“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: https://youtu.be/ImKbAiTnjtE?t=1393

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. 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?

Biographies

Each 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.