Jazz-influenced Classical Chamber Music

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 from 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. Opening the concert, 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

About his famous Le Tombeau de Couperin and why the composer wrote uplifting music to memorialize his friends lost during the first World War, Ravel stated, “the dead are sad enough, in their eternal silence.” Inspired by Ravel’s courage, and facing a modern world changing so quickly, Akropolis provides an opportunity to remember, tribute, and memorialize things we have lost, and acknowledge loss for its pain and beauty. Accompanying an arrangement of Le Tombeau by Raaf Hekkema of the Dutch reed Quintet, Calefax, Akropolis tributes the funk, gospel, blues, struts, and church collections of Harlem through an equally upbeat series of vignettes by Harlem native, Arthur Cunningham, entitled, Harlem Suite. Akropolis commissions by composers Stacy Garrop of Chicago and Jeff Scott (also a Harlem native), which highlight their Billboard charting 4th album, Ghost Light, bring forth the dead for consideration in two works which celebrate the ghosts and spirits of our past and our present—Rites for the Afterlife, a 4-movement work walking the listener through the harrowing journey of the soul in Egypian afterlife, and Homage to Paradise Valley, honoring Detroit’s lost Black neighborhoods of the early 1900s.

Ravel and the Eternal Silence

Making Akropolis the first reed quintet to ever grace the Classical Billboard Charts, Ghost Light, their fourth full-length album, was born out of Akropolis’ mission to create new music that connects their audience to one another and the world we share. An “exceptional outfit audibly driven by real excitement and a sense of adventure,” (The Wire) the album features a diverse collection of world premiere works which shine a light on the ghosts all around us and grapples with the issues of mortality and our personal and collective history. The concert program includes selections of each work, including 2018 Pulitzer Prize finalist, Michael Gilbertson, and 2019 Academy of Arts and Letters Award recipient, Stacy Garrop. A masterwork by Jeff Scott telling the history of 3 razed Black Detroit neighborhoods is accompanied by new poetry written by Detroit historian and author, Marsha Music.

Ghost Light

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Marc Mellits – Splinter Steven Snowden&nbsp;–&nbsp;Sprocket– Intermission –David Biedenbender –&nbsp;Refraction John Steinmetz – Sorrow and Celebration for Reed Quintet and AudienceMechAnimals is a collaborative program created by the internationally-recognized Akropolis Reed Quintet and Detroit-based metal fabrication artist and Kresge Arts Fellow, Juan Martinez. The collaboration was born from the question, “How can we continue to innovate and change our world, but still connect with each other?” The program’s featured work Sprocket, funded in part by a prestigious National Endowment for the Arts ArtWorks grant, is composed by Steven Snowden for Akropolis and features a rideable percussion bicycle designed and built by Martinez with automated, pedal-powered percussion instruments including an accordion and glockenspiel. The MechAnimals concert program also features Akropolis commissions centered upon the paradox of nature and machine epitomized by Martinez’s acclaimed series of sheet metal animal bicycles. Each work balances mechanical rhythms and lyrical harmonies, including “Goat Rodeo” and “Death Metal Chicken” from David Biedenbender’s Refraction, and in closing, a work for reed quintet and audience participation by John Steinmetz entitled Sorrow and Celebration from Akropolis’ third album The Space Between, hailed as “pure gold” by the San Francisco Chronicle.Akropolis and Martinez are committed to engaging the general public in a multi-day, outdoor community residency that accentuates the togetherness found throughout communities around the country. Juan will travel to location with two of his metal animal bikes <a href="https://vimeo.com/271480743" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">seen here</a>, as well as the percussion bike designed for Sprocket. These bikes will be available to be ridden by the public with Juan’s personal guidance in a public gathering space most suitable. Akropolis will be present to give short, strolling pop-up performances of Sprocket and other short selections. Martinez will also lead a kids and family workshop wherein participants create musical instruments out of scrap materials sourced from the locale. The formal MechAnimals concert can be performed inside our outside. Akropolis frequently delivers educational outreach at K-12 schools and colleges and is available to deliver these events as well.This project began as part of Akropolis’ 2019 “<a href="https://akropolisquintet.org/together-we-sound/">Together We Sound</a>” festival in Detroit with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, and High Wire Lab. Sprocket will be premiered on June 6th, 2019 at the Wasserman Projects in Detroit, with an outdoor pop-up event featuring Martinez’s animals at the Dequindre Cut Freight Yard gathering space on June 8th.For more information or to book the Akropolis Reed Quintet, please contact Matthew Kulas at <a href="mailto:matthew@arielartists.com">matthew@arielartists.com</a> or 617.213.0378.

