February 12, 2012 - Composer's Voice Concert

Performers

Vivian Chang

Cellist Vivian Chang is a sophomore at the Manhattan School of Music where she studies with Fred Sherry. She began her musical education in Portland, Oregon with the piano at the age of six and cello at age eight. In 2009, Vivian was named principle cellist of Oregon All-State High School Honor Orchestra, invited to participate in the All-Northwest Honor Orchestra, and awarded state champion of the OSAA High School Solo Music Competition. Vivian has been a member of the Philharmonia, Symphony, Opera, and the Kurt Masur conducting seminar orchestras. Additional performances include a tribute concert to Pablo Casals at the Hispanic Society of America, a concert with the Cleveland Orchestra the Blossom Center, and recitals at Pforzheimer Hall, Mikowsky Hall, and the Carnegie Room.

Shiau-uen Ding

A native of Taiwan, pianist Shiau-uen Ding is a rising presence on the new and electro-acoustic music scenes; and an original and energetic performer of traditional solo and chamber repertoire. She studied piano with Eugene Pridonoff, Elizabeth Pridonoff, and Lina Yeh; computer music with Mara Helmuth and Christopher Bailey, and contemporary improvisation with Alan Bern at National Taiwan Normal University and University of Cincinnati where she received her doctoral degree. She has performed in Europe, China, the US and Taiwan. Called a "daredevil" by the New York Times for her performance at Bang on a Can Marathon and "a powerful force on the new music scene" by Array for her performance at Spark Festival in Minneapolis. http://shiauuending.com/

Hayne Kim

Korean-American violinist Hayne Kim, a native of Lansing, Michigan, began her studies on the violin at the age of ten. She made her Carnegie Hall debut six years later performing Prokofiev's Violin Concerto no. 1 with the American Fine Arts Festival. As an avid participant in the summer music festival scene, Ms. Kim has attended the Meadowmount School of Music, Summit Music Festival, Heifetz International Music Institute, and the Texas Music Festival, among others. Trained under both the Galamian and Russian traditions of violin pedagogy by her teachers Lyman Bodman, Dmitri Berlinsky, and currently Grigory Kalinovsky, she is now pursuing a Bachelor's degree in violin performance at the Manhattan School of Music.

Midori Witkoski

Midori Witkoski, Violist, is a proud advocate of all music, both new and old. Her passion for playing contemporary works has led her to premiere many new works in student composer concerts at the Manhattan School of Music, where she is expected to graduate in May 2011 with a Bachelors degree in Viola Performance. She has worked with and been coached by world renowned chamber musicians such as Lawrence Dutton of the Emerson String quartet, and members of the American String Quartet including Daniel Avshalomov (viola), Peter Winograd (violin), and Wolfram Koessel (cello). She currently coaches with contemporary violinist Curtis Macomber, on works such as the Prokofiev wind quintet and Schoenberg's Transfigured Night.

Shelby Yamin

As a soloist, violinist Shelby Yamin has performed with the Rockland Symphony and Tappan Zee High School Chamber Orchestras. She has won competitions sponsored by Rockland County Music Teachers Guild, NY State and Eastern Division MTNA, Arts Council of Rockland and Morning Music Club. She held concertmaster/principal positions in orchestras at Manhattan School of Music (MSM), Boston University Tanglewood Institute, and Heifetz International Music Institute. Shelby participated in the New York Youth Symphony, MSM's Kurt Masur conducting seminar. She has had performances in Weill Recital hall of Carnegie Hall with the New York Youth Symphony's Chamber Music Program.. She performs with the Cicada Chamber Players, collaborating with professional

Composers

Welton Barker

Saugus (Massachusetts)-based composer Welton Barker has studied music at Boston University and Berklee School of Music. His approach frequently fluctuates between jazz and classical, blurring the distinction between the two. He believes that life is merely the irritation between meals. ...you might want to crop out my Patriots T-shirt for a NY audience...

Andy Cohen

Andy Cohen has written music in a wide variety of styles for a wide variety of media. He has composed classical instrumental works for orchestra and chamber groups, jazz pieces for radio airplay, music and sound design for dance and theatrical performances, and songs for rock and pop bands. His compositions have been performed by such groups as the Minnesota Orchestra and he has written music for PBS TV and United Nations Radio. He has also written music for symphonic band and Jewish-themed works for performances in Synagogues. www.andycomusic.com

Douglas DaSilva

Artistic Director of the Composer's Voice concert series, Douglas DaSilva is a composer, guitarist, educator and curator in New York City. He composes in various styles including jazz, pop, children's music, chamber music and experimental. Much of his writing is influenced by Brazilian music and self-inflicted stress. His compositions have been described as "very individual, and to us has a very clear personality" in Classical Guitar Magazine. His pieces Sarabande; How to Build a Totalitarian State and Contrails have been included in 60x60 projects. His works have been performed in Brazil, England, Italy, Germany, Romania, Brazil & throughout the USA. http://www.voxnovus.com/composer/Douglas_DaSilva.htm

