October 30th SZALON Program!

1.     Rachael Elliott, amplified bassoon, and Thomas Kozumplik, percussion & electronics, will perform haunting contemporary classical music influenced by folkloric and electronic musicians, from Andrea’s Salon in Philadelphia

2.     Ellen Mandel (composer & pianist) and Daniel Neer (vocalist & lyricist) will perform songs from HOPPER HAIKU, their collaboration inspired by Edward Hopper’s paintings, from the Salon

3.     Singer Pablo Buniak (Argentina) and pianist Alberto Macedo (Mexico) perform 2 tangos: Naranjo en Flor (Homero y Virgilio Expósito) and Siempre se vuelve a Buenos Aires (Astor Piazzolla) from their home studio in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

4.     Tenor Ryan Glover and pianist Mary Ellen Loose perform Andrea Clearfield's "You Bring Out the Doctor in Me" commissioned for the AIDS Quilt Songbook, from Mary Ellen's home studio in Mesa, Arizona

5.     Aiwen Zhang will perform the mysterious “Memories of Xiaoxiang” (alto saxophone and electronics) by American-Chinese composer Lei Liang, from the Salon

6.     Bassoonist Rick Barrantes Agüero joins pianist Maria Dell’Orefice to perform a spooky Theme and Variations by Balys Dvarionas, from the Salon

7.     Nashirah Chorus performs Psalm 150 by Louis Lewandowski led by Julia Zavadsky, conductor with Soyeon Bin, pianist, from the Salon

8.     Vocalist Sharon Sable and pianist Joe Holt will perform jazz arrangements from their upcoming album, "Once Upon a Summertime, The Music of Blossom Dearie", from the Salon

9.     Valentina Sounds will perform songs for voice and piano in Italian and English, from the Salon

10.  Zach Zaitlin (voice/piano) will perform two spooky pop songs from the Salon

11.  Leerone Hakami and Shay Slusky will perform Etude No.2 for Violin and Piano "Ukraine" by Leonardo Le San from their studio in NYC

Rachael Elliott and Thomas Kozumplik

Bassoonist Rachael Elliott and percussionist Thomas Kozumplik have been frequent collaborators over the past two decades since founding the seminal indie/classical band Clogs, which they started with fellow Yale School of Music grads Padma Newsome and Bryce Dessner. Together they have performed throughout the USA, Canada, UK, Europe, and Australia, and have recorded multiple critically acclaimed albums.

https://www.musicstartsfromsilence.com/index.php/artists

Recordings:
https://clogs.bandcamp.com/
https://musicstartsfromsilence.bandcamp.com/

Videos:

Ellen Mandel and Daniel Neer

Daniel Neer enjoys a uniquely diverse career as a singing actor, librettist and lyricist, with performance credits that include Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center, Chicago Art Institute, and on stage with Royal Opera House Covent Garden (ROH II), New York City Opera, Washington National Opera, American Repertory Theater, Gotham Chamber Opera, and numerous regional companies throughout America. His versatility as a vocalist has led to collaborations with Rebel Baroque Orchestra, Metropolis Ensemble, S.E.M. Ensemble, Mark Morris Dance Group, Center for Contemporary Opera, Mantra Percussion, and Music-Theatre Group, and in two original Broadway productions. Daniel has performed in recitals and festivals including The Phoenix Concerts, The Lotte Lehman Foundation, Guggenheim Museum Works & Process, Aspen, Next Wave, Prototype Festival, White Light (Lincoln Center), New Territories (Glasgow) and Ostrava Days (Czech Republic). As a writer, Daniel is a frequent collaborator of new opera and vocal chamber music, with projects premiering at American Opera Projects, Opera Birmingham, Ensemble Pi, and Experiments in Opera. Daniel studied at The Ohio State University, University of Michigan and the Royal Academy of Music in London, England.

