May 10, 2009
Duo to perform music of all genres at JSO’s chamber concert
The final concert in the Jackson Symphony Orchestra’s 2008-2009 Chamber Music Series promises to be an unusual musical experience. At a typical chamber concert, it’s rare to hear a piece that was made famous by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. It’s even rarer to find a contemporary “mash-up” on the program that incorporates James Bond Themes with one of David Bowie’s popular heavy-metal releases of the 1970s, The Man Who Sold the World.
You might expect the performers of such unconventional music would be a little zany – and maybe they are – but the two musicians performing for the JSO on May 10 at 3 p.m. (Mother’s Day) are accomplished college music professors replete with advanced degrees and honors from around the world.
This concert will feature Brad Richter on guitar and Viktor Uzur on cello, performing as the Richter Uzur Duo. Their program, which has an international flavor, includes original compositions such as Balkanika and Facing East Circles, plus their own arrangement of Hungarian Béla Bartók’s Six Romanian Folk Songs and Spanish composer Manuel de Falla’s Nana.
Brad Richter, guitar and Viktor Uzur, cello
Richter and Uzur will perform three “mash-ups” – sometimes called “sound collages” or “remixes” – in which a new composition is created by combining the rhythm and vocal tracks of more than one song. Besides the work using David Bowie and James Bond themes, Richter and Uzur will present an arrangement of the often-recorded, exotic Misirlou (The Egyptian) combined with Flight of the Bumblebee, by Russian composer Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov. The third “mash-up” on the program is a blending of Superstition, Leyenda and Jungle Boogie using themes from Stevie Wonder, Isaac Albeniz, and Kool and the Gang.
Richter and Uzur will conclude the program with Led Zeppelin’s Kashmir, a song that the band members consider to be their best musical achievement, and many critics agree. It was conceived while they were driving through the Sahara Desert in a remote area of Morocco (although the title Kashmir comes from a region of India). This piece includes distinctive sounds reminiscent of classical Moroccan, Indian and Middle Eastern music.
The Richter Uzur Duo is described as “artists who have pooled their love for music of all genres to satisfy every musical whim while simultaneously leaving an audience to marvel at their individual virtuosic prowess. From Led Zeppelin to Bartók ... from the Beatles to Rimsky-Korsakov ... from Gershwin to their own ground-breaking compositions ... the music sashays all over the planet and back again, satisfying audiences all the while.”
ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES
Richter, a native of Oklahoma, has a master’s degree from the Royal College of Music in London and now teaches at the University of Arizona. He serves as artistic director of Lead Guitar, a charity he co-founded in 2006 that establishes school guitar programs for at-risk youth. Richter has performed throughout North America and Europe as a soloist, in duos with artists such as Grammy-winner David Finckel of the Emerson String Quartet and in numerous national broadcasts in the United States, Great Britain and Mexico. Recent festival appearances have included The Aspen Music Festival, The London International Guitar Festival, Festival Dr. Alfonso Ortiz Tirado (Mexico) and the Walnut Valley Festival, where he won the National Finger-picking Championship. In addition to his collections of concert music for solo guitar (published by Mel Bay and GSP), Richter is an avid composer of chamber music. He is a winner of the International Composer’s Guild Competition. He wrote and performed a score for the Emmy award-winning PBS television series The Desert Speaks.
Uzur was described in Fanfare magazine as “a phenomenal cellist in a world currently replete with outstanding cellists.” He was born in Yugoslavia, attended the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow, and served as principal cellist and soloist at the prestigious ARCO Moscow Chamber Orchestra from 1992-1999. Uzur is currently cello professor at Weber State University in Utah. He received his bachelor and master’s degrees in cello performance and a soloist diploma from the Tchaikovsky Conservatory and earned a doctorate from Michigan State University. Uzur is the founder and director of the Bonneville Chamber Music Festival. He has performed in concerts throughout the world and has earned an impressive number of awards.
TICKET INFORMATION
Consumers Energy is sponsoring the event, which begins at 3 p.m. May 10 at the Peter A. Weatherwax Hall, Jackson Symphony Orchestra Building, 215 West Michigan Ave., Jackson. Admission is $10 at the door. For more information, please call 517-782-3221 or www.JacksonSymphony.org.
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