From the Americas

We begin with the music of Bronx native JEFF SCOTT. His 2010 Toccata was written for the TransAtlantic Ensemble and explodes with energy and rhythmic drive. Scott uses a contemporary urban sound world to create a vehicle showcasing the vortuosity and expressive breadth of both performers.

American composer MIGUEL DEL AGUILA was born in Montevideo, Uruguay. His two-movement Pacific Serenade from 1998, is an inward song without words, informed by Brazilian folk music, Latin American song forms and blues-infused harmonies. Like Eric Satie's Gymnopédies, del Aguila's work seldom strays from its serene sense of stillness.

The originality, vitality, and utter freshness of VALERIE COLEMAN's music, have won her a special place in contemporary music. In her Sonatina, written for the TransAtlantic Ensemble in 2007, she draws inspiration from the improvisation of master musicians and the deep soulfulness of spirituals. Melodic fragments are in animated dialogue between the instruments.

PAQUITO D'RIVERA introduces international audiences to music styles and rhythms from across the Americas in his Invitatation & Danzon.

New York guitarrist and composer RICHARD PADRON brings his Cuban heritage, his experience studiyng and performing in Miami, and his eclectic musical curiosity to his compositions. Lamentos Terrestres was written in 2011 and is definitely music of the city and of the night: darkly propulsive, obsessive, seductive, intense and searching.

THE TRANSATLANTIC ENSEMBLE has been hailing from Berlin and New York, making music on either side of the Atlantic since 2005. Its mission is to collaborate with living composers. The Ensemble's innovative repertoire, dynamic sound and engaging stage presence attracts audiences from the contemporary, crossover, classical, and jazz worlds. The multilingual Ensemble members have appearedin New York's Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, in Berlin, Hamburg, Leipzig and Costa Rica.
MARIAM ADAM is a native of Monterey, California and is a founding member of Gammy-nominated wind quintet Imani Winds. She has performed across the major continents and been an evid educator and advocate for the arts.
EVELYN ULEX, born and raised in Berlin studied at the University of the Arts and Folkwang Hochschule Essen, Germany. She tours internationally as a solo pianist, chamber musician and with orchestras. Ms. Ulex is a Steinway Artist.