Ellen Mandel, composer, has written many art songs that have been performed in concert at venues including the Tribeca New Music Festival, St Mark’s Church on the Bowery, Klavierhaus, and the Century Center, all in New York City, the Sirena Poetry Festival in Pennsylvania, the In-Series in Washington DC, the Florio Street Concerts in California, the Peterborough Players in New Hampshire, the New Gallery Concert Series in Boston, in Ireland at the Kilkenny Arts Festival, and in concerts in Scotland, England, Italy, and Germany. Ms. Mandel has written music for over eighty plays. Scenie Award: music for Top Girls, Antaeus Theatre, LA. Best Music nominations: for Medea, Charley’s Aunt and Voysey Inheritance. Mandel composed music for Death of a Salesman, Drama Desk best revival nom. Other theaters: Mint, Jean Cocteau Rep, Pearl, Asolo, Arkansas Rep, Tennessee Rep, Peterborough Players and others. Scores for five indie films, and music for dance, cabaret, and on the spot for improv comedy. Dizzy Gillespie called her a “wonderful musician.” New York Times raved “Mandel’s songs are ardent and spiky…refreshingly organic.”

Link for audience support:

https://ellenmandel.com/cds

Pablo Buniak and Alberto Macedo

Pablo Buniak was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. From a very young age he began his studies in music, piano, singing and musical theater. As a solo singer he has participated in various theatrical and musical projects such as Canciones de ida y vuelta, Así pasan los años, Glamour tango and recently Tangos y otras canciones de amor y desamor (Tangos and other songs of love and heartbreak). From 2021 he has been the main singer of the Tango Insurgentes Orchestra, performing in different locations in México. He recorded his first solo album, currently available on all digital platforms. Pablo is involved in various projects that link art and education, forming part of the Instituto Mexicano del Arte al Servicio de la Educación in alliance with the Lincoln Center Institute, NYC. He has a degree in Artistic Education from the Universidad Veracruzana. Recently he became a Professor of Alexander Technique certified by The Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique in London, presenting workshops throughout the country and individual classes in his studio located in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, where he also works as a singing teacher and vocal coach.

Support Pablo through PayPal:

PayPal email: pablobuniak@hotmail.com

Alberto Macedo is a Mexican pianist recently settled in San Miguel de Allende. He began his piano studies at the age of 7. Graduated as a Biochemical Engineer from ITESM, his life changed when he was hired by the then famous beach resort Las Hadas as a resident pianist, running their piano bar for over 7 years. He has worked as a resident pianist in the best hotels in Mexico City and played corporate events in prestigious cultural centers, museums and social clubs of this City. He was distinguished by the Sephardic Jewish Community in Mexico as one of their official musicians in residence. He has been hired by the Presidency of Mexico to liven up official banquets and cocktails at the Presidential Residence and the historic Chapultepec Castle. His vast repertoire of international music of over a thousand songs spans a wide variety of genres. Alberto was part of a cultural exchange with the Fondation Claude Monet that allowed him to play at the Musée Claude Monet, in Giverny, France. He shares his musical knowledge through his own original method Learn Piano Quickly: Technique, Harmony and Ear Training ®, also enjoying his work as a coach for singers.

Website: www.pablobuniak.com

Pablo Buniak YouTube Channel:       https://www.youtube.com/c/PabloBuniak 
Alberto Macedo YouTube Channel:  https://www.youtube.com/user/TopWorldPian

Videos:

Tenor Ryan Glover and pianist Mary Ellen Loose, music by Andrea Clearfield

Ryan Glover is an operatic tenor, a yoga teacher, and a poet. Over the past decade he has performed numerous roles in opera, operetta, musical theatre, and oratorio. In the 2022-23 season, Ryan will make a role debut with Chandler Opera Company as Count Almaviva in The Barber of Seville and will return for his eighth season as a chorister with Arizona Opera and as a staff singer at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Phoenix. From 2015-2017, he created the role of Raphael in Lisa Bielawa's filmed episodic opera Vireo: The Spiritual Biography of a Witch's Accuser (available for streaming: https://www.kcet.org/project/vireo). For the past four years Ryan has been honored to sing for Phoenix AIDS Quilt Songbook.