Akropolis Reed Quintet: Juan Martinez Project

MechAnimals

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“Are We Dreaming the Same Dream?” is a project combining the 7-time national prize-winning Akropolis Reed Quintet,&nbsp;Grammy-nominated composer and pianist Pascal Le Boeuf, and one of&nbsp;Revive Magazine’s&nbsp;“six&nbsp;drummers you should know about,” Christian Euman. “Are We Dreaming the Same Dream” is a new work composed for the septet by Le Boeuf,&nbsp;supported in part by a generous grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. The dueling elements prized and exemplified&nbsp;by the three collaborative parties create&nbsp;a novel hybridization that draws from&nbsp;both&nbsp;classical and jazz idioms&nbsp;and provides&nbsp;a flexible framework&nbsp;to reflect on American identity—in classical music, in jazz, and in American culture in general—by commenting on overlapping&nbsp;and conflicting&nbsp;strands of influence from composers who have historically represented American identity in their work, such as Charles Mingus, Geri Allen, George Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein, and Dave Brubeck.Repertoire Chosen From the Following Pascal Le Boeuf –&nbsp;Are We Dreaming the Same Dream?&nbsp;(full septet) 25′ Pascal Le Boeuf –&nbsp;Wanderlust&nbsp;(full septet) 7′ Dave Brubeck arr. Le Boeuf – “Blue Rondo a La Turk” (full septet) 7′ George Gershwin arr. Raaf Hekkema –&nbsp;An American in Paris&nbsp;(Akropolis) 18′ Aaron Copland&nbsp;arr. Le Boeuf – “Copland Medley” (Le Boeuf and Euman)&nbsp;8′ Geri Allen&nbsp;arr. Le Boeuf – “RTG”&nbsp;(Le Boeuf and Euman) 5′ Charles Mingus&nbsp;arr. Le Boeuf – “Self-Portrait in Three Colors”&nbsp;(Le Boeuf and Euman) 7′Biographies Founded in 2009, Akropolis has toured internationally while championing new music by&nbsp;a&nbsp;diverse&nbsp;range of&nbsp;composers, appearing on&nbsp;significant&nbsp;series including Oneppo, Flagler, Chautauqua, and&nbsp;others. They have been termed “pure gold” by the&nbsp;San Francisco Chronicle, and they are a Fischoff Gold Medalist and recipient of three consecutive National Endowment for the Arts “Art Works” grants. Pascal Le Boeuf is a Grammy nominated composer, pianist, and producer&nbsp;described as “sleek, new” and “hyper-fluent” by the&nbsp;New York Times.&nbsp;He is widely recognized for his polyrhythmic approach to chamber music and hybridization of disparate idioms.&nbsp;Christian Euman has toured with Kurt Elling, Billy Childs, Walter Smith III, Geoff Keezer, and Jacob Collier, 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

