MCCE Presents World Premiere of SONIC REAL ESTATE by Andrew Rosciszewski, 4/20

Musical Chairs Chamber Ensemble, Inc. (MCCE) presents a commissioned world premiere by MCCE’s 2011-12 composer-in-residence Andrew Rosciszewski and works by MCCE’s Composer Search Finalist 2011 Enrico Arcaro, Franz Joseph Haydn and Alec Wilder on Friday, April 20, 2012 at 8pm. The evening features MCCE members Tamara Keshecki (flute), Clarice Jensen (cello), Sandra Pace (piano & organ), Vincent Livolsi (percussion), Andrew Rosciszewski (electric bass) and a guest oboist.

The performance will take place at Holy Child Church, located at 4747 Amboy Road, Staten Island, NY, this Friday, April 20 at 8 p.m. There will be a pre-concert talk at 7 with Andrew Rosciszewski and Enrico Arcaro. The concert will be livestreamed from www.mcensemble.org via Justin.TV. Tickets are $15; $5 for students (22 and under with ID). For further information, please call 718-907-3488, email info@mcensemble.org or visit www.mcensemble.org.

On the Program:

Sonic Real Estate by Andrew Rosciszewski, MCCE 2011-12 Composer-in-Residence (commissioned world premiere)

Transient Tide by Enrico Arcaro, MCCE 2011 Composer Search Finalist

Concerto in F Major for Organ, 2 violins and bass (Hob XVIII:7) by Franz Joseph Haydn

Flute & Bongos #1 & #2 by Alec Wilder

Andrew Rosciszewski, composer-in-residence, and bassist, is known for his genre-bending compositions that fuse classical with rock in a colorful, eclectic style that reflects his passion and diversity of a wide musical palette. Rosciszewski’s music has been performed by the Vermont Philharmonic, under the baton of Music Director Lou Kosma (MET Opera Orchestra), Evening Rhapsody Wind Trio with the commission of “Fantastic Adventure” as well as Musical Chairs Chamber Ensemble, Inc. (MCCE) with whom he has built a long standing relationship. His music has been performed at numerous venues including the Barre Opera House, New York University, Staten Island Museum, Arlene’s Grocery, The Bitter End, New Jersey City University and the Philharmonia Orchestra (London) via webstream, amongst others. Rosciszewski is a member of ASCAP and holds a BM from New Jersey City University where he studied composition with Dr. Stelio Dubbiosi.

Enrico Arcaro’s musical ventures began in the 1990’s hardcore scene in Staten Island, NY. After years composing in his bands, and performing as a sequencer-wielding, electro-acoustic solo artist, he began his music training in 2003, and was composing by 2006. Heavily influenced by the epics of early Metallica, Radiohead and Indie bands such as Sunny Day Real Estate, Mineral, Rollins Band, Lincoln, Shelter, and Quicksand, he has fused these influences with those gained throughout his academic journey, including Beethoven, Bach, Shostakovich, Chopin, and Debussy. Enrico’s music is most characterized by its odd meters, rhythmic motives, extended harmonies, Indie rock emotionalism, ostinatos, rawness, and atmospheric grooves. His compositional goals include: Intensity and sincerity, upholding a communicative narrative, and balancing the dichotomous elements of sweetness and brutality.

Enrico obtained his Bachelors of Science in Music from CUNY College of Staten Island, studying guitar, piano, and composition. He graduated with honors, receiving the Ted McIrvine Memorial Award for Academic Excellence, and the CSI Foundation Prize for Outstanding Music by Students. Enrico went on to obtain his Master of Music in Music Theory & Composition at NYU Steinhardt. While studying composition with Justin Dello Joio, he was awarded a string quartet residency, and was named winner of NYU’s Takemitsu Project composition contest for his work Fifth Dimension. Enrico has received multiple grants from COAHSI, including an Original Work Grant in 2010 for Impressions of the Human Condition, as well as an Excellence in Art Grant in 2011.

Enrico is currently an adjunct professor at CUNY College of Staten Island, director of instrumental ensemble Audiometry, instructor at Rustic Music and the Staten Island Conservatory, as well as a private instructor of guitar, composition, piano and music theory. As a teacher, Enrico aims to relay the wisdom gained from his diverse musical experiences. Through cultivating technique, theoretical understanding, individual inspirations, and nurturing each student’s unique musical voice, he strives to instill awareness of music’s communicative power, urging his students to use their musicianship as a vehicle of self-expression.