@ryanjosephglover 

Mary Ellen Loose has been a Collaborative Pianist since she began playing for choirs and soloists in her teens. She studied piano performance at BYU-Provo (Utah) and has been on the music faculty at Chandler-Gilbert Community College (Arizona) since 2004. She serves as the Director of Music Arts and Assistant Organist at Velda Rose Methodist Church. As a Composer and Arranger and member of ASCAP, she has had numerous piano and choral works published. She is an award-winning Music Director of Musical Theatre in Arizona and has taught piano for almost 50 years. Mary Ellen is grateful to meet and work with musicians who are just as beautiful as the music she gets to play for a living.

Creating deep emotive musical languages that build cultural and artistic bridges, the music of Andrea Clearfield is performed widely in the U.S. and abroad. She has written 160+ works for opera, chorus, orchestra, chamber ensemble, dance and multimedia. Recent compositions are inspired by Tibetan music fieldwork that she conducted in the Nepalese Himalaya. Among her works are sixteen cantatas including one for The Philadelphia Orchestra. She has been awarded a Pew Center International Residency Fellowship, a Pew Fellowship in the Arts, two Independence Foundation Fellowships and Fellowships at the Rockefeller's Bellagio Center, American Academy in Rome, Yaddo, MacDowell and Copland House among others. Passionate about creating community around the arts, she is also founder of the Philadelphia Salon featuring contemporary, classical, jazz, electronic, dance and world music since 1986.  More at www.andreaclearfield.com

Two videos of Ryan and Mary Ellen performing French art songs:

Aiwen Zhang

Aiwen Zhang is a forward-thinking artist dedicated to exploring a broad and eclectic repertoire while connecting with her global audience. Aiwen’s work emphasizes collaborative relationships with composers and artists and aims to reimagine the way the audience experiences the saxophone through her multidisciplinary performance. Aiwen was the first person of Chinese descent and the first female to secure a Top Prize at the 5th Jean-Marie Londeix International Saxophone Competition, one of the most notable saxophone competitions in the world. Winning concerto competitions at the University of Michigan, Bowling Green State University, and with the Lima Symphony, Aiwen was also awarded first place in prestigious solo competitions including the Musicians Club of Women Awards Competition, the Prix de Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris, and the Vandoren Emerging Artist Competition. A highly sought-after performer and educator, Aiwen has received invitations to give recitals, lead master classes, and have residencies from musical institutions worldwide. Such performance venues include Lincoln Center (NYC), Kennedy Center (Washington D.C.), Beijing National Centre for the Performing Arts (China), Université Européenne de Saxophone (France), and Prince Mahidol Hall (Thailand). Aiwen holds degrees from the University of Michigan, Paris Conservatory, and the Eastman School of Music.

Links:
https://www.aiwenzhangmusic.com/ 

Instagram: aiwen_z.

YouTube Channel V&A TV

Videos:

Rick Barrantes Agüero and Maria Dell’Orefice

Costa Rican bassoonist Rick Barrantes Aguero is the 1st Prize Winner of the Püchner Competition COFCAM 2015 and a Quarterfinalist at the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition 2021. He has played as a soloist with the New Jersey Chamber Orchestra, GGS Chamber Orchestra, Youth Orchestra of Guatemala, and University of Costa Rica Symphonic Band. Mr. Barrantes is currently the Principal Bassoon of the New Jersey Chamber Orchestra and has appeared as guest principal bassoon with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, and guest bassoonist with the APEX Ensemble, Symphony in C, Toronto Concert Orchestra, Niagara Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra of Costa Rica, and AIMS Festival Orchestra. Mr. Barrantes serves as bassoon teacher and chamber music director at the Community Music Scholars Program at Temple University, bassoon and musicianship teacher at The Music School of Delaware, and is a Teaching Artist at the New Groove Music Studio in Philadelphia. He earned degrees from the National Music Institute of Costa Rica, the Glenn Gould School at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, and Temple University in Philadelphia. He is currently working on his Doctor of Musical Arts at Temple University in bassoon performance and orchestral conducting.

