Composers Now - Dialogues No. 8

Thursday, October 28, 2021, 8 pm

Marc Scorca Hall of the National Opera Center

Dialogues is hosted by Composers Now Founder/Artistic Director . On the 28th, she welcomes three dynamic and virtuosic artists, , and to join her in-person as Composers Now continues its on-stage return with a live audience in Marc Scorca Hall at the National Opera Center.

Proof of at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine and photo ID is required to enter the Center. Masks covering the nose and mouth are recommended for the safety of all. Read more below. The event will also be livestreamed for those who prefer to attend from the comfort of their own homes.

To read about the Dialogues initiative and past events in the series: https://www.composersnow.org/cn/programs/dialogues/

Two-time Latin Grammy nominee guitarist, educator, and composer João Luiz began to play the popular music of his native Brazil professionally during his childhood and was later trained in classical guitar by his mentor Henrique Pinto. Winner of the 2006 Concert Artists Guild Competition as a member of the critically acclaimed Brasil Guitar Duo, João has performed extensively in the United States, Asia, Europe and Latin America. His versatility led him to be chosen to collaborate with Yo-Yo Ma and Carlos Prieto on a project to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Cuban composer Leo Brouwer in a landmark concert in Cuba in 2014.

As a performer and composer, João is equally at home with classical, Brazilian and world music; his solo guitar, guitar ensemble and chamber music repertoire covers all the main works in the guitar literature from Dowland to Berio and Brazilian rhythms from Choro to Baião. For five years João also performed and recorded with the classical guitar quartet Quaternaglia, one of Brazil’s most important chamber music ensembles. Musicians such as Sérgio Abreu, Paulo Martelli, Fábio Zanon and Alice Artzt have also been very important in his development as a guitar player.

His arrangements and compositions have been recorded and played by Marina Piccinini, Fábio Zanon, Paulo Martelli, Quaternaglia, Olson/De Cari Duo, Paquito D’Rivera, Clarice Assad, Christina Jennings, Bridget Kibbey, Sybarite 5, The Newman & Oltman guitar duo, Aquarelle Guitar Quartet, and the New York City Classical Guitar Society Orchestra. João has recorded more than fifteen CDs playing solo, duo, trio and in a quartet, most of which have featured his arrangements of classical or Brazilian works.

The music of an award-winning composer, Polina Nazaykinskaya, a native of Togliatti, Russia, has become a staple of orchestral, chamber and solo repertory in the United States, Russia, and Europe. Her first symphonic poem “Winter Bells” is in high demand every season by orchestras such as The Minnesota Orchestra and The Russian National Orchestra among others. Her latest symphonic poem “Fenix”, commissioned by The Albany Symphony is programmed for multiple performances in the 2021-2022 concert season. This season Polina`s music will be performed by The Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra, The Salina Symphony, The Florida Orchestra, Orchestra of the Southern Finger Lakes, The Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra and The Portland Youth Philharmonic. In October 2021 Polina`s recent ballet "Reverse Perspective" will be performed at the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow and the Jaani Kirik in Saint-Petersburg. In January 2022 the San-Francisco ballet will be premiering a new piece based on Polina`s composition “The Rising”, choreographed by Yuri Possokhov. In Spring 2022 MorDance will be premiering Polina`s new ballet “Encounters” at Symphony Space in New York City.

Over the past decade, Polina formed a creative alliance with an award-winning pianist and librettist Konstantin Soukhovetski, with whom they have premiered many works of diverse genres, from solo piano to ballets. Currently, they are working on an opera, commissioned by Opera Mississippi to commemorate the company’s 75th anniversary and to be premiered in 2023.

Polina is an Adjunct Lecturer of Composition at Brooklyn College Conservatory and a Teaching Artist at the Educational Center for the Arts in New Haven.

Korean-American composer, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist Bora Yoon is an interdisciplinary artist who conjures audiovisual soundscapes using digital devices, voice and found objects and instruments from a variety of cultures and historical centuries – to formulate an audiovisual storytelling through music, movement and sound.

As a composer/performer, she created and performed in 2-person opera Sunken Cathedral (produced by Beth Morrison Projects and HERE Art Center, PROTOTYPE Festival) with Korean traditional dance and drumming artist Vong Pak; and collaborates with data artist R. Luke DuBois (bitforms Gallery) in continually evolving explorations of technology and art. Forthcoming segments include new interactive gesture performance integrating Mi.Mu glove controllers, with gesture, voice, and hybrid new media performance.

Classically trained and steeped in a first love of choral music, Yoon is fascinated by the intersection of space and sound, maps, human Venn diagrams, handsome sounding kitchenware, sonorities, and the pulleys and strings that hold everything together. In all endeavors, she seeks to foster innovation of form in the arts, and its larger resonance in society.

Upcoming projects include new works for 23-year commissioning series DENSITY 2036 by MacArthur genius and flutist Claire Chase, solo for percussionist Steve Schick, hybrid Korean percussion solo for Ji Hye Jung, So Percussion, and multi-year wavefield synthesis residency at EMPAC - Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

As of September 1, in accordance with New York City's new executive order regarding vaccination regulations for performance venues, the National Opera Center is requiring proof of one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and matching identification for all guests 12 years or older who seek entry to the facility. https://www.operaamerica.org/national-opera-center/rooms/marc-a-scorca-hall/

Composers Now empowers all living composers, celebrates the diversity of their voices and honors the significance of their artistic contributions to the cultural fabric of society. Founder and artistic director Tania León leads the organization since 2010. Composers Now features a broad spectrum of performances in concert halls, jazz mobiles, opera stages, experimental spaces, conservatories, museums and other musical venues. For more information, please visit www.composersnow.org

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