May 18th SZALON!

1.    Ceshia Ubau, Nicaraguan singer-songwriter presents songs with her guitar that portray stories from Central America, filled with poetry and hope, and inviting the audience to connect with their inner strength, from Costa Rica

2.    Rich Rudin (piano/composer) performs two of his original compositions with Stan Slotter (trumpet & flute) and Bruce Kaminsky (bass), from the Szalon

3.    Mezzo-soprano Maren Montalbano and cellist Thomas Kraines perform contemporary art songs: "Sol and Lune" by Grey Sullivan, "Come" by Galen Coffman, and "To April" by Kraines, from the Szalon

4.    Erinys Quartet (Elizabeth Stewart, violin; Joosep Reimaa, violin; Marija Räisänen, viola; Stergios Theodoridis, cello) performs if each day falls inside each night by Andrea Clearfield, from the Szalon

5.    Qin Qian & Keegan Tawa with Max Feeman perform “Kesi” by Keegan Tawa, from the Szalon

6.    Phyllis Chapell performs 2 recent original songs, from the Szalon

7.    Composer/pianist Amanda Harberg performs her meditative “Prayer” with clarinetist Eric Schultz, followed by her newest work “Oh, Snap!”, from the Szalon

8.    Cark Patrick Bolleia performs 3 movements from Andrew Rudin’s piano suite, “MUSEUM PIECES” (Berceuse, Novelette, Etude), from the Szalon

9.    Midnight on the Water (Tom Krumm, Nathan Bishop, and Daniel Hawkins) will perform a medley of their original compositions and other pieces, from the Szalon

10. Ryan Scalia, drummer, performs to a few of his favorite drumless trio recordings by artists including Roy Hargrove, Diana Krall, and Nat King Cole, from the Szalon

11. Andy Antipin (vocals/guitar) and John Colgan-Davis (harmonica/vocals) perform “Papa’s on the Housetop” by Leroy Carr and “The Bourgeois Blues”, a civil rights classic by Ledbelly, from the Szalon

Ceshia Ubau

Ceshia Ubau is a Nicaraguan singer-songwriter based in Costa Rica, who fuses Central American folk rhythms with contemporary sounds. Through her musical project, she conveys messages aimed at strengthening self-esteem, and with empathy, she seeks to highlight different social realities. She has performed in Central America, Europe, Mexico, Colombia, and Brazil and has collaborated on Human Rights, Migration, and Violence Prevention campaigns on multiple occasions. She has released two albums: Con los Ojos del Alma (2017) and LUZ (2022), which was considered for the 23rd edition of the Latin Grammy Awards in the categories of Album of the Year and Best Singer-Songwriter Album and also awarded in Costa Rica by the Composers and Authors Association ACAM . With her message of love and hope, she delivered the talk The Healing Power of Music at TEDx Llorente Woman in San José. Ceshia is a rapidly rising artist with organic growth and a deep connection with her audience. 

Links: 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ceshiaubau/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ceshiaubau/?locale=es_LA
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/intl-es/artist/79YhNMjlckwXi230Rv3YuV?si=40x7F2m-QZuuS4lOg0n1IA
For Donations: https://paypal.me/ceshiaubau?country.x=CR&locale.x=es_XC

 Videos:

Rich Rudin, Stan Slotter, and Bruce Kaminsky

Pianist Rich Rudin has composed hundreds of works and has performed regularly throughout the Delaware Valley, playing in a wide variety of styles including classical, jazz, pop, folk and rock.  Rich is also the founder and director of the Maplewood Music Studio in two locations: Germantown and Chestnut Hill, offering lessons on virtually all instruments and in all styles of music.

www.MaplewoodMusicStudio.com 
Maplewood Music on Facebook

Stan Slotter has been active on the Philadelphia music scene for many years. Trained as a classical player both on trumpet and on flute, Stan decided early in his career that if he was going to be a professional freelancer and play music for a living, the best way to accomplish this was to try to achieve the greatest possible level of versatility. Throughout the years he has successfully performed many different styles of music on a professional level including Jazz, traditional and modern, Salsa and other Latin forms, Big Band music, Klezmer and Middle eastern styles just to name a few. The unusual flute/trumpet double has also contributed to Stan’s success as a freelancer. Stan has an energetic and heartfelt approach to the trumpet and flute that lends warmth and style to his music.