Jason Ulysses DaSilva

Brazilian-American composer, pianist, percussionist, and fashion model, Jason Ulysses DaSilva composes in a free-form style reflective of his piano improvisations. A huge fan of Bizet, Brahms, Bach, Stravinsky, John Williams, Taio Cruz, the soundtrack to Ice Age-Dawn of the Dinosaurs, and Star Wars. He studies piano in New York City with Aya Hamada. In 2011, his piece The Roman was premiered by ThingNY at LaGuardia College, and Brazil, I Got Rhythm was featured in Fifteen-Minutes-of-Fame:<15 performed by pianist Sophia Yan. Jason frequently volunteers for Composer's Voice as Program Distributor and photo editor. Discussing the satisfaction he gets as a composer Jason says "I like making cool songs" and "I like other people playing my music best!"

Paolo Marchettini

Paolo Marchettini is an Italian composer and clarinetist, born in Rome. He studied at the "Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia" in Rome Composition (with Ivan Vandor), Choral Music and Choral Conducting (with Claudio Dall'Albero), clarinet (with Gaetano Russo). He specialised in composition at the "Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia" with Azio Corghi. His compositions have been played several times in the course of important musical reviews and in prestigious concert halls as: "Biennale di Venezia"; "The Italian Experience" at the Hofstra University (New York), Villecroze (France), the " Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia" Academic Hall in Rome (Easter Wings for baritone and orchestra) the Conservatorio "G. Verdi" in Como, the Auditorium Parco della Musica (Rome), the Teatro Savoia (Campobasso), the Chigi Saracini Palace (Siena).

Chris Vaisvil

Chris Vaisvil is a 12 tet and microtonal composer who works with acoustic and electronic instruments. Chris says "My art is about now and is a response to the inspiration I feel from the visual, musical, poetic, and literary art of 20th and 21st centuries as well as world events. The art of our period has so much to say about who we are, where we have been, and what we will, or will not be as a world village - a unity of souls divided by the gulf of physical being and monetary inequity but united in spirit, desires, hopes and dreams. My goal is to communicate with you and if what I compose speaks to you then I as an artist have succeeded."

Robert Voisey

"The word 'viral,' comes to mind as a trendy but disquietingly accurate image for Robert Voisey's infectious enthusiasm. He is always ready to mutate and reinfect the process as indicated to maintain the highest degree of project fever" -60x60: netsuke for the musical mind -- Richard Arnest, Sounding Board, Spring 2011. "With few opportunities and much competition, young composers show creativity in just getting heard." And in Chris Pasles's article in the Los Angeles Times, Robert Voisey is highlighted as one of those composers. Composing electroacoustic and chamber music, his aesthetic oscillates from the romantic to Post Modern Mash-Up. His work has been performed in venues throughout the world including: Carnegie Hall, World Financial Center Winter Garden Atrium, and Stratford Circus in London.

Program Notes

Support from the Puffin Foundation "...continuing the dialogue between art and the lives of ordinary people."

Vox Novus is a collective of composers, musicians, and music enthusiasts collaborating together to create, produce, promote, and enjoy the new music of today. Our members are from a variety of composers committed to the creation and dissemination of new music. Their music is of a variety of styles, aesthetics, and ideologies. Vox Novus produces and promotes new music. They are dedicated to contemporary music, the musicians who perform, and the composers that write the music of today. Their mission is to cultivate a music community and make their work available to the greater public.

Remarkable Theater Brigade founded by Christian McLeer, Dan Jeselsohn and Monica Harte, creates and produces new operas and musicals and takes children's versions out to special-needs and at-risk children free of charge.

Presenters:

Remarkable Theater Brigade

Remarkable Theater Brigade founded by Christian McLeer, Dan Jeselsohn and Monica Harte, creates and produces new operas and musicals and takes children's versions out to special-needs and at-risk children free of charge.

Remarkable Theater Brigade creates and produces new works including operas, orchestral pieces, ballets, musicals, and electro-acoustic works and co-produces the Composer's Voice Concert Series concerts. Remarkable Theater Brigade was founded in 2002 by Christian McLeer, Monica Harte, and Dan Jeselsohn.

Jan Hus Church

This is the place you were welcome, long before you arrived!
www.janhus.org

Vox Novus

Vox Novus promotes contemporary music and its creators through concerts, recordings, publications, broadcasts, and online publicity. Vox Novus believes strongly in the intrinsic value of contemporary music, recognizing it as a force in the advancement of culture and art. Our goal is to keep music alive by strengthening the connection between composer and audience, providing greater exposure to new music.

Funding by

Puffin Foundation

Funding also provided by the Puffin Foundation, "...continuing the dialogue between art and lives of ordinary people."

Program: