“…performances have rhythmic flair and doses of virtuosity” —THE STRAD

 

“Apollo has hit a home run.” —AMERICAN RECORD GUIDE

 

“...taking one bold step after another...” -- ARTS & CULTURE TEXAS

 

“…excellent group of musicians. —Seattle CityArts

 

APOLLO CHAMBER PLAYERS

Houston TX based Apollo Chamber Players “performs with rhythmic flair and virtuosity” (The Strad) and has “found fruitful territory” (Houston Chronicle) through innovative, globally-inspired programming and multicultural new music commissions. Winner of Chamber Music America’s prestigious Residency Partnership award, the quartet has performed for sold-out audiences at Carnegie Hall, and it holds the distinction of being the first American chamber ensemble to record and perform in Cuba since 1960. Apollo is featured frequently on American Public Media’s nationally-syndicated program Performance Today.

 

Apollo is a passionate advocate of contemporary music. The ensemble’s 20x2020 project features a roster of the world’s leading composers including Libby Larsen, Christopher Theofanidis, Pamela Z, and Jennifer Higdon. The group has collaborated with renowned ensembles and artists including the Houston Ballet, Grammy/Emmy winner and Academy Award contributor Vanessa Võ, James Dunham, Ismail Lumanovski, and Chitravina N. Ravikiran, among others.

 

“ANCESTRAL VOICES is the most culturally relevant, politically topical, and necessary album of them all” (American Record Guide). Apollo’s studio albums have garnered international acclaim, reaching millions of listeners around the world. Apollo reaches further into the community by partnering with schools, universities, at-risk youth centers, refugee, veterans, and autism organizations, hospitals, airports, and public libraries, providing performances that impact a wider, underserved audience. apollochamberplayers.org

 

Photo by Katy Cartland. Left to right: Matthew Dudzik, Whitney Bullock, Matthew J. Detrick, Anabel Ramirez Detrick.

 

 

 

ALEXANDRA DU BOIS is a Manhattan-based composer who has been described as “a painter who knows exactly where her picture will be hung,” (New York Times), and as “offering an extraordinary interface between the traditional and avant-garde” (New Zealand Herald). Her music has been heard in concert halls across five continents—her travels connect her tangibly to the countries that inform and inspire her work. Du Bois has been commissioned by Kronos Quartet, and the ensemble subsequently commissioned her first, third, and fifth string quartets. alexandradubois.com

 

Acclaimed composer, guitarist and music director, LEO BROUWER was born in Havana, Cuba in 1939. He studied with Isaac Nicola and specializing in composition, completed his studies at the Juilliard School of Music and at Hartt College of Music. Brouwer has conducted orchestras around the world including the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, the Scottish National Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Concert Orchestra and the Mexico National Symphony Orchestra.  He has served as General Manager of the Cuban National Symphony Orchestra for ten years. In 1998 Brouwer was awarded the Manuel de Falla prize and in 1999 the National music prize for Cuba. His discography comprises over a hundred commercial recordings and his works have been recorded by John Williams, Julian Bream, Franz Bruggen and Harry Sparnay as well as The Toronto Festival, the London Sinfonietta and the Liège festival. He has been commissioned by chamber ensembles such as the Havana String Quartet and Apollo Chamber Players. Brouwer has also written many film scores including A WALK IN THE CLOUDS and Alfonso Arau’s internationally acclaimed LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE.

 

Violist MATTHEW CARRINGTON enjoys a diverse performing career, from chamber ensembles to large orchestras, performing works from ancient times to the present day. He currently is a member of Mercury Chamber Orchestra, which performs music of all eras on period instruments. Prior to joining Mercury, he performed with the Louisiana Philharmonic and the New World Symphony and was a  member of Apollo Chamber Players for three seasons. Mr. Carrington received a B.M. from UC Santa Cruz and a M.M. and Performer Diploma from Indiana University.

 

Associate Conductor for the Shepherd School of Music, Rice University, JERRY HOU is establishing himself as a versatile and exciting conductor. At the Shepherd School of Music, he leads the Shepherd School Contemporary Ensemble, curates the Hear & Now new music series, works with the Symphony and Chamber Orchestras, and assists with the opera productions. In addition to his work at Rice, Hou serves as Associate Conductor of the Grand Teton Music Festival. Hou has worked closely with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra and their music director, David Robertson. In addition, he served as an assistant conductor for the Lincoln Center Festival in the festival production of the opera, Monkey: Journey to the West, returning to the Lincoln Center as part of Lincoln Center Songbook: Steve Reich and Stephen Sondheim in Conversation.

 

Formed in 2015, KINETIC is a collective of 16 passionate and diverse chamber musicians who thrive off of collaboration to create high energy, innovative, and world-class live performances throughout the city of Houston. Led by founder and Artistic Director Natalie Lin, the ensemble can be seen performing in various traditional & nontraditional spaces around town such as MATCH (Midtown Arts & Theater Center), in art galleries, schools, and in hospitals. kineticensemble.org

 

LOOP38 is a 16-person collective of passionate musicians bringing new music to the heart of Houston. Co-founded by pianist Yvonne Chen and conductor Jerry Hou, Loop38 is comprised entirely of Houston transplants, specializing in new music presented at the highest artistic level.

 

Its members hold degrees from The Juilliard School, Peabody Institute, Cleveland Institute of Music, Yale School of Music, New England Conservatory, Eastman School of Music, University of Michigan, University for the Arts in Bremen, Germany, and Oberlin Conservatory, and the musicians use their unique experiences from all of these places to inform their interpretations. Their 2016-2017 season consisted of an opening concert of new virtuosic works at the MATCH, an evening of light + sound at the Turrell Skyspace “Twilight Epiphany,” and “Music in Darkness: Georg Friedrich Haas’ in vain” at Rothko Chapel. loop38.org

 

VŨ NHÂT TÂN teaches at the department for electronic music at the Vietnam National Academy of Music in Hanoi and is one of three founders of the experimental music VuNhatTanGroup (VNTG). His music has been performed at the Roaring Hoofs Festival in Ulaanbaatar, the Louisiana Festival of Contemporary Music in Baton Rouge, Asian Music Festival in Tokyo, the Arts Network Asia in Singapore, and the Space of Traditional and Contemporary Music in China. vunhattangroup.wordpress.com

 

VANESSA VÕ devotes her life-long passion and mastery of the dan bau and dan tranh zither to the creation of distinctive music for these unique Vietnamese instruments. Among her accomplishments are the 2009 Emmy® Award-winning soundtrack for the documentary Bolinao 52, which she co-composed and recorded, and the soundtrack for the Sundance best documentary and 2003 Academy Awards® nominee Daughter from Danang. Võ also co-composed and recorded for the recent documentary A Village Called Versailles, winner of the New Orleans Film Festival Audience Award.

 

In addition to touring internationally, Võ has performed at Carnegie Hall, Zellerbach Hall, Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, and as a composer and guest artist for the Kronos Quartet at the Olympic Games 2012 Music Festival. In 1995, Võ won the championship title in the Vietnam National Đàn Tranh Competition, along with the first prize for best solo performance of modern folk music. vananhvo.com

 

CHRISTOPHER WALCZAK is Assistant Professor of Music Theory & Composition at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. His music has been commissioned, performed, and recorded by various orchestras and ensembles including the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, the University of Wisconsin - Madison Symphony Orchestra, the Wisconsin Alliance for Composers, Apollo Chamber Players, Zeitgeist New Music Ensemble, Brightmusic, Ensemble Laboratorium, and eighth blackbird. christopherwalczak.com

 

WINDSYNC is a collective of five outstanding North American wind musicians who have come together as performers, educators, and community builders. Recent winners of the Concert Artists Guild and Fischoff competitions, they approach their mixed repertory of wind quintets and arrangements with the highest level of artistic dedication.

 

WindSync has appeared in recital at the Met Museum, Schubert Club, Shanghai Oriental Arts Center, and Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. In 2015, WindSync was invited by the Library of Congress to perform the world premiere of Paul Lansky's "The Long and the Short of it," commissioned by the Carolyn Royall Just Fund and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Their 2018-2019 season includes performances at the New School, Ravinia, and the Hobby Center, and premieres by composers Ivan Trevino, John Steinmetz, and Marc Mellits. windsync.org