Friday Music Series Spring 2017
The Georgetown University Music Program’s Friday Music Series features free concerts on select Fridays at 1:15 p.m. in McNeir Hall, New North Building, *unless otherwise indicated.
spring 2017
Friday, February 3 at 1:15 p.m.
Modern musick
GU Chamber Singers
Prof. Frederick Binkholder, music director
Jesuit Heritage Week
The Georgetown University Chamber Singers under the direction of Prof. Frederick Binkholder will be joined by the acclaimed Baroque period instrument ensemble, Modern Musick in a performance of music composed within the Chiquitos Missions of the Society of Jesus in the 17th and 18th centuries.This Jesuit Heritage Week program features a collection of works edited by Fr. Piotr Nawrot.
*DAHLGREN CHAPEL
FREE
Friday, February 10 at 1:15 p.m.
Third Practice
Founded in 2012, this DC-based professional chamber vocal ensemble bridges the gap between traditional classical and contemporary music through thoughtful and adventurous programming. Third Practice is named after a term for the late style of composer Claudio Monteverdi, in which he is said to have fused elements of the older “first practice” with the contemporary “second practice,” creating a rich new musical language. The ensemble’s artful singing has been praised for “first-rate” musicality (New York Times).
McNEIR HALL, NEW NORTH BUILDING
FREE
Friday, February 17 at 1:15 p.m.
Eunbi Kim, piano
Music of Fred Hersch
Acclaimed New York City-based pianist provocateur Eunbi Kim returns to the Friday Music Series after her beautiful, genre-defying performance of “Murakami Music” in 2015. In this solo program, Kim explores hybrid jazz-classical works by eight-time GRAMMY nominated jazz legend Fred Hersch. Displaying her signature emotional mastery with contemporary, new music that is warm and introspective, familiar through its famous classical influences (Tchaikovsky to tango), and dazzling as different musical worlds collide.
McNEIR HALL, NEW NORTH BUILDING
FREE
Friday, February 24 at 1:15 p.m.
congri ensemble
This program presents acclaimed Cuban composer Pavel Urkiza’s interpretation of classic Cuban songs, performed on period acoustic instruments such as the romantic guitar, the mutto cornet, baroque flutes, and the upright bass. The ensemble includes Afro-Cuban and Mediterranean percussion, illustrating the connection between the Spanish, African, and Creole origins of Cuban music. The musical performance will be accompanied by a visual display of images from the era and narration between songs. Congri is a typical Cuban dish made of black beans and rice, and the origin of the word is from the French “congrès,” meaning a gathering or coming together.
McNEIR HALL, NEW NORTH BUILDING
FREE
Friday, March 17 at 1:15 p.m.
Nathaniel Braddock, guitar
Musician and composer Nathaniel Braddock tours internationally and performs an array of different musical styles in venues as disparate as underground arts spaces and Lincoln Center. Nathaniel leads the acclaimed Central African soukous group the Occidental Brothers Dance Band International, a collaboration between American, Ghanaian, Zambian, and Congolese musicians including the great Samba Mapangala and members of Ghana’s acclaimed Western Diamonds. Nathaniel has performed and recorded with a number of indie rock bands, and also played for years in the Butcher Shop Quartet, performing electric guitar arrangements of Igor Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring and other 20th century classical works. Braddock leads an eight-piece electric guitar ensemble that plays his original compositions.
McNEIR HALL, NEW NORTH BUILDING
FREE
Friday, March 24 at 1:15 p.m.
Music of Duke Ellington
Music by Duke Ellington
Luis Hernandez, saxophone
Chris Grasson, piano
Nathan Kawaller, bass
Kevin McDonald, drums
Lena Seikaly, vocals
Since 2003, saxophonist Luis Hernandez has performed with Afrobop Alliance, a Latin jazz group that won a Grammy® for Best Latin Jazz Album of the year and was nominated for two Grammy® awards in 2008 for their recording, “Caribbean Jazz Project/Afrobop Alliance.” In 1996, Luis joined the U.S. Navy Band “Commodores” as tenor saxophonist and featured soloist, and was also a semi-finalist in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition in 2002.
McNEIR HALL, NEW NORTH BUILDING
FREE
Friday, March 31 at 1:15 p.m.
Edvinas Minkstimas, piano
steffani kitayama, violin
tobias werner, cello
Program includes Brahms’s Cello Sonata No. 1 in E minor and Violin Sonata No. 3 in D minor, along with Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio No. 2 in C minor. A native of Kaunas, Lithuania, pianist Edvinas Minkstimas has performed at Lincoln Center, Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, the Phillips Collection, 6th& I Synagogue, and the Mansion at Strathmore. In July 2011, Minkstimas became Artist-in-Residence of the Embassy Series Festival in Washington D.C.
McNEIR HALL, NEW NORTH BUILDING
FREE
Friday, April 7 at 1:15 p.m.
Sandbox Percussion
Lauded by The Washington Post as “revitalizing the world of contemporary music” with “jawdropping virtuosity,” Sandbox Percussion has established themselves as a leading proponent in this generation of contemporary percussion chamber music. Brought together by their love of chamber music and the simple joy of playing together, Sandbox Percussion captivates audiences with performances that are both visually and aurally stunning. This program includes the world premiere of a commission by GU Music Program Prof. David Molk.
McNEIR HALL, NEW NORTH BUILDING
FREE
Friday, April 21 at 1:15 p.m.
Josh Quillen and Kendall Williams, steel pan
Josh Quillen has forged a unique identity in the contemporary music world as all-around percussionist, expert steel drum performer (praised as “softly sophisticated” by the New York Times), and composer. A member of the acclaimed ensemble So Percussion since 2006, Josh has performed at Carnegie Hall, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, The Lincoln Center Festival, Stanford Lively Arts, and dozens of other venues in the United States. An avid educator, Josh is a performer-in-residence at Princeton University with So Percussion, co-director of the percussion program at the Bard College Conservatory of Music, and director of the New York University Steel Band. Composer and arranger Kendall Williams was born around the Trinidadian culture and adopted the country’s national instrument, the steel pan. He received a Masters of Music Degree in Music Theory & Composition at NYU Steinhardt, where he also actively participated in the NYU Steel band under the leadership of Artist Faculty member Josh Quillen.
McNEIR HALL, NEW NORTH BUILDING
FREE
Past Performances