Maria Dell’Orefice, a classical pianist and avid violinist, and has shared the stage with a multitude of performers including Alexander Markov, Francesca DePasquale and Chris Botti. While Maria frequently presents solo and collaborative performances in the Philadelphia area, she has also performed solo piano in Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall after winning the Semper Pro Musica Competition, Elite International Music Competition, and Crescendo International Piano Competition. Maria recently returned from a program in Mondavio, Italy in which she accompanied opera singers in Mozart’s Don Giovanni. As a violinist, she has played as the principal second violinist with the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra and has performed as a member of the Baylor Symphony Orchestra and the Waco Symphony Orchestra. Maria is a recipient of the Association of Church Musicians of Philadelphia Organ Grant, which funds private organ lessons and she is currently the organist at Our Lady of the Assumption Roman Catholic Church in Strafford, PA.

She has studied under Charles Abramovic, Lambert Orkis, Jane Abbott-Kirk, and Sheila Paige and is a student of the Taubman technique. She earned her B.M. in Piano Performance from Baylor University in Waco, TX and an M.M. in both Piano Performance and Collaborative Piano from Temple University in Philadelphia, PA.

linktr.ee/rickbarrantes

mariadellorefice.com

Video:

Nashírah

Nashírah (Hebrew for “we sing”) is an auditioned, community chorale. Singers come from all around the Greater Philadelphia Area — from all walks of life — united by a love of singing and a special desire to share the great beauty and diversity of Jewish musical tradition. Repertoire is selected from the broadest range of compositions by Jewish and non-Jewish composers, inspired by Biblical or contemporary texts and influenced by the melody of many cultures. Nashirah performances strive for the highest standards of musical artistry spanning boundaries of geography and time. For more information or to audition, please check our website: www.nashirah.org

Artistic Director: Julia Zavadsky
Collaborative Pianist and Voice Coach: Soyeon Bin

 Psalm 150 - Louis Lewandowski

“Abi Gezunt” - Abraham Epstein, Arr. by Josh Jacobson, Lyrics - Molly Picon

Translations:

Psalm 150:

Praise God in His sanctuary; 
Praise Him in the firmament of His power. 
Praise Him for His mighty acts; 
Praise Him according to His abundant greatness. 
Praise Him with the blast of the horn;
Praise Him with the psaltery and harp. 
Praise Him with the timbrel and dance;
Praise Him with stringed instruments and the pipe. 
Praise Him with the loud-sounding cymbals; 
Praise Him with the clanging cymbals. 
Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. 
Halleluiah. 

“Abi Gezunt”

 A little bit of sun, a bit of rain

A quiet place to put your head down,

As long as you're well, you can be happy.

A shoe, a sock, a dress with no patches,

In your pocket three or four dollars,

As long as you're well, you can be happy.


The air is free for everyone equally,

The sun shines for everyone, 
poor or rich,

Some joy, some laughter, 
a drink with friends,

As long as you're well, you can be happy.


One person seeks riches, 
one seeks wealth,

One - the whole world.
Another thinks complete joy 
depends only on money.

Let them all seek, 
let them all grovel.

But I myself think - I don't need it because

Happiness stands at my door.