Bassist Bruce Kaminsky is a working musician, which is another name for a multi-tasking entrepreneur. Besides performing and recording he is on the music faculty of Drexel University and Montgomery County Community College and is the designer and manufacturer of KYDD Basses. 

www.kyddbass.com

Maren Montalbano and Thomas Kraines

A graduate of both New England Conservatory of Music and Tufts University, mezzo Maren Montalbano can be heard on five GRAMMY Award-winning albums: Ochre (2024), Born (2023), Lansing McLoskey’s Zealot Canticles (2019), Gavin Bryars’ The Fifth Century (2018), and John Adams’ On the Transmigration of Souls (2005). Among her 30+ commercial recordings are Douglas Cuomo’s opera Arjuna’s Dilemma, Gavin Bryars’ A Native Hill, and her debut solo album, Sea Tangle: Songs from the North. Her performances have been praised as “wonderful” and “suave and sensuous” by the Philadelphia Inquirer. Ms. Montalbano has been a guest artist with Claire Chase, the Folger Consort, Lyric Fest, Choral Arts Philadelphia, Mendelssohn Chorus of Philadelphia, Network for New Music, Tempesta di Mare, and Piffaro, the Renaissance Band. During the pandemic, she turned to the digital world; she wrote, produced, and premiered a one-woman show called The Bodice Ripper Project as an interactive digital performance at the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, and began recording (in her own closet!) for films and commercial albums. In the 2024-25 season, Ms. Montalbano continues to walk the line between the digital and live worlds with a self-produced single and music video. Ms. Montalbano lives in New Jersey and sings professionally throughout a wide geographic area with Opera Philadelphia, Trio Eos, and The Crossing.

A member of the Daedalus Quartet, cellist Thomas Kraines has forged a multifaceted career, equally comfortable with avant-garde improvisation, new music, and traditional repertoire. He is also an accomplished composer, and his works have been performed and recorded around the world. Kraines has given musical improvisation workshops and performances at universities and schools across the country, and has taught cello and chamber music at the Peabody Conservatory, the Longy School of Music, Yellow Barn, and Princeton University. He currently teaches at the Settlement Music School, and is director of chamber music at the University of Pennsylvania, where he also teaches cello.

Links:

Website: https://marenmontalbano.com
Instagram: https://instagram.com/supermaren
Donations: https://venmo.com/MezzoMaren
Recordings: https://marenmontalbano.bandcamp.com/

Videos:

Erinys Quartet

Elizabeth Stewart, violin | Joosep Reimaa, violin | Marija Räisänen, viola | Stergios Theodoridis, cello

Named for the Erinyes (a.k.a. the Furies) from the Greek tragedy Oresteia by Aeschylus, and with roots in Estonia, Lithuania, Greece, the United States, and Finland, the Erinys Quartet was founded in 2018 at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, where they worked closely with cellist Marko Ylönen. Since the autumn of 2023, they have been the Nina von Maltzahn String Quartet-in-Residence at the Curtis Institute of Music. During the 2024-25 season, the Erinys Quartet performs throughout Europe and the United States, with concerts in Greece, Hungary, Germany, Spain, United Kingdom, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, Florida, Minnesota, Colorado, New Mexico, and California. They have also been featured in festivals and concert series such as the Mimir Chamber Music Festival in Fort Worth, Texas, Festival Groba in Ponteareas, Spain, the inaugural Dover Quartet Workshop at the Curtis Institute, as well as the Professional String Quartet Seminar with the Pacifica Quartet and Atar Arad (Cleveland Quartet) at Indiana University.

