CELLIST, SINGER, SONGWRITER/COMPOSER, CREATOR
Directed by Daniel Fish this dark version breaks open this classic musical to reveal how current and relevant its themes are in present times. The band, led by Nathan Koci, who also plays accordion and drums, is Eleonore Oppenheim on bass, Sarah Goldfeather on violin, Joseph Brent on mandolin, Hilary Hawke on banjo and Brett Parnell on guitars, and I’m playing cello.
Read the NY Times review!
“it does what great art should: It pushes you to think and feel about the world in new ways.” -ZACHARY WOOLFE
Delighted to have played in the ensemble for The Source, Ted Hearne’s modern-day oratorio, about Chelsea Manning, the US Army Private who infamously leaked hundreds of thousands of classified military documents to WikiLeaks in 2010. A truly innovative piece worthy of the accolades.
| The New York Times | “The Best Classical Recordings of 2015”
| The New Yorker | “Alex Ross: Notable Performances and Recordings of 2015″
THE SOURCE – ALBUM RELEASED OCTOBER 2015
produced by Nick Tipp, Jesse Lewis and Ted Hearne
recorded by Jesse Lewis at Avatar Studios (Manhattan) and Systems Two Studios (Brooklyn)
Nathan Koci, music director
Ted Hearne, Mellissa Hughes, Samia Mounts, Isaiah Robinson, Jonathan Woody, vocalists
Courtney Orlando, violin
Anne Lanzilotti, viola
Leah Coloff, cello
Taylor Levine, electric guitar
Greg Chudzik, electric bass
Ron Wiltrout, drums
I am delighted and honored to have been chosen to be a part of the HERE Artist Residency Program. I will be developing a multi-media theatrical piece exploring the themes present in my most recent collection of songs called ThisTree. ThisTree as a performance piece will sew together song, family stories, animation, home movies and handmade objects to explore identity, memory, legacy and loss, propelled by the question – “What do we leave behind when our family tree has died?”
HERE commissions and develops new hybrid works over a 1- to 3-year period. As part of the HERE community of artists and audiences, the 15 resident artists show works-in-progress, develop workshop productions, and mount full–scale productions. Through the residency programs, HERE seeks to not only grow innovative artistic work, but also give artists the awareness and skills—in areas such as audience relations, budgeting, grantwriting, and touring—they need to continue to grow their careers.
HERE has developed such acclaimed works as Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues; Basil Twist’s Symphonie Fantastique; Basil Twist and Joey Arias’ Arias with a Twist; Hazelle Goodman’s On Edge; Young Jean Lee’s Songs of The Dragons Flying To Heaven; Trey Lyford & Geoff Sobelle’s all wear bowlers; Faye Driscoll’s837 Venice Boulevard; Taylor Mac’s The Lily’s Revenge and original musical and dance works created and directed by HERE Co-Founder and Artistic Director Kristin Marting.
I’m a big fan of Soundcloud! It’s truly for and about music and connection through music. My favorite connection has been with Debs McCoy a lovely, haunting songwriter from England. I had the pleasure of collaborating with her on a track she wrote called The Weight. I recorded many, many tracks of cello which she arranged beautifully. Its a melancholy yearning for sure…
It was chosen to be on http://freshonthenet.co.uk/2014/11/faves130/
Fresh Faves – chosen by our readers over the weekend and reviewed by Team Freshnet moderator Jim Craigen from AlternativeFriday.com. You can hear all these tracks in a singleSoundcloud playlist here.
It will also be played on the BBC!
The BBC Introducing Mixtape is a 60 minute radio show and podcast broadcast on BBC Radio 6 Music from 2-3am every Sunday night/Monday morning and available as a free download for 30 days at the BBC 6 Music downloads page. Since April 2013 the tracklists and timings for each mixtape have been posted here at Fresh On The Net with links & info for all the artists. For earlier tracklists see the BBC Website.
Chamber 16 FREE concert at Lincoln Center!
Brahms’s Trio for Clarinet, Cello and Piano and the Second String Sextet in G Major.
Thursday November 13, 6pm Bruno Walter Auditorium at Lincoln Center
111 Amsterdam Avenue NYC 10023
Another opportunity to play the lovely Brahms Trio with Mary Bopp and Eric Umble .
Fishman Space Oct 22-Oct 25, 7:30 pm
In this multimedia oratorio by composer Ted Hearne, four singers inhabit a fever-dream assemblage of media to explore the hysteria surrounding Chelsea (formerly Bradley) Manning.
The primary-source libretto was culled from Iraq/Afghanistan War Logs. One of the most intense,beautiful and terrifying pieces I have been a part of. The NY Times review describes the power and simplicity of this multi-media experience. http://nyti.ms/1tAjjQb
Composed by Ted Hearne
Libretto by Mark Doten
Directed by Daniel Fish
Vocalists:
Mellissa Hughes Soprano
Samia Mounts Soprano
Isaiah Robinson Tenor
Jonathan Woody Bass-Baritone
Ensemble:
Nathan Koci Music Director/ Conductor/ Keyboards
Courtney Orlando Violin
Anne Lanzilotti Viola
Leah Coloff Cello
Greg Chudzik Bass
Ron Wiltrout Drums
Produced by Beth Morrison Projects
Mary Bopp – piano
Sam Hutcheson – baritone
Sharon Gunderson, Claire Smith – violin
Julie Goodale, Katherine Sinsabaugh – viola
Scott Ballantyne, Clay Ruede, Leah Coloff – cello
St. Peter’s Church
619 Lexington NYC 10022
$20.00
Damon Albarn is a fantastic songwriter. Everyday Robots is his first Solo record, but he’s known for his band Gorillaz and if you go back even further, BLUR. Yes.
A little side story: I play with The Secret City most months and we played the Blur song Girls and Boys as one of the Prelude songs for the March? service. I didn’t listened to Blur back in the day (or Oasis…) or to Gorillaz in more recent times. Anyway, the song seemed rather simple upon first look. But it turns out that it was the most fun to play, sounded the best, and I decided that it was actually a great song, as simple songs often are. (I have yet to master this- always getting too complicated…)
A month later, Martha Mooke from Scorchio told me we were going to be the string quartet for some sessions with Damon Albarn who was promoting his new record, Everyday Robots on radio shows for WFUV and Sirius. Oh! Turns out it’s that guy who wrote that great song! Turns out he’s written many great songs!
I just love the synchronicity of that. I never would have thought I would be playing with the guy from Blur. And he’s still as cute as he was in the video for Boys and Girls, just slightly more mellow. Only slightly. He and his band were good humored and friendly. And his music director, Mike Smith writes a very nice string arrangement.
Scorchio playing with Damon Albarn at WFUV
We were asked to play with them again on The Tonight Show and at Bonnaroo! Ah….we accepted.
These songs stretch tall like pines dark with sweet prickly needles. Shades of cabaret, horns and old timey stylings create a fearless album about family legacy and finding your place in the world.
recorded by Marc Urselli at East Side Sound
mixed by Bryce Goggin at Trout Studios
mastered by Fred Kevorkian
horn arrangements by Andy Green
featuring Mathias Kunzli on drums
Dan Willis on Tenor sax/clarinet
Kenny Berger on Alto Flute, Baritone Sax
Mike Fahie on Trombone
Sarth Calhoun on bass
Tony Diodore on banjo
Spectrum 121 Ludlow, floor 2
between Delancey and Rivington: 2 blocks from the F,M,J and Z trains at Essex/Delancey stop. Ring bell for 2.