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Stacy Garrop –&nbsp;Rites for the AfterlifeMichael Gilbertson –&nbsp;Kinds of LightNiloufar Nourbakhsh&nbsp;–&nbsp;Firing Squad–&nbsp;Intermission –Theo Chandler –&nbsp;Seed to SnagJeff Scott –&nbsp;Homage to Paradise Valley&nbsp;(poetry by Marsha Music)Akropolis Reed Quintet’s 4th album, Ghost Light, released on April 9, 2021 and already hailed by&nbsp;The Wire, U.K. as “audibly driven by real excitement and a sense of adventure,” is now available as a touring program specifically designed to aid presenters in creatively reopening their venues to live audiences with an intentional sense of community. Mirroring the live stream concert that Akropolis delivered on the album release date, the event will be staged by Akropolis with intimate lighting and include a ghost light from the presenting venue, or another in the community.&nbsp;Featuring five original works commissioned by Akropolis, Ghost Light is a meditation on life, death, and rebirth “performed with faultless detail and refreshing artistry” (I Care if You Listen). The program shines a light on the ghosts all around us and grapples with the issues of mortality and our personal and collective history. Living, learning, and growing in their own bubble for the last 12 months, Akropolis has developed their own, reignited purpose: to bring world class music to everyday people through human connection. As you endeavor to do the same in your community, Ghost Light provides an ideal setting with diverse works from composers Stacy Garrop, Michael Gilbertson, Niloufar Nourbakhsh, Theo Chandler, and Jeff Scott, including original poetry by Detroit artist and historian, Marsha Music.

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Arcis Saxophone Quartet_2019-20 Biographies.pdf

Arcis Saxophone Quartet—Photos for Public Download.zip

Arcis Saxophone Quartet

Endless prairie landscapes; the exciting pulse of the city that never sleeps; the swinging life of the Southern states; stories full of dreams, hopes, and love: in American Dreams, the Arcis Saxophone Quartet takes the audience on a journey through a broad musical exhibition of the American way of life.

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

Throwing yourself into the unknown, daring to be crazy, thinking the impossible, and giving a personal touch to tradition: True art is always innovation. The composer has to juggle with both the tradition and the new and has to find and create their own path. The Arcis Saxophone Quartet lets the most exciting moments of this search for the unknown shine like in a kaleidoscope of innovations. Thrilling discoveries guaranteed!

Innovation

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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.

Arcis with Orchestra

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Berlin Counterpoint_2019-20 Biographies.pdf

Berlin Counterpoint—Photos for Public Download.zip

Berlin Counterpoint

If one were to piece together the most substantial 70 minutes of the literature for piano and wind quintet into a single program, you would be hard pressed to find a more iconic group of works. In Fun, Mockery, and Schadenfreude, Berlin Counterpoint uses the compositions of Johann Strauss and Richard Strauss to bookend a program of works that are not only milestones in their respective genres, but also extravagant, cheeky, and thoroughly idiosyncratic pieces.Berlin Counterpoint is happy to identify itself with any one of these titles, in which a pinch of melancholy and a sprinkle of mockery are mixed with a whole lot of humor to merge into masterpieces that celebrate the joy of life.Ligeti’s six entertaining Bagatelles, one of the shining stars of the wind quintet literature, Poulenc’s Sextuor, and of course Beethoven’s Piano Quintet are core elements of the program. These three pieces have accompanied Berlin Counterpoint from their first day together and yet continue to challenge them in every performance. They are sandwiched by two characterful arrangements that transform the great orchestral sound into a transparent, versatile and yet powerful sextet sound. Despite the lack of the typical 80-member orchestra, Till Eulenspiegel still manages to celebrate his cheeky pranks perfectly amongst these six musicians.

Fun, Mockery, and Schadenfreude

Richard Wagner’s Tristan Prelude marks the end of an era, while Debussy’s Prélude à l’Après-midi d’un Faune is the beginning of the era in which wind chamber music had its most important flowering. Around these two composers, this program tells a story that begins long before the birth of Mozart and is still far from finished with Connesson. Our story. The story of the composer’s confrontation with this idiosyncratic wind instrument combination, which looks unequal, is unequal, and no composer has been able to handle without a struggle.Mozart, Thuille, and Connesson saw this struggle with inequality as a positive and because of it, not despite it, created genius pieces which later became a breeding ground for the three epochs of our ensemble literature. Mozart’s Quintet became the direct inspiration for Beethoven’s Quintet, Op. 16. Thuille’s Op. 6 is the climax of the German romanticism and was the model for Theodor Blumer and many others. And Connesson? His writing evokes so much energy and his use of the instruments is so fascinating that composers will want to follow him in droves.

Turning Point

“Creativity has something playful, and this playfulness is at the forefront of new music.” – York HöllerMusic has always been contemporary and new art has always been divisive enough to cause an uproar. Sound Signs introduces the audience to five composers who created something that was considered unusual in its time, but has now not only found its place in the repertoire, but lays down a path for its further development.Handel’s Overture, H.W.V. 336, was originally rejected because the Italian audience demanded a new overture, and he had written this in French style. Louise Farrenc, whose sextet was the very first work ever composed for Berlin Counterpoint’s full instrumentation, should be celebrated as a prophet. Who knows where we would be today, had she not indulged herself in the weird and wonderful world of piano and winds.Samuel Barber’s Summer Music deserves its place as possibly the best wind quintet ever written, purely because it is so unusual. Berlin Counterpoint felt there was no choice other than to include it on its debut 2014 CD, Barber, Beethoven, Connesson, Poulenc &amp; Strauss: Works for Woodwind Quintet &amp; Piano.The program title comes from York Höller's sextet, Klangzeichen (Sound Signs), a work dedicated to Israeli and Palestinian children as a call for peace in the Middle East, and premiered in Jerusalem in 2003. Each piece in this program could be seen as a prime example for playful experimentation.

Sound Signs

Danish author Hans Christian Andersen said that music is a language that begins where words stop. How might Jules Verne have sounded if he had replaced his words with scales? To what worlds might Rimsky-Korsakov have taken us, had his vehicle been a fantasy novel instead of a piano quintet? Where pieces are no longer just language and representations, but also evoke complex structures, intimate autobiographies, and creeds – this is where our repertoire feels most at home.The first four compositions of this program attempt to reveal the true soul of the Russian people. Centered around a deep belief in beauty, they tell of passion, humor, and the joy of life. In these three large-scale works, Glinka, Rimsky-Korsakov, and Paul Juon give us a glimpse into their most beautiful and glorified images and memories of Russia.The program is framed by two arrangements that are characteristic of Berlin Counterpoint’s repertoire, transforming a large orchestral sound into a transparent, virtuosic, and, above all, flexible body of sound. The phrasing of melodies and the shaping of the sounds becomes an irresistibly captivating game for both the musicians and the audience.

Foreign Lands: People. Music. Stories.

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Delphi Trio_2021-22 Biographies.pdf

Duration: 45 minutesAn interactive, family-friendly performance for all ages, this program combines musical performance with visual art in a game-like format that allows viewers to join in on the music making.Using graphic notation, a unique way of writing sounds in the form of artistic images, Circle Dash consists of a series of animated “video scores” conceived by composer and educator Danny Clay that lead participants on a journey through a variety of musical landscapes.Audience members are invited to perform along with Delphi Trio using objects not traditionally considered instruments - no musical experience necessary! Along the way, audience members will learn about the basic building blocks of musical composition and explore the process of interpreting and performing music in a hands-on, interactive way. Presentations ofCircle Dash can be done in person or online.Circle Dash is a Delphi commission and an ongoing project.Danny Clay, ComposerDanny Clay is a composer and teaching artist whose work is deeply rooted in curiosity, collaboration, and the sheer joy of making things with people of all ages and levels of artistic experience.Working closely with artists, students, and community members alike, he builds worlds of inquiry, play, and perpetual discovery that integrate elements of sound, movement, theater, and visual design. Children's games, speculative systems, cognitive puzzles, invented notation, found objects, imaginary archives, repurposed media, micro-improvisations, and happy accidents all make frequent appearances in his projects.Recent collaborators include Kronos Quartet, Eighth Blackbird, Third Coast Percussion, Volti, the San Francisco Girls Chorus, Wu Man, Sarah Cahill, Phyllis Chen, and printmaker Jon Fischer. His work has been performed by the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players (SFCMP), Ensemble Dal Niente, and has been presented by the deYoung Museum, San Francisco Performances, the McEvoy Foundation for the Arts at the Minnesota Street Project, the Grey Area Foundation for the Arts, the Meaney Center for the Arts in Seattle, and university programs throughout the United States. Learn more about Danny at<a href="https://www.dclaymusic.com/"> www.dclaymusic.com</a>.<a href="http://www.delphitrio.com/familyconcert">www.delphitrio.com/familyconcert</a> &nbsp;

Circle Dash

Delphi Trio is passionate about sharing knowledge and educating young artists. All three members of the Trio are devoted teaching artists who feel strongly about the importance of sharing and passing on knowledge to the next generation. In this offering, the Trio works together to coach chamber music, or separately to coach individual instrumentalists on solo or sonata repertoire. The Trio is also available to offer panel discussions and lectures on a variety of topics, including career building, historical performance practice, arts administration, ensemble dynamics, practice psychology, and more.

Masterclasses & Panel Discussions

The members of Delphi Trio love connecting with their audiences on and off the concert stage. In the Q&amp;A and Post-Concert Chat options, the Trio will collaborate with the presenting host to facilitate a formal dialogue between the Trio and the audience. This conversation may consist of the Trio answering audience members’ questions, or delving into discussion topics such as the Trio’s musical upbringings, ideas about particular works, instruments, or anything else that might be of interest. In the Meet &amp; Greet option, the Trio will attend an informal post-concert reception where they can meet and talk with audience members directly. The availability of this option is contingent on appropriate mask policies being enforced.

Q&A/Post-Concert Chat/Meet & Greet

Delphi Trio—Photos for Public Download.zip

Delphi Trio

For centuries, women composers faced not only a remarkable lack of societal and personal support, but outright discouragement; even women who were raised with a high level of musical education were often forbidden from continuing to publish their works once grown and married. This program showcases some revelatory music of two of the most well-known women composers of the Romantic era, Fanny Hensel (née Mendelssohn) and Clara Schumann who persevered and even flourished against all odds. The expressive depth of Lili Boulanger and the lively and colorful music of noted contemporary composer Gabriela Frank bring us through the 20th century to the present, celebrating the amazing progress and freedom women now enjoy

Music, She Wrote (Alt. Title: Nevertheless, She Persisted)

Grief is an inevitable and integral part of the human experience. The composers in this concert face grief, loss, and mortality head on. In three totally different and inspiring works, they resolve the biggest universal struggle to find a place of transcendence. From the human life cycle and societal suffering in Pierre Jalbert’s Trio No. 1, to facing the decline of one’s own mental health in Robert Schumann’s Third Piano Trio, to mourning the loss of a parent in Dvorak’s Trio in F minor, this program presents an ultimately uplifting meditation on different forms of grief, healing, and renewal.

Healing Ground

Ludwig van Beethoven is a towering figure in the world of art. While his disruptive, self-assured approach is to this day influential and inspirational to artists of many disciplines, he has been an intimidating figure to follow for those composers in his wake. The iconic Romantic composers Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms both looked up to Beethoven as an artistic ideal, simultaneously wondrous and terrifying, but felt it was impossible to live up to the example set by such a colossus. This program, in celebration of the 250th anniversary of his birth, includes Beethoven’s Trio in B-flat, Op. 97, “Archduke,” and explores the relationship between these mighty composers and their music.