Video:

Qin Qian & Keegan Tawa with Max Feeman

Qin Qian holds a BA in erhu performance from Guangxi Arts College, China. She is the author of two books (My Dreams Fly with Music and A Musical Journey in America) , performer and composer of a CD(A Romantic Musical Journey) and soloist in a concert with the Guangxi Symphony Orchestra in Nanning, China. After moving to the United States, Qin Qian spread traditional Chinese music, partnering with many musicians from the US, UK and Australia. Along with music for the erhu, her concerts have featured other Chinese instruments and present a variety of musical styles, including classical, jazz, opera and pop. She is a sought-after teacher whose students have won many international awards. Qin Qian’s motto is: “There are no borders in music.”

https://qinqianerhu.com/

Keegan Tawa is a Saxophonist, Duduk player, composer, and engineer from Philadelphia. His unique fusion of engineering and composition gives his music a characteristically futuristic sound. Tawa is a super collaborator, seeking constantly to intersect the skills, backgrounds, and cultures of artists from around the world. His background in Jazz, vocation as an engineer, and passion for storytelling give him a rare and unmistakable approach to composition and sound. Tawa's newest record, "Tessellation," is a global collaboration of 25 artists from Turkey, Iran, Tunisia, Israel, India, China, and the United States. Tessellation is a Jazz album deeply inspired by Pan-Arabic and Persian approaches to melody, featuring a wide array of traditional instrumentation deployed alongside modern, cutting-edge electronics.

Instagram: @keegantawa

Max Feeman is a guitarist, saz player, and driving force behind Philly eastern progressive psych trio, Qway. Max has collaborated with hip hop artists, ambient soundscape soundtracks, and has led multiple bands in the Philadelphia area and continues to collaborate with artists utilizing his unique approach to guitar and saz.

@maxfeemanmusic

Videos:

Phyllis Chapell

Phyllis Chapell—vocalist/guitarist—hailing from Philadelphia, PA, has spent her life developing a universal musical style, singing “world songs”.  She performs a unique mix of jazz, pop, folk, and international music, including songs in up to 13 languages from the U.S., Brazil, Latin America, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.  She has performed in concert throughout the U.S., Brazil, Latin America, and Europe, and has released multiple CDs, as a solo artist, and with her internationally known world jazz ensemble, Phyllis Chapell & SIORA.  In addition, she performs with many other musicians/ensembles throughout the MidAtlantic region.  She has produced multiple videos, which you can see and listen to at www.phyllischapell.com.  Phyllis Chapell has been named as one of the top 500 jazz vocalists of all time by Scott Yanow (Down Beat, Jazz Times and AllMusicGuide).  She has also won song competitions for her original music; and was chosen to be one of Indie-Music’s Top 25.

http://www.phyllischapell.com
https://www.facebook.com/PhyllisChapell

Videos:

Amanda Harberg and Eric Schultz

Composer/pianist/educator Amanda Harberg’s music has been presented at major venues including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Verizon Hall, and Symphony Center. “She invigorates the brain and touches the soul,” says composer John Corigliano. “I love her work.” Dr. Harberg is an Associate Professor at Berklee College of Music, and in summers she is on the composition faculty at the Interlochen Arts Camp. In 2021, Maestro Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducted the premiere of her Piccolo Concerto with soloist Erica Peel and the Philadelphia Orchestra, calling it “an extraordinary addition to the limited repertoire.” Her music is published by the Theodore Presser, and has been recognized by a Fulbright Hays Fellowship, Juilliard’s Peter Mennin Prize, two NJCA  Fellowships, a NYSCA fellowship, a MacDowell Colony summer residency, and nine NFA Newly Published Music awards. Her woodwind concerti have been performed on Gala Concerts at ClarinetFest® and the NFA Convention. Her Concerto for Viola and Orchestra was recorded on Naxos to critical acclaim, and has been played all over the world. Harberg’s recital music is required repertoire for many competitions and her music is bestselling in the woodwind world, and the website of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra has called her “a hero to the flute and piccolo community.” Also active as a pianist, Harberg has a duo with Erica Peel (piccoloist/flutist with the Philadelphia Orchestra), clarinetist Eric Schultz, and has recent performances with principles of major orchestras. Dr. Harberg is a frequent guest at schools and universities where she enjoys working with young composers and performers.

