Sybarite5 To Honor James E. Rocco At 4th Annual Backers Ball

Acclaimed string quintet Sybarite5 will honor Chamber Music America board member, and longtime supporter of innovative chamber music projects, James E. Rocco, at their 4th Annual Backers Ball in New York City on Thursday, June 7, 2018, from 7-9 pm. The event is in support of Sybarite5 as it continues its mission to change the perceptions of performance with cutting-edge concerts, dynamic new commissions, and engaging educational outreach.

The evening will includes performances by Sybarite5, with special guest, soprano Camille Zamora ("dramatic and nuanced" - The New York Times); drinks and light hors d'oeuvres; silent auction, and more.

Tickets from $100 available at sybarite5.org/backers-ball (all tickets are tax deductible).

Tickets:

$100 - Rebel Rouser- Admission for one

$250 - Rebel Rouser VIP (Admission for one + early access performance featuring the NYC premiere of composer Jessica Meyer's Slow Burn)

$500 - Radiohead Remixer (VIP Admission for one + early access performance + signed Outliers Album)

$1000 - Tango Trailblazer (VIP ticket with + early access performance + signed Outliers Album + signed Black Bend score page.)

Sybarite5 is 501(c)(3) organization.

About James E. Rocco

James E. Rocco's background includes over 20 years of human resources and compensation consulting experience. He has previously served as a Senior Manager with Ernst & Young's compensation consulting practice in New York City. Prior to joining Ernst & Young, he served as the Director of Compensation for the national office of the American Cancer Society.

He has extensive experience as a leader and expert in the field of executive compensation, including working with executives and board members to develop effective strategies, helping to ensure that compensation is both reasonable and competitive. He has appeared as guest presenter on executive compensation, intermediate sanctions and incentive compensation to a variety of groups including the NYC Bar Association, Lawyers Alliance, NY State Society of CPAS, National Society of Fundraising Executives, CFO Arts Group, Inside NGO, American Society of Association Executives, and New York Society of Association Executives. He has successfully designed a variety of staff compensation programs. His background also includes knowledge and experience of other human resources areas such as employee benefits, employee relations, organizational design and analysis, and employee opinion surveys.

Jim received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Pittsburgh and a Master's Degree in Public Administration from the American University. He holds certification as a Compensation Professional (CCP) from WorldatWork, an educational association of HR practitioners, and memberships in the New York Compensation Association, New York Society of Association Executives and Personnel Association of Nonprofit Organizations. He has also served on various Boards including the New York Society of Association Executives, Westchester Symphony Orchestra and Chamber Music America. He has served as a CMA Board member for 10 years and was an active member of the Finance and Audit Committees for 6 years.

About Sybarite5

"Their rock star status...is well deserved. Their classically honed technique mixed with grit and all out passionate attack transfixes the audience..." That is how The Sarasota Herald Tribune described SYBARITE5, classical music's most dynamic new music group. Comprised of Sami Merdinian and Sarah Whitney, violins; Angela Pickett, viola; Laura Metcalf, cello; and Louis Levitt, bass, SYBARITE5 has taken audiences by storm all across the US, forever changing the perception of chamber music performance.

Highlights of recent seasons have included performances in 43 states and counting, from the Library of Congress and St. Paul's Schubert Club to Anchorage Concert Association and Sun Valley Center for the Arts, as well as concerts in their home of New York City at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, National Sawdust, the Apple Store and the 92nd Street Y. In addition to their own groundbreaking, portable music festival, Forward Festival, SYBARITE5 has appeared at Ravinia, Caramoor Center for the Arts, Wolf Trap Opera, Grand Teton Music Festival, Aspen Music Festival, Walla Walla Chamber Music Festival, Interlochen Center for the Arts, Music in the Mountains, Chautauqua Music Festival, Green Lake Music Festival, Look and Listen Festival and many others. International appearances include Canada's Tuckamore Music Festival, the New Docta International Music Festival in Cordoba, Argentina, and the Osaka Festa in Osaka, Japan.

In 2018 SYBARITE5 will premiere a new version of their most popular touring program Everything in its Right Place with full orchestra. Recently the quintet gave the world premiere of BEATBOX-the very first concerto for string quintet and orchestra-written by acclaimed American composer Dan Visconti.