Tag: 2015 Artists

French composer, percussionist, and theater director Roland Auzet defines himself as a stage writer. An artist and performer with many interests and talents, Auzet received the Chevalier des Arts et Lettres from the French Ministry in 2007 for his remarkable body of work in contemporary music, circus, dance, opera, and theater. (more…)

Maya Beiser has captivated audiences worldwide with her virtuosity, eclectic repertoire, and relentless quest to redefine her instrument’s boundaries. The Boston Globe declares, “With virtuoso chops, rock-star charisma, and an appetite for pushing her instrument to the edge of avant-garde adventurousness, Maya Beiser is the post-modern diva of the cello.” (more…)

The CalArts Sila ensemble is an outgrowth of the New Century Players: the faculty, student, and alumni ensemble in residence at CalArts for over 25 years. In various configurations, the group has played at Japan America Theater, Zipper Hall, REDCAT, the Kennedy Center, and at the Dartington Center for the Arts, England. Individual members have performed nationally and internationally as founding members of ensembles Partch (2015 Grammy winner of Best Classical Compendium for Plectra and Percussion Dances), Vir2ual Cage, Formalist Quartet, Southland Ensemble, Isaura String Quartet, and [LIMINAR]. Members also perform regularly with Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra, wild Up, Southwest Chamber Music, The Industry, Knoxville Symphony, Sarasota Opera, Tucson Symphony Orchestra, Blackearth Percussion Group, XTET, the Lian Ensemble, Kim Richmond Jazz Orchestra, and the LA Philharmonic. (more…)

Pianist Gloria Cheng is acclaimed as a discerning artist whose performances tap the emotional core of contemporary music. In recitals that explore significant interconnections amongst composers, Cheng has been presented by the Ojai Festival, Chicago Humanities Festival, William Kapell Festival, and the Tanglewood Festival of Contemporary Music. She has appeared on leading concert series including Carnegie Hall’s Making Music, Cal Performances, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra’s Engine408, Stanford Lively Arts, and at (le) Poisson Rouge.
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Two-time Grammy nominated tabla player Sandeep Das is considered one of the leading tabla players in the world today. One of the disciples of legendary tabla maestro Pandit Kishan Maharaj ji of the Benaras Gharana, his initiation into tabla was with Pt. Shiv Kumar Singh of Patna and he made his debut at age 15 with Sitar Maestro Pt. Ravi Shankar. (more…)

Peter Evans has been a member of the New York musical community since 2003, when he moved to the city after graduating from the Oberlin Conservatory with a degree in classical trumpet performance. He currently works in a wide variety of areas, including solo performance, chamber orchestras, performance art, free improvised settings, electro-acoustic music and composition. (more…)

Jacob Greenberg’s work as a soloist and chamber musician has earned worldwide acclaim. As a longtime member of the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), he has performed throughout North and South America and Europe. His solo concert series, Music at Close Range, shows his equal commitment to classics of the repertoire.
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Jacob Nissly is the Principal Percussionist of the San Francisco Symphony under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas. Prior to his appointment in San Francisco, Nissly was the Principal Percussionist of the Cleveland Orchestra for two seasons and the Principal Percussionist of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra for one season. Previously, he was a member of the New World Symphony in Miami Beach for two seasons. He has performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Metropolitan Opera, Houston Symphony, and St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. He can be heard on recordings with the San Francisco Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, and St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. (more…)

Joseph Pereira (1974), enjoys a multi-faceted career as a composer, timpanist/percussionist, and teacher. His work in all areas has been widely hailed for his creativity and virtuosity. As a composer, Pereira’s most recent commissions have come from Piano Spheres, for pianist Vicki Ray, percussionist Colin Currie, the Miro Quartet, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Percussion Quartet, pianist Joanne Pearce Martin, and the Manhattan School of Music.
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Described as “phenomenal and fearless” Vicki Ray is one of the leading interpreters of contemporary piano music. A long-time champion of new music she has worked with some of the most prominent composers of our time, including figures as diverse as Gyorgy Ligeti, Pierre Boulez, Steve Reich, Elliot Carter, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Oliver Knussen, Louis Andriessen, Steven Stucky, David Lang, Julia Wolfe, Michael Gordon and Chinary Ung.
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The New York Times calls red fish blue fish a “dynamic percussion ensemble from the University of California.” Founded fifteen years ago by Steven Schick, the San Diego-based ensemble performs, records, and premieres works from the last 85 years of western percussion’s rich history.

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Renga is an ensemble of friends and colleagues from University of California, San Diego; the San Diego Symphony, and beyond. Led by Artistic Directors Kate Hatmaker and Steven Schick, Renga unites the most recent and provocative contemporary music with established classical repertoire in settings ranging from solos and small ensembles to full chamber orchestra. The 2014–15 season includes several premieres and collaborations with ICE and Wu Man, as well as performances at the Carlsbad Music Festival, TEDx San Diego, UCSD, and the Ojai Music Festival. (more…)

Gyan Riley won his first guitar in a raffle when he was 12 years old. After learning all of the songs in his cassette collection by ear, he began his life-long adventure in music, becoming the first full-scholarship graduate guitar student at the San Francisco Conservatory. (more…)

Sarah Rothenberg is a pianist of “heart, intellect and fabulous technical resources” (Fanfare) and “a prolific and creative thinker” (Wall Street Journal) who is recognized internationally for her innovative interdisciplinary performances linking music to literature and visual art. Active as performer, writer, concert curator and institution builder, she has been artistic director of Da Camera in Houston since 1994, general director since 2011, and previously was co-founder of the Bard Music Festival. (more…)

Joshua Rubin is a founding clarinetist and the co-artistic director of the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), where he oversees the creative direction of more than 60 concerts per season in the United States and abroad. As a clarinetist, the New York Times has praised him as “incapable of playing an inexpressive note.”

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Born in a family of theater and fascinated by connections between scene, text and music, Wilfried Wendling has already realized about 15 multidisciplinary shows, presented in many theaters and operas, on texts of Beckett, Camus, Nietzsche, Perec, Queneau, Jouet, Müller, or Boltanski. His musical compositions are also played on numerous stages and festivals. As a musician and\or video director, he has collaborated with numerous artists of many disciplines. Wilfried Wendling is at present director of France’s La Muse en Circuit, National Centre of Musical Creation.

Percussionist, conductor and author Steven Schick was born in Iowa and raised in a farming family. For the past thirty years he has championed contemporary percussion music as a performer and teacher, by commissioning and premiering more than one hundred new works for percussion. Schick is Distinguished Professor of Music at the University of California, San Diego and a Consulting Artist in Percussion at the Manhattan School of Music.
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Recognized as the world’s premier pipa virtuoso and as a leading ambassador of Chinese music, US-based, Chinese-born musician Wu Man has carved out a career creating and fostering projects that give this ancient instrument a new role in today’s music world, not only introducing the instrument to new audiences, but commissioning and premiering over a hundred new works to grow the core repertoire. A Grammy Award-nominated artist, her adventurous musical spirit has also led to her becoming a respected expert on the history and preservation of Chinese musical traditions, reflected in her recorded and live performances and multi-cultural collaborations. (more…)