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Composer and musician D.J. Sparr will make his debut with ALIAS Chamber Ensemble on Oct. 1 with “Vim Hocket, Calm” for electric guitar and amplified violin. ALIAS Marketing Chair Laura Alabed visited with D.J. recently to gain insights into the composer and his music.

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How did you become associated with ALIAS? I knew Zeneba Bowers at the Eastman School of Music and then reconnected with her on Facebook a few years ago. I was excited that she went to my Web site to check out my music and, ultimately, engaged me in work with ALIAS.

What is your professional background? What are some of your key professional accomplishments? Currently, I am the Composer-in-Residence for the Richmond Symphony Orchestra’s Education and Community Engagement department. In this position, I teach a creative composition class to members of the youth orchestras, as well as write new pieces for the RSYO’s ensembles. This year, I am writing a new piece titled “St. Johns on Church Hill” for the Richmond Symphony’s “Come and Play” concert, where 400 amateur musicians perform alongside the Richmond Symphony.

I have performed electric guitar concertos with the Alabama Symphony, the Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini in Parma, Italy (It is possible that I am the first guitarist to perform an electric guitar concert with a major Italian orchestra…at least that is what they told me!), and, this year, with the Dayton Philharmonic, which is also presenting the world premiere of a new work, “Superstring Serenade.”

I’ve been fortunate to have won many awards and prizes during my career, including a $10,000 grand prize in the BMG/Williams College National Young Composers Competition. And my works have been performed by ensembles such as 8th Blackbird, Pittsburg New Music Ensemble, Los Angeles Debut Orchestra and Berkshire Philharmonic.

In addition, this year I have had works commissioned by the Dayton Philharmonic and Williamsburg Symphonia. Last year, a consortium of 34 colleges commissioned a flute and winds concerto that was premiered by the University of Washington and taken on their tour of Japan. The piece was also performed by the People’s Liberation Army Band of China.

What inspired you to become a composer? Ever since I was a kid, I wrote music. When I was five years old, I would write a new song each week I learned a new chord on the guitar. My teacher would take me into the main room of the music store and have me play for everyone. It just grew and grew until I ended up attending the Baltimore School for the Arts and, in the summers, the Walden School. Later, I attended Boston University’s Tanglewood Institute, where I learned to write for other instruments.

What are some of the greatest challenges you face as a composer? …Staying in the moment of spark and enlightenment about the piece I am currently writing WHILE: 1) maintaining a high level of performance on the guitar; 2) getting performers and commissioners excited about projects I want to work on three or four years from now; 3) developing new and creative ideas for my residency with the Richmond Symphony; 4) all while being married for less than a year and a new homeowner!

What can ALIAS audiences expect from your performance? What do you hope they’ll take away? I hope that people will enjoy my work on a surface level – in the moment, but also realize that there are deeper levels and meaning to the music. It would be great if my work could become a gateway to works by other composers that use the electric guitar as an expressive instrument that can have a beautiful, dramatic, and engaging dialog with other classical instruments.

The inaugural “Arts and Flowers,” sponsored by Terrazzo and benefitting ALIAS, was an incredible success.

The event, held Friday, May 25 at Terrazzo in The Gulch, raised nearly $6,000 for the non-profit chamber ensemble and was attended by Nashville Mayor Karl Dean, Nashville Symphony CEO Alan Valentine, Tennessee State Museum Director Lois Riggins-Ezzell, Frist Center for the Visual Arts Executive Director Susan Edwards, Tennessean Columnist Heather Byrd, Mix 92.9 Morning Show host Anna Marie and nearly 200 other guests.

Event sponsors included: Terrazzo, Amelie de Gaulle Interiors, Blair School of Music, The Bluegrass Brewing Company, Enchanted Events, Haynes Galleries, Health Facilities Planning Partners, Jive!, Lazzaroli’s Pasta, Maggiano’s Little Italy, Marche, Maryland Farms Wines & Spirits, Metromix, Oshi Floral Décor Studio, The Painted Cupcake, Red Pony, Ron York Art, The Rymer Gallery, Shannon’s Unique Catering & Chocolates, Sunset Grill, Sweet 16^th, Urban Flats and Woodland Wine Merchant.

For additional photos from Arts & Flowers, click HERE.

ALIAS Chamber Ensemble kicks off its ninth season on Friday, Oct. 1, with a concert featuring a world premiere by Guggenheim-fellow and Latin Grammy Award-winning artist Gabriela Lena Frank, and works by former National Composer of the Philippines Bayani Mendoza de Leon, D. J. Sparr and Kenji Bunch. According to ALIAS Artistic Director Zeneba Bowers, all of the works on the evening’s program were inspired by folk music from around the world.

The first half of the concert features works inspired by American folk music, including Bunch’s  “String Circle” and Sparr’s “Vim Hocket, Calm” for electric guitar and amplified violin. The second half features works inspired by Filipino and Peruvian folk music – both of which have roots in Spain.

The concert concludes with the world premiere of Frank’s Hilos (“Threads”), which was co-commissioned by ALIAS and recorded this summer for an all-Frank CD on the Naxos American Classics label. Co-commissioners Drs. Jennifer Lena and Jonathan Neufeld of Vanderbilt University will attend the October 1 premiere, as will Kathleen van Bergen of The Schubert Club of St. Paul, Minn., another co-commissioner of the work. ALIAS will travel to St. Paul in November for a repeat premiere at The Schubert Club.

Adding to the excitement and dimension of the Oct. 1 concert, both D. J. Sparr and Dr. Frank will take to the stage to perform their own works. Audiences will have the chance to meet and mingle with these composers, as well as ALIAS’ musicians, at a post-concert reception.

“Putting audiences together with live composers has become an important part of the ALIAS experience,” says Bowers. “It reminds everyone that music is a living, breathing art.”

“ALIAS continues to bring fresh and exciting programming to the stage,” adds ALIAS Executive Director and Cellist Matt Walker. “And we’re steadfast in our commitment to engaging our audiences – talking to them from the stage and making certain our musicians are accessible both pre and post-concert. We want ALIAS audiences to connect with the music. We want them to leave our concerts having learned something new and experienced something wonderful – each and every time.”

ALIAS, Nashville’s most eclectic and critically acclaimed chamber music ensemble, and Latin Grammy Award-winning composer and Guggenheim fellow Gabriela Lena Frank will give the world-premiere performance of Hilos on Friday, October 1, 2010 at 8 p.m. at Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music in Nashville.  Also on the program are works by DJ Sparr, Kenji Bunch and Bayani Mendoza de Leon.

The Schubert Club in St. Paul, Minn. will host the second performance of Hilos on Tuesday, November 16, 2010, at 8 p.m.

Commissioned by ALIAS, The Schubert Club, and Drs. Jonathan Neufeld and Jennifer Lena supported by a grant from Vanderbilt University, Hilos (Spanish for “threads”) is an eight-movement quartet for piano, violin, cello and clarinet. It will be performed by Ms. Frank (piano) and three members of the 12-member ALIAS ensemble:  Zeneba Bowers (violin), Matthew Walker (cello) and Lee Levine (clarinet).

ALIAS will record Hilos, which will be released by Naxos on the American Classics imprint, along with other premiere recordings of Ms. Frank’s works, performed by the composer and ALIAS ensemble members.  The recording is anticipated for a 2011 release.

“ALIAS has been inspired by Gabriela for years and has already programmed four of her chamber works on our regular season concerts.  Naturally, we were thrilled and honored to have this opportunity to commission a piece from her and to perform and record it alongside her,” says Zeneba Bowers, founder and artistic director of ALIAS.

Ms. Frank frequently draws on her multicultural Latin heritage as inspiration for her music. In Hilos, each of the short movements evoke vivid pictures, such as “Canto del Altiplano” (Song of the Highlands), “Zumballyu” (Spinning Top), and “Juegos de los Niños” (Games of the Children).

“There are similarities to Pictures at an Exhibition in that each movement tells a different story,” explains Ms. Frank.  “Hilos refers to the ‘threads’ that make up Andean textiles and how these threads weave together to portray tantalizing pictures.  I am looking forward to bringing this piece to life with an innovative, quality ensemble like ALIAS.”

In conjunction with the premiere of Hilos, ALIAS and Ms. Frank will participate in “Mestiza Music in Music City,” an educational outreach initiative that will take place in September and October 2010 as part of National Hispanic Heritage Month.  This NEA-funded initiative will bring Hispanic music, including Hilos, and related educational materials to minority schools and communities in Nashville.  The purpose of the program is to help promote understanding between Nashville’s diverse cultures.  In addition, Ms. Frank is participating in the interdisciplinary Music, Authority and Community project with Drs. Lena and Neufeld at Vanderbilt University.

Tickets to the world-premiere performance of Hilos in Nashville are $12 ($5 for students) and are available in advance at www.aliasmusic.org, or by clicking HERE. All proceeds will benefit Conexion Americas.

General Admission $12

Students w/ID $5

Tickets to The Schubert Club performance will go on-sale September 7 and can be purchased by calling 651-292-3268, or by visiting www.schubert.org.

Biographies

ALIAS

Founded in 2002, ALIAS is a chamber ensemble dedicated to innovative repertoire, artistic excellence, and a desire to give back to the community. Comprised of 12 professional musicians in Nashville, its wide-ranging repertoire brings audiences a mix of chamber music that cannot be heard anywhere else in the community.  To date, ALIAS has premiered 10 new works and makes a point of performing undiscovered or seldom heard pierces.  As part of its mission, ALIAS also adopts three nonprofit partners each season and gives 100 percent of its ticket proceeds to these partners. For more information about ALIAS, visit: www.aliasmusic.org.

Gabriela Lena Frank, Composer and Pianist

Identity has always been at the center of Gabriela Lena Frank’s music. Born in Berkeley, California, to a mother of mixed Peruvian/Chinese ancestry and a father of Lithuanian/Jewish descent, Frank explores her multicultural heritage most ardently through her compositions. Inspired by the works of Bela Bartók and Alberto Ginastera, Frank is something of a musical anthropologist. She has travelled extensively throughout South America and her pieces reflect and refract her studies of Latin-American folklore, incorporating poetry, mythology, and native musical styles into a western classical framework that is uniquely her own. She writes challenging idiomatic parts for solo instrumentalists, vocalists, chamber ensembles, and orchestras. For more information about Gabriela Lena Frank, visit: http://www.schirmer.com.

ALIAS is proud to announce the group’s major new project to feature Guggenheim Fellowship- and Latin Grammy-winning composer Gabriela Lena Frank as the centerpiece.  The overarching project, to take place in 2010, includes a commission of a quartet (for clarinet, violin, cello, and piano) by composer Gabriela Lena Frank; the commission is funded through partnerships with the Music, Authority and Community Project at Vanderbilt University, and with The Schubert Club of St. Paul, Minn.

The project also includes the first-ever ALIAS recording, which will feature Ms. Frank’s chamber works for NAXOS, on its American Classics label. This recording is being made possible with our partnership with Vanderbilt and with support from the Metro Nashville Arts Commission. The recording will include the new commissioned work, and several other works which will be recording premieres.

ALIAS was drawn to Ms. Frank’s music due to her artistic incorporation of folk idioms from the Andes and Peru. She travels extensively and uses the traditional music of South America as inspiration. A date for the recording’s release has not been announced.

“At the time of this announcement, I confess I’ve been in the thick of creating a new piece of music for ALIAS for more than a month,” said the composer, Gabriela Lena Frank. “In these early days of sifting, choosing, discarding, and sometimes rescuing ideas, I’ve frequently been suffused with a feeling of overwhelming gratitude towards these excellent musicians for the confidence and interest they have in my work as a composer. I’m so looking forward to working with them closely in bringing the new work to life, to our recording on the NAXOS label, and to our live performances. ALIAS is exactly why us composers love what we do.”

“We are very excited to work with ALIAS on their upcoming recording featuring the music of Gabriela Lena Frank,” said Lea D. Maitlen, Senior Marketing Manager, Naxos of America, Inc. “This excellent ensemble is an important part of the Nashville community, and I applaud their focus on new composers and lesser known repertoire.”

This commission, as well as the recording, is funded in large part by the ongoing Music, Authority and Community Project, led by Vanderbilt professors Jonathan Neufeld and Jennifer Lena. It combines scholarship from philosophy, sociology and music, and it is an unprecedented means of funding the creation of a new composition. “ALIAS has wanted to commission a new work from Gabriela, and to record it, for a long time,” says Matt Walker, cellist and Executive Director of ALIAS. “We are very grateful that Jonathan and Jenn’s profound academic efforts have helped us bring the idea to fruition.”

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About Gabriela Lena Frank:

Identity has always been at the center of Gabriela Lena Frank’s music. Born in Berkeley, California, to a mother of mixed Peruvian/Chinese ancestry and a father of Lithuanian/Jewish descent, Frank explores her multicultural heritage most ardently through her compositions. Inspired by the works of Bela Bartók and Alberto Ginastera, Frank is something of a musical anthropologist. She has travelled extensively throughout South America and her pieces reflect and refract her studies of Latin-American folklore, incorporating poetry, mythology, and native musical styles into a western classical framework that is uniquely her own. She writes challenging idiomatic parts for solo instrumentalists, vocalists, chamber ensembles, and orchestras.

For full bio, click here.

Interviews with 2007 Joyce Awards winners, Gabriela Lena Frank and the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra in Indianapolis.

Video of Gabriela Lena Frank, winner of Hispanic Scholarship Fund’s 2008 Brillante Prize.

Download a PDF version of our flyer by clicking this link: Arts and Flowers flyer.

CLICK HERE to listen to the interviews at VUCast, Vanderbilt University’s News Network.

CLICK HERE for details about the Music, Authority and Community Project at Vanderbilt University.

CLICK HERE for details about the GLF Project.

The program for ALIAS’ upcoming concert boasts four very different pieces for two musicians. ALIAS percussionist Chris Norton will perform one of the Frank works, Danza de los Saqsampillos for two marimbas, joined by Todd Kemp.

Also featured are two duos by French composers: Philippe Hersant’s Eleven Caprices for two cellos, and two songs by Lili Boulangerfor soprano and piano.

Rounding out the program is Introduction and Allegro by Maurice Ravel, which is scored for harp, flute, clarinet and string quartet. This work will bring to the stage guest artists Roger Martin (flute), Rebecca Dorcy (violin) and Daniel Reinker (viola).

“ALIAS is on the verge of a project that will garner national attention – a project that includes a commission by the prominent, young American artist Gabriela Lena Frank and a recording on Naxos’ American Classics label,” said ALIAS Executive Director and cellist Matt Walker. “This concert provides Nashville audiences an opportunity to experience this project in its early stages.”

Artistic Director Zeneba Bowers refines the timeline: “We have been rehearsing Quijotadas since last August; we’ve really grown with it in the past eight months. It is amazing to think that we will be recording it a couple of weeks after this performance.”

General Admission $12

Students w/ID $5

During the past five years, cellist Michael Samis has helped introduce many students and new listeners to the joy of chamber music as ALIAS Education and Community Outreach Coordinator. The Cincinnati native planned and organized the educational outreach and performance programs the ensemble presented at Hume-Fogg High School, the University School of Nashville, Dismas House and through the PENCIL Foundation Gold Star before-and-after-school program. He believes in the importance of developing audiences for chamber music, and for listeners to know music for the sake of the music.

Michael joined the Nashville Symphony in 1999 after graduating from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he studied with longtime Cleveland Orchestra principal cellist Stephen Geber. It was a pretty natural progression for Michael to become a founding member of ALIAS five years ago, because “playing more and more things I love is important to me.”

Michael adds: “I like to live with the music I play – studying it, connecting with it, performing it.” He relishes the music of Beethoven, Brahms and Bach, but also enjoys the challenge of finding interesting compositions that are less frequently played. Highlights for him in the latter category are Olivier Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time (performed on the second ALIAS concert), Anton Arensky’s String Quartet in A Minor, Op. 35 (on the February 11 concert) and a new work he is learning, Eleven Caprices for Two Cellos (2003) by Philippe Hersant, a contemporary French composer.

Each year since coming to Nashville, Michael has prepared and presented chamber music programs with local assisting artists. His next recital in that series is set for May 7 at Congregation Micah. In addition, he performs with 12 other colleagues in the Gateway Chamber Ensemble, which is associated with Austin Peay University in Clarksville. Off stage, Michael enjoys yoga, cycling, hiking and travel.