www.amandaharberg.com/
https://youtube.com/@amandaharberg9450?si=LmjY5JmbA2nRG17D

Eric Schultz is an American clarinetist equally in demand as a soloist, chamber musician, and interpreter of new music. He maintains an active concerto schedule performing with orchestras across the world and can be seen and heard from Netflix to National Public Radio. Hailed a “mastermind” in the Myrtle Beach Herald and a “pathfinder” by iconic American composer Valerie Coleman, Schultz was selected as a quarterfinalist for the 2025 GRAMMY® Music Educator of the Year Award. An uncompromising advocate for the music of our time whose unique voice on the clarinet has inspired many of today’s finest composers, Schultz is known for his liquid, soulful tone quality, five-octave range, and improvisations that span many dialects. Dubbed a “superstar muse” by celebrated composer Amanda Harberg, Schultz has commissioned and/or premiered the music of many. Pulitzer-prize winning composer John Corigliano declared Schultz’s performance of his acclaimed clarinet concerto in New York City “a sensation” (BroadwayWorld), while critic Jeffrey Williams praised his “super-virtuosity” and described the performance as “an adrenaline rush, bursting with drama and relentless momentum” (NYCR). This year, Schultz released his debut solo album POLYGLOT on Navona Records, showcasing a collection of virtuosic new works written for him. @ericschultzclarinet 

www.ericschultz.com
@ericschultzclarinet 

Video:

Carl Patrick Bolleia and Andrew Rudin

With performances and recordings reviewed, featured, and previewed by various press including The New York Times, The New Yorker, Gramophone, New York Classical Review, American Record Guide, Fanfare and more, Carl Patrick Bolleia has performed as pianist, organist, harpsichordist, and conductor throughout Europe, Asia, the Middle East, North America and the Caribbean at venues including Carnegie Hall Stern Auditorium and Weill Recital Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Philharmonie de Paris, Merkin Hall, NJPAC, Bargemusic, le poisson rouge, Spectrum, and more. Hailed in Forbes as a “world-class pianist”, his playing has been regarded by New York Classical Review as a “balance of precision and power…impressive in both technique and commitment to what the music tries to say…” He is dedicated to the music of our time, have given premieres of hundreds of compositions and collaborated with composers of the 20th & 21st Century, including Frederic Rzewski, Tyshawn Sorey, Reena Esmail, Charles Wuorinen, Robert Aldridge, Stephen Hough and countless more. He holds graduate degrees from The Juilliard School, Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University, and The City University of New York. Dr. Bolleia is Assistant Professor of Music, Coordinator of Piano and Director of New Music at William Paterson University and the Director of Sacred Music at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Boonton.

Links:

Instagram: @carlpatrickbolleia
Web: carlpatrickbolleia.com
Facebook: facebook.com/carl.p.bolleia
Email: bolleiac1@gmail.com
Venmo: @carlpatrickb
Paypal: @CPB1210

Andrew Rudin’s reputation was established in the 1960’s through his association with Robert Moog and a series of synthesized compositions, notably his Nonesuch LP, “Tragoedia”.  Throughout the 1970’s many of his compositions were theatrical in nature, involving ballet, modern dance, film, television and incidental music for the stage. His one-act opera “The Innocent” was produced in Philadelphia in 1972 by Tito Capobianco. His music is part of the soundtrack of the film “Fellini; Satyricon”.  He has composed scores for Dance Theatre Workshop, London contemporary Dance Theatre, Jeff Duncan, Murray Louis, Louis Falco and collaborations with Alwin Nikolais. His opera “Three Sisters” (after Chekhov) was completed In the 1980’s.  After his graduation from The University of Pennsylvania, studying with George Rochberg, he joined the faculty of the. Philadelphia Musical Academy remaining there as it became The University of the Arts.  From 1981-1984 he taught in the graduate division of The Jiulliard School. In May of 2018 he was given an award by The American Academy of Arts & Letters.  He lives in Allentown, NJ.

