It has been a wild 48 hours (!!!), but worth it to promote the Dream Unfinished Orchestra, Lincoln Center Education, and Tania Leon’s music on BronxNet TV. I need some sleep! #classicalmusic #classicalguitar #bronx (at Lehman College)
“That is positive elitism — embodying the pursuit of excellence rather than money or credentials — for which no one need apologize and to which anyone can aspire.”
“We make art, and it simultaneously makes us. Shouldn’t it follow, then, that we can change ourselves by changing the art we make?”
My knee gave out. My second ascent of Mt Whitney -the tallest mountain in the contiguous USA (14,505 ft)- and my frickin’ knee gave out a quarter of the way in. I limped up the mountain with hiking poles and accepted a knee brace from some kind strangers who wanted me to make it to the summit. It was an emotional day and I’m still recovering physically but…WORTH IT. #grit #mtwhitney #sierras #hiking #mountains (at Mt. Whitney)
TOMORROW is the night! On 5/24 @ 7:30pm Duo Noire is playing a full program of commissioned works by brilliant women composers for the NYC Classical Guitar Society. It’s at the Diller Quaile School of Music. Be there! (at The Diller-Quaile School of Music, Inc.)
Tonight’s the night! Duo Noire is premiering THREE incredible new pieces at UC Santa Cruz’s April in Santa Cruz Festival! Joining us on stage will be our friends “backing tracks,” “slide guitar,” and “spoons???!” :-p #gityrazaz #gabriellasmith #marykouyoumdjian #classicalmusic #newmusic #classicalguitar (at UC Santa Cruz)
I had an amazing time performing in Philadelphia with soprano Alicia Hall Moran after a panel discussion on the book “The Meaning of Michelle” (Obama). It was about Michelle Obama’s impact on multiple writers and the panel featured essayists Veronica Chambers, Benilde Little, Alicia Hall Moran, & Damon Young and was broadcast nationally on CSPAN’s Book TV. It was an honor to be among such great company.
As a performer, you are a curator of culture. You choose which composers get lifted up, and whether or not they should all be men. It is an awesome responsibility. Recently, a lot of brilliant people have trusted me to convey their most personal and sincere musical thoughts. And so, to kick things off, Duo Noire is headed to St. Louis to premiere new works written for us by the truly inspiring composer/performers Clarice Assad and Dr. Courtney Bryan. We’ve been working SO hard because they’ve written the music we’ve always wanted to play. I hope the wider guitar world will embrace it. Amen. HERE WE GO! #courtneybryan #clariceassad #stl #classicalguitar #duonoire
The Songs of War. Playing a wonderful concert with wonderful friends Emily Kalish and Sun Young Chang as part of a musical reflection on the OSilas Gallery’s exhibition of World War posters at Concordia College NY.
At Avaloch Farm Music Institute performing excerpts from Clarice Assad’s fantastic new piece written for Duo Noire. Can’t wait to premiere this in its entirety!