Here is a link to our YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/channel/UCptyB6pFcGSYKDvhOooWiGw

Sharon Sable and pianist Joe Holt

Joe Holt is a luminary pianist and artist who creates a space for all in the audience to join him. His engaging performances are “a reflection and an extension of who he is”. Jazz fans will appreciate Joe, but so will those for whom "jazz" may not be so appealing. Joe will be joined by Wilmington, DE based award winning vocalist, Sharon Sable. With sincere and elegant vocal prowess, Sharon is one of the region’s most beloved interpreters of song. Sharon and Joe will be releasing their new recording, “Once Upon a Summertime”, that will honor the unique voice, extraordinary piano accompaniment and remarkable career of Blossom Dearie, a jazz icon. “Sharon and Joe Holt sound exquisite.” - Scott Yanow 

LINKS :

www.sharonsablemusic.com / https://sharonsablemusic.com/the-blossom-dearie-project

www.joeholtsnotes.com

https://www.facebook.com/blossomdearieproject

Valentina Sounds

Valentina Sounds is an Italian born/Philadelphia based singer-songwriter, voice coach, music director. Valentina blends catchy melodies inspired by the Italian pop music she grew up listening to, with jazzy and sometimes rock arrangements learned to appreciate in the United States. Her lyrics touch on universal topics with humor, honesty and feeling. She will draw you in with her powerful vocals and a compelling stage presence. Valentina Sounds is currently working on writing songs for a new album, her entire discography is available wherever you get your music online. 

Links:

Instagram.com/ValentinaSounds 
Youtube.com/valentinasounds
TikTok @ValentinaSoundsLessons 
facebook.com/valentinasounds
www.ValentinaSounds.com

If you like what you hear please consider supporting on Venmo @ValentinaSounds or Paypal paypal.me/valentinasounds

Videos:

Zach Zaitlin

Born and raised in Saco, Maine, Zach Zaitlin is a dynamic and multi-faceted Philadelphia based musician and music educator. Whether he is teaching a beginning piano lesson or early childhood music class, composing an instrumental work, or performing his original songs at a rock venue, Zach strives to communicate and pass on the beauty and humanity he feels so strongly in music. A graduate of Swarthmore College (where he studied composition with Gerald Levinson and piano with Marcantonio Barone) Zach has performed his original compositions at venues on both coasts as a solo artist and with a variety of ensembles. His music is heartfelt and unexpected, drawing on influences as diverse as Bach, Berg, and Björk. In addition to composing/peforming, Zach runs a thriving piano teaching studio at his home in the Point Breeze section of Philadelphia, and is an active and enthusiastic choral music performer.Zach performed at the Salon for the first time in 2008 and is thrilled to be back!

www.zachzaitlin.com

facebook.com/zachzaitlinmusic

instagram.com/zachzaitlinmusic

Leerone Hakaimi and Shay Slutsky

Leerone Hakami is an American- Israeli violinist who received a bachelor’s and a master’s degree, from The Juilliard School. While in graduate school she studied under the tutelage of distinguished pedagogue Lewis Kaplan. Hakami is also the recipient of several prizes  including the Grand Prize of the New York Artists International Competition, the Silver Prize of  the International Virtuoso Competition, and the top prize in the Great Neck House Young Artists Competition. Career highlights include performing as a soloist with the NY Concerti Sinfoniette in Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, soloing with the Vermont Mozart Festival Orchestra, and performing with her quartet, The La’Nua Quartet in Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall.  

Shay Slutsky is an Israeli pianist who began piano lessons at the age of seven with Haim Gutler. He received a Bachelor of Music from the Buchmann-Mehta School in Tel Aviv and during his  time he had the opportunity to perform in a masterclass with world-renowned pianist Andras  Schiff. He also studied with the esteemed Julian Martin while pursuing a master’s degree at The Juilliard School. Career highlights include a soloist with the Petah-Tikva Chamber Orchestra, a solo with the Symphonette Raannana Orchestra, and a soloist under esteemed  conductor, Zubin Mehta in Tel Aviv’s cultural Palace with the Tel Aviv Music Academy  Orchestra. He has also received prizes in numerous piano competitions, including the first annual Manhattan Competition, the Ashdod Piano Competition, and the Arianna Katcz  Piano Competition.