https://www.andrewrudincomposer.com/

Videos:

Midnight on the Water (Tom Krumm, Nathan Bishop, & Dani Hawkins)

If you’ve never heard pop songs layered over Scandinavian fiddle tunes, a viola take a jazz solo, or a cello lay down a fat R&B bassline, you owe it to yourself to see Midnight on the Water (Tom Krumm, Nathan Bishop & Dani Hawkins) as they shift dizzyingly between instruments and styles with virtuosity, ferocity, humor, and style. The ensemble has performed and taught at the Ashokan Center and the annual Folk College and has recorded and performed alongside folk legends Jay Ungar & Molly Mason. They regularly perform around the East Coast, and their first album is slated to come out in 2025.

https://www.midnightonthewater.com/
Venmo: @Daniel-Hawkins-18

 Video:

Ryan Scalia

Ryan Scalia, in his home town of Elmira, NY, began playing gigs as a drummer at a young age. Starting with polka music with his first drum teacher and rock bands with his childhood friends, Ryan then attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA studying with Casey Scheuerell and the late Ralph Peterson. During his time in Boston, Ryan played with The Kuumba Singers of Harvard College, Galen Fraser, Neal Itzler, Mendeleyev, Debo Ray, various studio recordings, and many wedding bands around New England and the country. Now in Philadelphia, Ryan continues to play weddings and various gigs with friends around PA, southern NJ, and NYC.

Songs:
Cardboard Roy Hargrove/Christian McBride/Stephen Scott 
You’re Getting To Be A Habit With Me Diana Krall 
Swinging’ The Blues Nat King Cole Trio 

Instagram: @ryanscalia_

Video:

John Colgan-Davis with Andy Antipin

John Colgan-Davis, harmonica and vocals, started playing the harmonica in local blues and folk clubs back in the late 1960s while he was still a high school student. He played and recorded with Philadelphia singer-guitarist Jesse Graves and played with Bonnie Raitt when she lived in Philadelphia in the early 1970's. Through Bonnie, John got to meet and play with Mississippi Fred McDowell, Arthur Crudup, Buddy Guy,  Skip James, Mississippi John Hurt, and others. He has also jammed with James Cotton, John Hammond, Charlie Musselwhite, John Lee Hooker, Bill Dicey, and Louisiana Red. He has toured the Midwest and recorded two CDs—“Cold and Lonesome on a Train” and “Heroes and Hard Times”—with Tennessee bluesman Sparky Rucker, and played for three years with The John Cadillac Band. A  founding member of The Dukes of Destiny, John also taught Social Studies at Friends Select School in Philadelphia for 29 years and has written articles and supplements for The Philadelphia Inquirer on Blacks in the American West, Black Literature, the History of Black Philadelphia, and other topics. He is also a guest columnist for the Chestnut Hill Local. John lives in the Mt. Airy section of Philadelphia.

http://www.dukesofdestiny.com
Facebook - Dukes of Destiny
http://www.johnnynever.com

Andy Antipin has been a blues and folk cover singer for 55 years having started on piano and clarinet and later guitar at the age of 12, when he started attending a famous Pennsylvania foster home The Milton Hershey School for crazy white boys, where he came under the tutelage of the Music director who made it clear that music was going to be an important part of his life.  He has released 5 full length albums and is best known for his stunning vocals, and last year his single of Pete Seeger's song. “All Mixed Up” was #7 on the folk charts in the month it was released.  He likes to brag that he is Philly's best known aging hippie protest singer.  In addition he is famous as an infrared landscape photographer and has over 300,000 hits on flickr. He recently spent 3 1/2 years in South Africa. 

Videos: