Artists

Described as “one of the finest pianists of his generation…a consummate musician” by Fanfare, Clipper Erickson has dedicated much of his long career to bringing new works to life. An enthusiastic musical explorer, he has also championed lesser-known works of the past. Erickson made his debut at age 19 in Los Angeles as soloist with the Young Musicians Foundation Orchestra, followed by studies at The Juilliard School, Yale University, and Indiana University. While at Indiana, Clipper trained with the great British pianist John Ogdon, whose dedication to the performance of new music and lesser-known works of the past inspired Clipper to follow in his footsteps.

Ian Erickson is a composer and performer from Southwest Missouri. He graduated from Missouri State University with two bachelor of arts degrees in music performance and composition, and he has extensive experience in improvisation. Many of his works aim to explore polyphonic textures through the use of complex rhythms and dense harmonies.

Sandrine Erdely-Sayo, pianist, composer, and artistic director of Piano on the Rocks International Festival began piano studies at the age 4 and has won numerous prizes across a career that began in Perpignan, France. She continued her musical studies with Denyse Rivière in Paris and with Christian Manen at the Paris Superior Conservatory where she received first prize for specialization in music theory. There, she pursued special studies in harmony, counterpoint, and fugue. At 14 she wrote Three Pieces for Chamber Orchestra that were played at the Chatelet Theater in Paris.

Paul A. Epstein's compositions include two chamber operas as well as works for string orchestra and for a variety of small ensembles. His Prime Times 2 for flute, bassoon, and piano was a winner of the Pascal Gallois 2008 call for scores.

Tapestry is a chamber group weaving together four unique performers working with six versatile composers. Each of these accomplished musicians brings a distinct thread of musical and cultural experiences to this project, resulting in an exciting recording of new repertoire. While there have been a handful of recordings in the past devoted to the earliest repertoire for the oboe, clarinet and piano trio by composers such as Edouard Destenay and Jean Gabriel Marie, this recording is remarkable in that it comprises all newly composed works for trio and quartet, driven by the combination and contrasts of the performers rather than a specific instrumentation.

The Phoenix Ensemble is a mixed instrument chamber music group based in New York City. It was founded in 1991 with goals to inspire a new and diverse audience for classical music through live performances, recordings, and innovative community residencies. Through supporters such as the National Endowment for the Arts, it has been in residence at a wide range of venues, including NYC’s Greenwich House, the Aaron Copland School of Music, and the 92nd Street Y. The group also encourages the creation of new works, and sheds light on important unexplored music of our time.

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.

Harmonija Dissonance Ensemble evolved from the eponymous research and performance project that started at the Academy of Music in Zagreb in 2016. Guided by the idea of bridging the gaps between the worlds of academic and folk musicians, of traditional and art music, the project soon evolved into the lively and stimulating space of mutual learning, experimenting, and music-making of renowned traditional singers and the Academy’s students.

Ergon is an Athens based contemporary music ensemble created in 2008 for performing works by living composers as well as masterpieces of the 20th and 21st-century avant-garde. Noted for its exciting interpretations and meticulous preparation, it has received praise from critics and audiences alike, making it the leading ensemble of its kind in Greece. An extremely flexible and versatile ensemble, Ergon is based on a core formation that is further reinforced, depending on the project, by a great number of guests and exceptionally talented musicians. Directed by a five-member musician team, responsible for planning, and collaborations, its original and adventurous programming includes chamber and orchestral music, musical theatre works, dance, contemporary opera, and cinema.

The New London Chamber Ensemble is a wind quintet with a difference. For over two decades the NLCE has challenged traditional ideas of chamber music with their innovative programs combining classic repertoire with semi-staged works incorporating drama, speech, and action.

Juventas New Music Ensemble is a contemporary chamber group with a special focus on emerging voices. Juventas shares classical music as a vibrant, living art form. They bring audiences music from a diverse array of composers that live in today’s world and respond to our time. Since its founding in 2005, Juventas has performed the music of more than 300 living composers. The ensemble has earned a reputation as a curator with a keen eye for new talent. It opens doors for composers with top-notch professional performances that present their work in the best possible light.

The nationally recognized Nevada Wind Ensemble is the flagship wind and percussion ensemble at the University of Nevada, Reno. Using one-per-part instrumentation, the Wind Ensemble performs a broad repertoire of classic and contemporary styles, ranging from large band works to chamber pieces. The ensemble tours regularly throughout the Western United States and provides the opportunity to collaborate with world-class guest conductors and guest artists. The group consists of graduate and undergraduate students.

The Merian Ensemble is a chamber music group dedicated to promoting the standard of an inclusive repertoire. The group was formed in 2018 by five women musicians from the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, determined to counteract the striking dearth of women composers programmed in classical music settings. Even today, research shows that of 111 major orchestras across 31 countries, only 7.7% of works played were written by women. (Donne – Women in Music, 2022). Through their “Listen: Works by Women” initiatives, the Merian Ensemble performs the abundant repertoire of music by women and commissions a new work each year.

Angel Sánchez Enríquez was born in Mexico City in 1971. He graduated from the Superior School of Music which belongs to the National Institute of Fine Arts in Mexico City with a Bachelor of Music in Percussion Performance. He also studied piano with Yulia Vischnevetskaia, violin with Guela Dubrova, and orchestral conducting with several prominent conductors as Kurt Redel, Ronald Zollman, and Yuri Simonov.

A small Gulf Coast Texas town was not a likely place for a future jazz musician and composer to grow up, but Paul English’s father was an accomplished jazz trombonist and a respected music educator and band director. Early on he introduced his son to Dave Brubeck, J. J. Johnson, and Count Basie (in that order) as well as Bach, Beethoven, and Stravinsky. This magical world fascinated Paul, and almost before he could speak, he was banging out sounds on the piano that must have been painful to others but glorious in his own mind.

Mark Engebretson (b 1964, Modesto CA), is Associate Professor of Composition and Electronic Music, University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Berklee professor and pianist Jennifer Elowsky-Fox has performed for many years in Boston, where her exciting performances have brought audiences to their feet. Her playing has been described in print as “buoyant,” “fun,” and “gorgeous in all respects.” A devoted friend to her contemporaries, she has championed composers and engaged fellow musicians with whom she has performed.

Dr. Kim S. Ellis is a native of Rockford, Illinois. She has been principal clarinetist with the Symphony of Southeast Texas since 1990 and is a Buffet Crampon USA performing artists. She is an active performer and clinician at conventions and clinics throughout the United States including the Texas Music Educators Assosication, Festival of Texas Composers, Oklahoma Clarinet Symposium, College Music Society-South Chapter, Sarasota Music Festival, and the University of New Hampshire Chamber Music Festival.

Award-winning and critically acclaimed British conductor and composer Benjamin Ellin is currently co-founder and Musical Director of the Thirsk Hall Festival and De Mowbray Music; Music Director of the Thursford Christmas Spectacular; co-founder, conductor and composer of the contemporary-fusion ensemble Tafahum; Principal Conductor of the Slaithwaite Philharmonic Orchestra; and President of Pembroke Academy of Music, London. Ellin is also a founding trustee of the Evgeny Svetlanov Charitable Trust.

Mexican composer José Elizondo received degrees in Humanities, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). At Harvard University, he studied musical analysis, orchestration and conducting. As an engineer, Elizondo’s work focuses on speech-recognition technology, which combines his interests in computer science, linguistics, natural language processing and artificial intelligence.