Bowed Piano Ensemble

The Bowed Piano Ensemble, founded by composer Stephen Scott at Colorado College in 1977, has evolved into a small experimental-music orchestra whose ten players conjure, from one open grand piano, long, singing lines, sustained drones, chugging accordion-like figures, crisp staccato tones reminiscent of clarinets, deep drum tones and more, often simultaneously, to create a rich, contrapuntal new-chamber-music tapestry. Since its inception, the Ensemble has toured extensively throughout Europe, the Atlantic Islands, North America, Australia and New Zealand.

Their unorthodox musical tools and techniques have surprised and enchanted audiences at world-renowned venues including Sydney Opera House, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Town Hall New York, Palais des Beaux Arts in Brussels, the medieval Town Hall in Tallinn, Estonia, the Slovak National Radio Studio, Hamilton, Bermuda, and Jameos del Agua, a volcanic lava-tube-become-concert-hall in Lanzarote, Canary Islands. During their travels, the group has performed on many live radio and television broadcasts.

This remarkable undergraduate student troupe has played by invitation at many professional music festivals, such as the Berliner Festspiele, Canberra International Music Festival, Visual Music Festival (Lanzarote), Musica Nova Festival (Brisbane), ppIANISSIMO Festival (Sofia, Bulgaria), Stavanger Jazz Festival (Norway) N��d Festival (Tallinn), and Spoleto Festival USA (Charleston, SC). Their five previous recordings (two with soprano Victoria Hansen) are on the New Albion and Albany labels.