Thursday, August 5th, 2010, at 9:30 PM
Folk Songs and Beethoven! First, at 9:30 PM, Voci Angelica Trio will feature "Songs of Love and Homecoming", folk songs from Asia, Latin America, Africa and Europe. Then, starting at 10 PM, Boston Public Quartet will perform the Beethoven String Quartet in F minor, Opus 95. Tickets are $10 at the door.
Voci Angelica Trio performs evocative and emotionally resonant folk music from Asian, Latin American, African and European traditions. These traditional songs are transformed into engaging original arrangements for two sopranos, cello, percussion, and piano.
The trio has global DNA: soprano Meena Malik was born in Japan, cellist Aristides Rivas in Venezuela, and American soprano Jodi Hitzhusen has performed and studied in the Philippines, Panama, England, Canada, France and Scotland. Beginning with the folk music they learned at home as children, the Trio continued their exploration of folk music traditions around the world. Their repertoire includes songs overheard in a pub in Ireland, a YouTube discovery, and sheet music unearthed in a used bookstore. They joined forces in 2007 after graduating from New England Conservatory and found a shared interest in musical explorations. For the trio, the meaning of exploration is two fold: immersion in the musical traditions of diverse cultures, and discovery of the possibilities of arranging for their unique instrumentation. Members of the trio have performed at the Teatro Colon in Argentina, National Theatre in Spain, Chartres Cathedral in France, Caramoor Music Festival, Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Sapporo Concert Hall in Japan, Symphony Hall and Jordan Hall in Boston, and the Montreal Jazz Festival.
“We love connecting with audiences and designing programs that stir memories and emotions,” soprano Hitzhusen explains. “It’s great to have a listener tell us that they hadn’t heard this favorite song in many years!” says soprano Malik. Cellist Rivas adds, “Sometimes, I find that audiences connect most strongly with a piece sung in a language they don’t understand. I think it has to do with evoking a sense of home." For a preview of Voci Angelica Trio, check out: www.myspace.com/vociangelicatrio.
The Boston Public Quartet (BPQ) is creating a permanent music education and performance residency at a Boston Public School. Our mission is social change through chamber music. In addition to our work with the 300 students at the Chittick Elementary School in Mattapan, BPQ performs throughout Boston and beyond, in traditional and neighborhood venues. We are very excited to return to St. John's JP, and this concert concludes a summer practice and performance retreat in Vermont. For more information, check out our website-www.bostonpublicquartet.org
Betsy Hinkle, Founder and Artistic Executive Director, has been performing and teaching in Boston since graduating from the New England Conservatory in 2001 with a Masters in Violin Performance. She founded BPQ in 2007. In addition to her work with the quartet, she performs regularly with the Orchestra of Emmanuel Music, the Boston Ballet Orchestra, and the Back Bay Chorale. As part of the BPQ residency, she is creating a beginning/intermediate chamber music curriculum for student string players. Major teachers and coaches include Nicholas Kitchen, the Borromeo String Quartet, Peter Zazofsky, Dan Stepner, and Lenny Matczynski.
Marji Gere, Resident Musician, violin. As a performer, artist, and teacher, Marji Gere has found a home at the intersection of the visual, musical, and literary arts. In a given week, you may find Marji rehearsing contemporary piano/violin duos, composing chamber music, or building puppets and writing rounds for her ensemble An Exciting Event. Marji has long been affiliated with the Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music, traveling on fellowship to the island country of Cyprus to organize Playing for Peace chamber music workshops for the Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot communities. Marji received a B.M. in Violin Performance and a B.A. in English at the University of Iowa in 2002, and an Ed. M. in Arts in Education from Harvard in 2007.
Jason Amos, Resident Musician, viola, began his viola studies at age eleven in the public school system of his hometown of Southfield, Michigan. He completed his undergraduate studies in music at the University of Michigan and received a Graduate Diploma at the New England Conservatory of Music. He has received honors in several competitions, including 4th place in the 2007 Sphinx Competition and 1st place in the 2006 Detroit Symphony Orchestra's Bradlin Scholarship Concerto Competition. In addition, Jason appeared as soloist with the Ann Arbor Symphony, played in the Flint Symphony, and performed as Principal Viola for many other orchestras throughout Michigan. In past summers, Jason has attended Aspen Music Festival, International Music Academy of Pilsen (Czech Republic). He has also served as faculty for the Sphinx Performance Academy at Walnut Hill, and Four Strings Academy. Jason enjoys participating in the Sphinx Organization's musical outreach programs-all programs aimed toward increasing the presence of minorities in classical music. His teachers include Martha Strongin Katz, Yizhak Schotten, Caroline Coade, and Catherine Carroll. Jason completed a 2-year fellowship at Community MusicWorks in 2010.
Adrienne Taylor, Resident Musician, cello, received a Bachelor of Music Degree and Performance Diploma from Indiana University and completed her Master of Music degree at Northwestern University. Major teachers include David Szepessy, Hans Jørgen Jensen, and Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi. Adrienne has performed in recitals and chamber music concerts throughout the U.S. as well as in Europe and Japan. As a member of the Chicago Civic Orchestra from 2005-2007, Adrienne participated in the orchestra's Musicorps program, which presents educational concerts to schools and colleges throughout the city. Adrienne enjoyed various performance opportunities during her time in Chicago, including performances with Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble during their visit to the city in 2006. In 2007, Adrienne accepted a position as assistant principal cellist of Orchestra do Norte in Portugal, where she had the opportunity to perform throughout the country. Adrienne completed a 2-year fellowship at Community MusicWorks in 2010.