In the Giant’s Shadow

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A worldwide celebration is on the horizon! The Delphi Trio seeks co-commissioners for&nbsp;a new triple concerto for violin, cello, and piano by Clarice Assad that celebrates the rebirth of cultural life, of connection, of community.&nbsp;It is&nbsp;a&nbsp;21st-century female response to Beethoven's popular Triple Concerto of 1803. The piece will be designed to work either standing alone or as a companion piece to the Beethoven and will have the same instrumentation:&nbsp;soloists plus one flute, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, timpani, and strings,&nbsp;plus potentially one extra musician.The commissioning consortium is led by the San José Chamber Orchestra (SJCO)&nbsp;and Maestra Barbara Day Turner; each co-commissioner is asked to contribute $5,000 toward the composer’s fee and copying costs.&nbsp;The SJCO will give the world premiere of the work on Sunday, March 20, 2022. The work is proprietary in performance to co-commissioners and the Delphi Trio for spring 2022 and fall 2023.&nbsp;About Clarice AssadA powerful communicator renowned for her musical scope and versatility, Brazilian-American Clarice Assad is a significant artistic voice in the classical, world music, pop, and jazz genres, renowned for her evocative colors, rich textures, and diverse stylistic range. A prolific Grammy-nominated composer, with over 70 works to her credit, her work has been commissioned by internationally renowned organizations, festivals, and artists, and are published in France (Editions Lemoine), Germany (Trekel), Criadores do Brasil (Brazil), and in the US by Virtual Artists Collective Publishing. Ms. Assad has released seven solo albums and appeared on or had her works performed on another 30. Her music is represented on Cedille Records, SONY Masterworks, Nonesuch, Adventure Music, Edge, Telarc, NSS Music, GHA, and CHANDOS. As an innovator, her award-winning Voxploration Series on music education, creation, songwriting, and improvisation has been presented throughout the United States, Brazil, Europe, and the Middle East. With her talents sought-after by artists and organizations worldwide, the multi-talented musician continues to attract new audiences both onstage and off.

Clarice Assad Triple Concerto

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Danae Doerken_2021-22 Biographies.pdf

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

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Duo Kayo_2021-22 Biographies.odt.pdf

Duo Kayo—Photos for Public Download.zip

Duo Kayo

The opening of this program features the expansive and vibrant work of Paul Wiancko entitled American Haiku. The piece takes us on a journey exploring both the spirit of adventure and the longing sorrow of homesickness. Having been brought “home“ by the Wiancko, the program then shifts to a colorful suite of dances or dance-like pieces stemming from varying cultures, and culminating in an sweet, uplifting chaconne by baroque gambist Antoine Forqueray.

Evocation and Dances

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

viola and cello

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Excelsis Percussion Quartet_ 2021-22 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

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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

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Mirari Brass Quintet_ 2021-22 Biographies.pdf

Mirari Brass Quintet—Photos for Public Download.zip

Mirari Brass Quintet

There is nothing abstract about this program, we are celebrating! After over a year of practicing and meeting virtually, Mirari is back on the road! Getting to make music with each other for live audiences has made us giddy to share great music that we love! What better way to ring in a new concert season or bring one to a close than with joyous brass!? With a robust and varied program of clever arrangements and lush original works, this program is sure to deliver a celebration for the ears and hearts of the listeners!

Celebration!

William Shakespeare famously wrote, “If music be the food of love, play on.” This musical feast is an opportunity to fill the souls of your concertgoers through repertoire selected by you specifically to connect with and appease of your unique audience. The “courses” take the audience on a journey beginning with energetic, dazzling works to awaken the palate; a main course designed to fill the soul with an array of colors, textures, and flavors; culminating in sweet, dulcet tones to finish off the musical feast.

Food for the Soul: A Five Course Feast for the Ears

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Paragon Ragtime Orchestra_2021-22 Biographies.pdf

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.

Scott Joplin and the Original Kings of Ragtime

For over a century, the name George M. Cohan has conjured the rollicking magic that is Broadway. And this legend is real: as America’s beloved tunesmith and original “Song &amp; Dance Man,” he was the father of modern musical theater. You’re a Grand Old Rag is a two-hour concert program of approximately a dozen songs and pieces by Cohan, played from the showman’s rediscovered original 1900s Broadway orchestrations. Based on the Orchestra’s BILLBOARD-charted “Top Classical Album” of the same name, this celebration of early American musical theater stars modern-day Broadway song &amp; dance man, Colin Pritchard. This exciting PRO program offers a stirring look at George M’s amazing life and music – “Give My Regards to Broadway,” “H-a-rr-i-gan,” “The Yankee Doodle Boy,” “Over There!,” and all the rest. You’re A Grand Old Rag is a tap-dancing bravura performance that brings audiences to their feet!

You're a Grand Old Rag: George M. Cohan's Broadway

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.Meet Me at the Fair! is a two-hour spectacular musical celebration of the world’s fairs, including the 1876 Centennial Exhibition, the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair, and the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition. Musical “exhibits” rotate, but works by Offenbach, Joplin, Moses-Tobani, and Sousa are the core attraction, performed by Rick Benjamin and the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra, the official orchestra and conductor of the U.S. Pavilion of the 1992 World’s Fair. Music played a key role in the success of all these international festivals, launching both hit songs and the illustrious careers of many American musicians (including Scott Joplin and Sousa). This new PRO program reunites stirring world’s fair hits with the continuous projections of magnificent fairground images. There is audience participation (on “Meet Me In St. Louis, Louis”), and as a finale, the Orchestra accompanies the Moving Picture Travelogue – historic world’s fair films by Thomas Edison &amp; company. All is propelled forward with evocative narration by conductor Rick Benjamin.

Meet Me at the Fair!: Music from the Great World's Fairs

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.Touring annually in November and December, ’Round the Christmas Tree is Paragon Ragtime Orchestra’s stylish and warm-hearted tribute to America’s Holiday musical traditions. This colorful program features favorite selections from the theaters, ballrooms, grand mansions, and humble hearthsides of the Victorian era. Familiar Christmas songs and carols are heard from their original 19th century scores, along with novelties—including a ragtime version of the Nutcracker Suite!—and sparkling instrumental and vocal soloists. As a finale, the Orchestra accompanies a screening of one of the world’s first Christmas movies, a 1905 Thomas Edison production. ’Round the Christmas Tree is a unique event that will delight and cheer your audiences well into the New Year.

'Round the Christmas Tree

With more than 700 screenings across 48 States and 7 countries, PRO is one of the world’s foremost silent film accompanists. From Hollywood (American Cinematheque) to Chicago (Ravinia Festival) to New York (Lincoln Center), PRO leads the way in designing, producing, and performing silent film programs for contemporary audiences. Paragon also has one of the world’s finest collections of more than 900 original film scores (c. 1898-1928), adding unmatched historical depth and interest to its screenings.&nbsp;The Clown PrincesOur most popular two-hour silent film program of featuring a “variety pack” of three short, complete comedies, one each by Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and Harold Lloyd, accompanied by their original 1910s/20s orchestral scores. See&nbsp;<a href="https://paragonragtime.com/programs-and-bookings/film-programs/">here</a>&nbsp;for the current list of films.&nbsp;Chaplin – A Dog’s Life (New Program!)&nbsp;A two-hour silent film program of Charlie Chaplin’s 1918 featurette&nbsp;A Dog’s Life, with Rick Benjamin’s new reconstruction of the original score. The big city adventures of the Tramp, with his trusty “thoroughbred mongrel,” scraps. Charming!&nbsp;Fairbanks – The Mark of ZorroA two-hour silent film program of the original&nbsp;Zorro, Hollywood’s very first action-adventure movie! Douglas Fairbanks thrills audiences with swordplay, romance, and just a bit of comedy. Features the spectacular original Spanish flavored 1920 orchestral score.&nbsp;Keaton – The GeneralA two-hour silent film program of Buster Keaton’s 1927 masterpiece&nbsp;The General, a “story of love, laughs, and locomotives,” is a Civil War railroad epic inspired by the Great Locomotive Chase. World famous, and rightly so, featuring the original 1927 orchestral score.&nbsp;Chaplin – The KidA two-hour silent film program of Chaplin’s first full-length feature,&nbsp;The Kid. The Tramp adopts an abandoned child, and the two set off on a series of adventures. Sweet and funny, with touches of high drama featuring the original 1921 orchestral score.&nbsp;&nbsp;Keaton – Steamboat Bill, Jr.A two-hour silent film program of Keaton’s late-era,&nbsp;Steamboat Bill, Jr.&nbsp;features Keaton as the hapless son of a Mississippi riverboat captain trying to learn the family business. Extremely funny, with a fantastic cyclone finale! Features the original 1928 orchestral score.