ARCHIVE
ORPHEUS ARTISTS “FEDORA”
ARTIST BIOS
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GREGG AUGUST, BASS
Bassist and composer Gregg August spans the jazz, Latin jazz, classical and avant-garde scenes making him one of the most versatile musicians on the scene today. In 2003 he formed his own group, and has recorded three critically acclaimed albums of entirely original music: Four by Six (Iacuessa Records 2012), One Peace (Iacuessa Records, 2007) and Late August(Iacuessa Records, 2005). Gregg recently completed a commission from the American Composers Orchestra/Earshot/Jazz Composers Orchestra Institute for a new full length orchestra piece which was premiered by the Buffalo Philharmonic in April 2013 .A former member of Ray Barretto’s New World Spirit, Gregg has also played with Chick Corea, Ornette Coleman and Paquito D’Rivera. As a classical bassist he plays with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and Orchestra of St. Luke’s. A member of the JD Allen Trio since 2007, August is Principal Bass of the Brooklyn Philharmonic as well as the bassist with Arturo O’Farrill’s Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra. In addition he performs regularly with the Bang on a Can All Stars. Gregg has also participated as a collaborating artist alongside Dave Douglas and Dafnis Prieto in the trailblazing program, OneBeat, a new international cultural exchange sponsored by the U.S. State Department. Gregg is on faculty of The University of Connecticut, New Jersey City University and Queens College. August has also been a faculty member at the Bang on a Can Summer Music Festival at Massmoca since 2002.For more information, click here to visit the artist’s webpage. -
ALAN R. KAY, CLARINET
Alan R. Kay is co-Principal Clarinetist and a former Artistic Director of Orpheus Chamber Orchestra as well as Principal Clarinet of New York’s Riverside Symphony and the Little Orchestra Society. He also appears as Principal with the American Symphony and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s. Mr. Kay’s honors include the C.D. Jackson Award at Tanglewood, a Presidential Scholars Teacher Recognition Award, Juilliard’s 1980 Competition, and the 1989 Young Concert Artists Award with the sextet Hexagon later featured in the prizewinning documentary film, “Debut.” Mr. Kay is a founding member of Windscape and Hexagon; he appears regularly with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. His summer festivals include the Yellow Barn and Skaneateles Festivals, and his innovative programming for the New York Chamber Ensemble is a feature of the Cape May Music Festival. A virtuoso of wind repertoire, Mr. Kay has recorded with Hexagon, Windscape, the Sylvan Winds, Orpheus and numerous other ensembles. His arrangements for wind quintet are available from Trevco Music Publishing and International Opus. Also a conductor, Mr. Kay studied conducting at The Juilliard School with Otto-Werner Mueller and has conducted orchestras and chamber ensembles throughout the New York City area. In the past season, he was invited to conduct the Nassau Music Educators Association All-County Orchestra in Long Island and the New York Concerto Sinfonietta in Manhattan. Mr. Kay taught at the Summer Music Academy in Leipzig, Germany in 2004 and currently teaches at the Manhattan School of Music, Juilliard and Stony Brook University. He has served on the juries of the International Chamber Music Festival in Trapani, Italy, Young Concert Artists International Auditions, and the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition.For more information, click here to visit the artist’s webpage. -
JON KLIBONOFF, PIANO
Pianist Jon Klibonoff has appeared as orchestra soloist, solo recitalist, and chamber musician throughout the U.S. and abroad. His numerous awards include the Silver Medal of the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition, the Affiliate Artists Xerox Pianists Award, the Pro Musicis Foundation Award, first prize at the Kosciuszko Chopin Competition, the Concert Artists Guild Competition, and a Solo Recitalist’s Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. He is also a founding member of Trio Solisti and performed for 11 seasons with this acclaimed ensemble.Mr. Klibonoff has performed as guest artist with numerous chamber groups, including the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and the Shanghai, Miami, and Lark String Quartets. For three seasons he was artist-in-residence for the “On Air” radio series produced by WQXR in New York City. Mr. Klibonoff has been heard in recital at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, the 92nd Street Y, and the National Gallery and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. He has collaborated with many instrumentalists, including flutist Carol Wincenc, clarinetist David Shifrin, and cellist Yo-Yo Ma. A graduate of the Juilliard School and Manhattan School of Music, Mr. Klibonoff is on the faculty of Manhattan School of Music.For more information, click here to visit the artist’s webpage. -
JESSE MILLS, VIOLIN
Since his concerto debut at the prestigious Ravinia Festival in 2004, violinist Jesse Mills has established a unique career, performing music from classical to contemporary, as well as composed and improvised music of his own invention.
Mills earned two Grammy nominations for his work on several discs of Arnold Schoenberg’s music, released by NAXOS. He can also be heard on the Bridge, Koch, Centaur, Tzadik, Max Jazz and Verve labels for various compositions of Webern, Schoenberg, Zorn, Wuorinen etc. As a composer and arranger, Mills has been commissioned by Columbia University’s Miller Theater and the Chamber Music Northwest Festival in Portland, OR.
He is co-founder of the prize winning Duo Prism, and of the Horszowski Trio. Mills is also co-artistic director of the Alpenglow Chamber Music Festival in Silverthorne, CO. In 2010 the Third Street Music School Settlement in NYC honored him with the ‘Rising Star Award’ for musical achievement. He studied with Dorothy DeLay, Robert Mann, and Itzhak Perlman at the Juilliard School.