Composers Now to Welcome Rock Composers Joe Deninzon, Gene Pritsker, Mazz Swiff, 2/25

Composers Now presents Joe Deninzon & Stratospheerius and friends MazzMuse and Sound Liberation at the Shrine on February 25.

The Shrine is at 2271 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd., in New York City.

The show starts at 8 PM.

This is a 21 and over venue.

Admission is free.

The website is www.shrinenyc.com.

Stratospheerius features Joe on electric violin and lead vocals, French guitarist Aurelien Budynek (Cindy Blackman, Vernon Reid), bassist Jamie Bishop (The Syn, Francis Dunnery), and drummer Lucianna Padmore, praised by Modern Drummer Magazine for her "Deep grooves and serious fusion chops."

The group was a winner in the John Lennon Songwriting Competition, won the Online People's Choice Awards in the Cornucopia Festival, and was named "Best Jam Band" in Musician's Atlas Independent Music Awards.

Joe Deninzon has been hailed by critics as "The Jimi Hendrix of the Violin," because of his innovative style on acoustic and electric seven-string violin. In an article "Seven Reasons to to See Joe Deninzon," in Cleveland.com, Peter Chakarian states that Joe's both improvisational in performance and "in where his career has taken him." A musician who transcends many genres, Joe has worked with Bruce Springsteen, Sheryl Crow, Les Paul, Phoebe Snow, Aretha Franklin, and Ritchie Blackmore, and performed for President Clinton. He is heard on over 100 recordings and jingles as a violinist and string arranger.

Mel Bay books has published Joe's book/CD/DVD "PLUGGING IN: A Guide To Gear and New Techniques for the 21st Century Violinist." In 2015 Joe debuted "Dream Diary: Concerto for Seven-String Electric Violin and Orchestra" with the Muncie Symphony Orchestra. World renown violinist Rachel Barton Pine debuted Joe's composition "The Electric Lake of Soul" at Interlochen Music Festival. Joe is a 14-time BMI Jazz Composer's grant recipient and winner of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest.

He has taught rock violin at Mark O'Connor's String Camp and teaches at Mark Wood's Rock Orchestra Camp, and has made repeated appearances performing with harmonica legend Robert Bonfiglio at the Grand Canyon Music Festival, where Joe co-founded the Grand Canyon School of Rock in 2006, an annual program for local high school students.

Sound Liberation features composer/guitarist Gene Pritsker, who has written over 500 compositions for a wide range of ensembles. His Sound Liberation combines classical jazz, hip hop, and many other genres.

MazzMuse features violinist/singer Mazz Swift, who combines classical, folk, rock, jazz, electronic music, and free improv to create a unique tapestry.

The Composers Now Festival celebrates living composers, the diversity of their voices and the significance of their musical contributions to our society. During the month of February, the Festival brings together dozens of performances presented by venues, ensembles, orchestras, opera companies, dance companies and many other innovative events throughout New York City. Composers Now is a project partner of The Fund for the City of New York. We gratefully acknowledge the support of the ASCAP Foundation, the BMI Foundation, the Cheswatyr Foundation and the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation. For more info, please visit www.composersnow.org.