NEWS:
Solo Show at Salvage Vanguard Theatre 12/2011
I played a solo show at the Salvage Vanguard Theatre last weekend, on the Church the Friendly Ghost Series. Wonderful venue and series, I urge you to check them out!
That evening, I played the US premiere of Dai Fujikura’s piece, K’s Ocean. Dai’s music is really beautiful, and his music has been championed by Pierre Boulez and Gustavo Dudamel, among others. His music doesn’t get performed as much is it should over in the States, but it is definitely worth a listen.
The amazing Claire Chase has recorded a particularly killer version of his flute piece Poison Mushroom, and you can listen here.
SoundSpace in the news 10/2011
SoundSpace is the concert series I curate at the Blanton Museum of Art. Each concert is mobile -- it travels throughout the Blanton, exploring the different acoustics, spaces, and architecture of the museum.
Last month, the series featured a collaboration with Michelle Thompson and dancers from Ballet Austin, and musicians from the Butler School and the Austin Symphony. The end result of this collaboration was pretty interesting, and we received a few nice reviews of the performance:
SoundSpace Takes an Arts Audience Exploring (NewMusicBox)
Immersed in something one of a kind: SoundSpace at the Blanton (Culturemap)
by Garland Grey
SoundSpace: Music and Dance at the Blanton (Miss A: Charity Meets Style)
by Mary Grace Rodriguez
Also videographer Lee Bond put together an excellent promo video for us. Watch it here.
Adobe Airstream Review 9/2011
Hey, Adobe Airstream reviewed our folk re-imagined project. Read it here.
Also, a couple of newly commissioned pieces are coming our way from Greg Robin and David Asher Brown. They write really beautiful music, so go check them out!
New Music in New Mexico 8/2011
Molly and I just returned from a few concerts in New Mexico, where we played our folk re-imagined project. We had a great time visiting NM and playing at two really interesting venues in Taos, and Albuquerque, respectively.
In Taos, we played at Abbie Conant and William Osborne’s Salon Series. Abbie was my teacher when I lived in Germany and continues to have a profound impact on me. She is also an artist that defies categorization: she was Principal Trombonist of the Munich Philharmonic and is active as a soloist, composer, actress, and activist. She and her husband, Bill, do really excellent work and they have tons of valuable content on their website here. You won’t regret a visit!
In ABQ, we played at Church of Beethoven. This is a weekly series that features a one hour program of ensemble music, poetry, and readings. They have amassed quite a large local following and feature performers from all over the country. They also serve outstanding (and complimentary!) espresso. Look them up if you are ever in town.
Also of note: nearby Taos there are a collection of Earthships, sustainable homes built in the side of the earth made of recycled materials. Kinda look like buildings you might find in the uber-nerdy game Myst.
Blanton Residency 7/2011
I’m excited to announce that I’ll be the 2011-2012 Artist-In-Residence at the Blanton Museum of Art, Austin’s premier art museum. I’ll be curating a few concerts this year, including a collaboration with Ballet Austin and a John Cage program in the Spring. Special thanks to Aimee Chang, who made this collaboration possible.
This residency is an outgrowth of the SoundSpace program I co-curated with Ethan Greene and Molly Emerman. You can watch highlights of the concert here.
It’s also been a fun summer of travel and I’ve been lucky to be performing with orchestras in Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Arkansas. Later this summer I’ll be in Alaska, Chicago, and Tanglewood, playing a variety of solo, duo, and chamber music. Some of the major highlights have been working with composer/saxophonist Daniel Schnyder and playing Brian Ferneyhough’s Terrain with SIGNAL (and hearing JACK’s Chris Otto shred!)
New Music by Ryan Ingebritsen 4/2011
My friend Ryan Ingebritsen was in town recently with 8th Blackbird, and we recorded his new piece Reparametrization3. It is madness. Listen here.
Ryan composes really great music, and has worked with tons of notable new music outfits, including International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), Third Coast Percussion, and violinist/composer Todd Reynolds. You can find more about him at www.ryaningebritsen.com
Folk Re-imagined Project 2/2011
Molly and I have recorded a bunch of new music (tbone + violin + electronics) hot off the presses! Our friends Ian Dicke, Hugh Lobel, and Pierce Gradone wrote lots of beautiful stuff, specifically for our concerts in Brazil this past December.
Check out the folk re-imagined project here.