Tamara Keshecki, flutist, founded the award-winning Musical Chairs Chamber Ensemble, Inc (MCCE) in 2004. As MCCE’s Artistic Director she has led the ensemble to receive awards from the National Endowment for the Arts (2010); Chamber Music America (2009); and “Best Classical Music Act” (2007 AWE Reader’s Poll.) Ms. Keshecki has performed as a featured soloist for numerous series and festivals including Solar One Music Festival, New Jersey Pops, Messiah Festival of the Arts and the Holy Child Concert Series. She holds a Master of Music degree in flute performance from New jersey City University and a Bachelor of Music from New York University.

Cellist Clarice Jensen completed her bachelor's and master's degrees at The Juilliard School, as a student of Joel Krosnick. She began studying cello at the age of three and piano when she was five in her hometown of Independence, Missouri. While firmly rooted in classical performance, Ms. Jensen is also an enthusiastic advocate for the performance of new music. She is the artistic director of ACME, the American Contemporary Music Ensemble, a group dedicated to the outstanding performance of contemporary classical music.

In addition to her engagements with ACME, Ms. Jensen is a member of yMusic, and has performed with the New Juilliard Ensemble, Continuum, the Argento New Music Project, Axiom, the International Music Ensemble, the Avian Orchestra, Columbia Composers, and the Wordless Music Orchestra, among others. As a soloist and chamber musician, she has performed in all manner of venues in New York, from Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium and Zankel Hall, The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Alice Tully Hall, to Joe’s Pub, the Brooklyn Lyceum, the Tenri Cultural Center, and the Whitney and Guggenheim Museums. Skilled at improvising and creating original string arrangements, Ms. Jensen has performed with pop and rock musicians including The National, Grizzly Bear, Silversun Pickups, Teddy Thompson, !!!, Owen Pallett, My Brightest Diamond (Shara Worden), Max Richter, Stars of the Lid, DUstin O'Halloran, Shudder to Think, Jóhann Jóhannsson and Max Richter live in concert as well as on MTV Unplugged, the Oxygen Network, The Late Show with David Letterman, and Late Night with Conan O'Brien. She has recorded with the Arcade Fire, Ratatat, Grizzly Bear, Hole, Tyondai Braxton of Battles, The National, Doveman, Jónsi, !!!, Owen Pallett, electronica duo Matmos, and can also be heard on Nico Muhly's Speaks Volumes album. Past roles include production coordinator and assistant to the recording artist Björk.

Sandra M. Pace, Harpsichord/Piano/Organ, is the associate music director at the Church of the Holy Child on Staten Island and teaches organ and piano privately. She has been a rehearsal pianist for The Child Never Sleeps Productions since 2002. She specializes in late Renaissance/early Baroque keyboard music of the Iberian Peninsula. She has held positions as associate organist, rehearsal accompanist and choir director at several churches on Staten Island and in Boston. Sandra received her M.L.S from Pratt Institute where her concentration was in cultural informatics. She received an M.M. in organ performance with an emphasis in music history from the Boston Conservatory of Music where she studied with James David Christie. While living in Boston, she was an adjunct faculty member of the music department at Boston College where she was also the research assistant to the department chair. At Boston College, she also managed three concert series as the concert coordinator. She received a B.A. from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA; where she was the Holy Cross Organ Scholar. Sandra was the organ curator at Mechanics Hall in Worcester, MA where she was responsible for the maintenance of a historic pipe organ.

Vince Livolsi, percussion, hits things - drums to be precise. Sometimes he hits them loud sometimes he hits them soft. But mostly he hits them out of love and money.

Musical Chairs Chamber Ensemble, Inc. is a consortium of primarily young, high-caliber musicians dedicated to the craft of chamber music. With wide-ranging presentations of both classical and contemporary chamber music, combined with consummate artistry, we believe in serving two goals - entertaining audiences and exposing them to the valuable literature that is seldom heard elsewhere. Musical Chairs Chamber Ensemble, Inc. represents the next generation of emerging artists who are reshaping all that you thought you knew about classical music.

MCCE has implemented the creation of multiple commissions and premieres including works by featured composers: Laura Kaminsky, Andrew Sterman, Dr. Mathew Fuerst, Mick Rossi, Octavio Vazquez, Sanchie Bobrow and Andrew Rosciszewski.

MCCE members include Tamara Keshecki – flute, Clarice Jensen – cello, Maria Antonia Garcia – piano, Joseph Kubera – piano, Wen-Yi Lo – piano, J. Brunka – bassist, Ann Cecil-Sterman – flute, Anthony Turner – baritone, Sandra Pace – organ, Elizabeth McCullough – soprano, Lucille Corwin – viola, and Amanda Romano – harp.

Photo credit: Anthony Saint James