Bloomingdale School Of Music 2022/23 Faculty Concert Series Birthday Celebration - THE MUSIC OF MICHAEL COCHRANE

Bloomingdale School of Music announces its 2022/23 Faculty Concert Series at the David Greer Concert Hall, 323 West 108th Street, NYC.

The upcoming season will feature rarely heard classical and jazz music for various instruments and voices performed by Bloomingdale's outstanding faculty and guest artists. Concerts will be presented in Bloomingdale's state-of-the-art concert hall and will spotlight music from around the world including Italy, Puerto Rico, Hungary, Russia, and our very own New York City.

The series continues with The Music Of Michael Cochrane on Friday, November 4, 2022 at 7pm, presented both in-person and on livestream, as part of Bloomingdale's Birthday Celebration!

For over 20 years Bloomingdale has presented its faculty, as well as guest artists, in concerts including classical music, jazz, and world music. Bloomingdale's Free Faculty Concert Series has established itself a vital part of the musical life of the Upper West Side, taking place most Fridays at 7pm in Bloomingdale's David Greer Concert Hall. These events are free and open to the public. Visit bsmny.org/events/ for more information and to RSVP.

The Music Of Michael Cochrane

Friday, November 4, 2022 at 7pm

bsmny.org/event/the-music-of-michael-cochrane

A program of original jazz compositions by Michael Cochrane that were recorded in 2022 at the Rudy Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. Michael will perform this special concert as part of the Bloomingdale Birthday Celebration and will be joined by his quartet as well as two BSM jazz colleagues.

Eli Asher, trumpet

Brandon Vazquez, trumpet

Michael Cochrane, piano

Joe Ford, alto sax

Calvin Hill, bass

Steve Johns, drums

Program

Music by Michael Cochrane

No Stone Left Unturned

Listen

Blizzard 2005

Colors

Starry Night

With The Creators' Grace

The upcoming concerts in the series include:

Music Inspiring Music

Friday, November 18, 2022 at 7pm

A program of piano works that are inspired by other musical compositions. George Crumb's chimeric celebration of Thelonious Monk's 'Round Midnight and Leo Smit's take on dances from Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story will be featured.

String Quartet Gems

Friday, December 2, 2022 at 7pm

This concert features two hidden gems for string quartet, the Quartet in G Major by Florence Price and the Lyric Quartet by William Grant Still. Paired with these works will be Claude Debussy's String Quartet, considered a cornerstone of the quartet repertoire.

Virtuosic Violin-Piano Collaboration: Two Sonatas and a Ballet

Friday, December 16, 2022 at 7pm

This concert features two Sonatas in which the violin and piano converse about many subjects and a ballet transcription in which both instruments give lively musical inspiration for storied dancing. Works will include Bach's Sonata in B minor, Beethoven's Sonata No. 8 for Piano and Violin and Stravinsky's Suite Italienne.

Internet Intermezzi II: Chamber Improv Rebooted

Friday, February 10, 2023 at 7pm

The events of the past two years have accelerated the development of remote collaboration technology. Zach Lapidus and Eli Asher will be joined by contemporary classical music specialist and improvisor Carrie Frey in a live concert bringing these innovations into the concert hall in an engaging set of interactive performances.

A Tribute Concert to Leontyne Price

Friday, February 17, 2023 at 7pm

Soprano Cheryl Warfield and pianist Olga Gurevich present a musical program of arias and spirituals with historical narrative about the life and career of legendary singer Leontyne Price, the first Black soprano to sing a lead role at the Metropolitan Opera House

New Beginnings

Friday, March 3, 2023 at 7pm

The music in this concert explores, through imagery and metaphor, the way universal themes of nature, inventiveness and past experience of all kinds create new beginnings.

Celebrating Roberto Sierra

Friday, March 17, 2023 at 7pm

Roberto Sierra (b.1953) was born in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico and is one of the most important composers of our time. This program features recent works for solo piano that explore the colorful and virtuosic range of the instrument.

The New Latin American Guitar

Friday, March 31, 2023 at 7pm

This program celebrates the diversity of Latin American guitar music from the 20th and 21st centuries, exploring connections composers have made with the rich variety of cultures and musical styles.

Music for Piano & Guitar: Bach, Carulli, and Giuliani

Friday, April 21, 2023 at 7pm

This program will feature Trio Sonatas by J.S. Bach arranged for piano and guitar by José Maldonado as well as early 19th century works by Mauro Giuliani and Ferdinando Carulli.

Kaleidoscope of Moods

Friday, May 5, 2023 at 7pm

Violist Aundrey Mitchell joins faculty pianist Judith Olson in a program of evocative character pieces by Robert Schumann, Rebecca Clarke, Nino Rota, and Astor Piazzolla.

Into the Future! A Modern Jazz Odyssey of Woodwind Music

Friday, May 19, 2023 at 7pm

Saxophonist Daniel Bennett presents a concert of Modern Jazz for all ages including music by Daniel Bennett, Lennon and McCartney, Gustav Holst, Harold Arlen and Joni Mitchell.

The Piano Music of Bartok

Thursday, June 2, 2023 at 7pm

Judith Olson and her students perform solos and duets by 20th century Hungarian composer Béla Bartók, whose 400-plus works for piano include two landmark educational collections: For Children and Mikrokosmos. The centerpiece of the concert, Musiques nocturnes, is an impressionistic and magical evocation of a Hungarian landscape at night.

Masks are required for everyone when entering performance and event spaces in the BSM building.

About the Artists

Michael Cochrane, pianist, composer, arranger, and instructor has performed and/or recorded with: Sonny Fortune, Hannibal, Jack Walrath, Eddie Gomez, Tom Harrell, Valery Ponomorev, Paul Nash, John Clark, Clark Terry, Nancy Monroe, Chip White, Michael Brecker, Chico Freeman, Galen Abdur Razzaq, The Spirit Of Life Ensemble, Ted Curson, Oliver Lake, Bradford Hayes and many more. Mr. Cochrane has performed in colleges, clubs, and concert halls throughout the United States, including the Blue Note, Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, and Merkin Hall. His touring experience spans over 18 European countries, including Germany, France, Spain, Yugoslavia, Lithuania, Russia, Poland, Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and England. He has also performed in Canada, Japan, Puerto Rico, The Philippines, The Caribbean, and Estonia. Mr. Cochrane currently is a part-time instructor at Princeton University, Rutgers State University (Newark campus), Bloomingdale School of Music and the JCC Thurnauer School of Music. He has also written two instructional music books that are published by Charles Colin. Additionally, he has written an instructional jazz piano exercise book which is published by his own publishing company, Inner Search Music.

Alto and soprano saxophonist Joe Ford also lists composer, arranger and music educator as part of his diverse musical experiences. He has performed with a wide spectrum of genres from small group ensembles to orchestras and big bands. His collaboration with Lines Of Reason has proven to be both rewarding and exciting.

Brandon Vazquez, a native New Yorker, is both a classical and jazz musician. Mr. Vazquez, who began playing the trumpet at age twelve, attended LaGuardia High School of Music and Art; he also studied at the Juilliard School, Bloomingdale School of Music, and at the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College. His primary teachers include Mark Niehaus, Mary Hastings, Michael Phillip Mossman, and Bud Burridge. As a freelance trumpeter, Brandon has performed with a number of jazz and classical ensembles throughout New York City, including Regal Brass, the Hunter Symphony, Ron Carter Jazztet, and Man Bite Dog. Along with his brass quintet Regal Brass, Brandon has performed the National Anthem twice at both Madison Square Garden and at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Brandon holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music from Hunter College. A former instructor at the Grand Street Campus High Schools in Brooklyn, Brandon is currently on the faculty of the Bloomingdale School of Music.

Equally at home in a variety of styles from the traditional to the avant-garde, trumpeter Eli Asher's longest musical relationships have been with the Bjorkestra (rebooted in September 2022 after a 7-year hiatus) and with the Respect Sextet, who the The New York Times called "ambitious music with a smart-alecky affect, ranging broadly from the antic to the deadpan". He has also performed with Bang on a Can's Asphalt Orchestra, Tilt Brass, Darcy James Argue's Secret Society, The Gregory Brothers, Signal Ensemble, Slavic Soul Party!, and Jose, in venues ranging from the Blue Note in New York City, to the Montreal Jazz Festival, to the Teatro Manzoni in Milan. Recently he has been heard with the Eli Asher/Aaron Shragge Duo, Jump of This Bridge, Max Kutner's Trio Generale and High Flavors Quintet, on Austrian radio ORF, and at the Jazzatlier Ulrichsberg (Austria) jazz festival. He is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music and Princeton University.

Calvin Hill, bassist, was born and raised in Bridgeport CT. He started playing music at age ten. He played the trumpet and saxophone in the school band. In high school he switched to the double bass. Encouraged by an older friend, Calvin enrolled at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. There he received a degree in music education and studied bass with William Curtis. Hill was regularly seen in the area's nightclubs and concert halls. He played with many artists including Billy Eckstine, Mel Torme, Mose Allison, Joanne Brackeen, and John Lee Hooker. In 1969, Calvin was asked to join the quartet of the great McCoy Tyner. He moved to NYC and recorded two albums with Tyner's quartet. Calvin has been a member of the groups of Max Roach, Pharoh Sanders, Betty Carter, George Coleman, Junior Mance, Chet Baker, James Moody, and Sonny Fortune. Hill has toured extensively in Europe and Japan, performing in concert venues, films, and radio and tv. Presently, Calvin Hill is playing with his own quartet and with many musicians in the New York area.

For over three decades, drummer Steve Johns has been a major presence on the jazz scene, collaborating with many of the music's most renowned practitioners. Artists from all points on the musical spectrum have consistently sought him out because they know his musicianship, versatility, deep commitment to his craft, and enthusiasm will enrich any performance. Leaders such as Nat Adderley, Stanley Turrentine, Larry Coryell, Randy Brecker, Ronnie Cuber, Jimmy Owens, Dr. Billy Taylor, Benny Carter, and Sonny Fortune appreciated the fact that, no matter what the gig, from the world's greatest concert stages to the smallest clubs, Steve brings the same total commitment, utmost professionalism, and pure joy at making music. He is also a total musician, who continues to expand his musical horizons by studying piano and trumpet.

Founded in 1964, Bloomingdale School of Music is dedicated to the belief that music changes lives and everyone should have access to high-quality music education regardless of economic status, race, religion, ability level, or gender. Bloomingdale is a music-driven community center where all are welcome to join and learn about music from top faculty. We are dedicated to our mission - to make music education accessible to all who want to learn - and remain focused on supporting this mission through our values. www.bsmny.org