Spring Festival
2024
*Line up subject to changes
The electrifying trio of Glen McDaniel, Nick Villalobos, and Zack Clark, together known as Simply Three, has been captivating audiences worldwide with high-octane performances since 2010. Acclaimed as “having what it takes” (Boston Philharmonic) and “highly imaginative and well played” (Maine Today), Simply Three continues to receive praise for their ability to impress listeners with a multitude of genres that span from artists and composers such as Adele, Gershwin, Coldplay, Twenty One pilots, Ed Sheeran, and Michael Jackson. By reshaping convention through this style of genre hopping, the trio continues to seek the true essence of classical crossover with original works as well as innovative arrangements that showcase their technical virtuosity and heartfelt musicality.
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With an ever-growing online popularity, Simply Three is creating a renewed excitement for instrumental music through inventive music videos that have captured the hearts of millions of YouTube viewers across the globe. Furthermore, their works have gained great critical recognition by publications such as The Huffington Post, Rolling Stone, and RyanSeacrest.com, as well as mainstream artists themselves.
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Simply Three has old school training but a new school sound. Their quest to look beyond the scope of possibility has led them to collaborate with some of the world’s most creative musicians, including Kellindo Parker (Janelle Monáe), Alyson Stoner, and Jeff Smith (M-Pact), in hopes of creating a new, fresh genesis for string playing. With this, the trio is able to merge shows into a unique synergy of thrilling performances and tone-rich sounds not soon to be forgotten.
Photo Credit: Shervin Lainez
Members (left to right):
Kevin Newton, french horn
Monica Ellis, bassoon
Brandon Patrick George, flute
Toyin Spellman-Diaz, oboe
Mark Dover, clarinet
, flute,
Imani Winds is the 2024 GRAMMY® winner in the Classical Compendium category for Jeff Scott’s “Passion for Bach and Coltrane” released on their recently formed record label, Imani Winds Media.
Celebrating over a quarter century of music making, the three time GRAMMY® nominated group has led both a revolution and evolution of the wind quintet through their dynamic playing, adventurous programming, imaginative collaborations and outreach endeavors that have inspired audiences of all ages and backgrounds.
The ensemble’s playlist embraces traditional chamber music repertoire, and newly commissioned works from voices that reflect historical events and the times in which we currently live.
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Twenty-six seasons of full-time touring has brought Imani Winds to virtually every major chamber music series, performing arts center, and summer festival in the U.S. They regularly perform in prominent venues including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the Kennedy Center and have a presence at festivals such as Chamber Music Northwest, Chautauqua Institution and Banff Centre.
Born in Italy and now based in New York City, Pasquale Grasso has developed an astounding technique and concept informed not by jazz guitarists so much as by bebop pioneers like Powell, Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie and the classical-guitar tradition. His new digital-only EP series, available beginning in June from Sony Masterworks, showcases Grasso in the solo-guitar format, where his intensive studies of both midcentury jazz and classical meld into a signature mastery that is, remarkably, at once unprecedented and evocative.
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In 2015, Grasso won the Wes Montgomery International Jazz Guitar Competition in New York City, taking home a $5,000 prize and performing with guitar legend Pat Martino’s organ trio. As part of the NEA Jazz Masters Tribute Concert, Grasso participated in a special performance to honor Pat Metheny, alongside his guitar-wunderkind peers Dan Wilson, Camila Meza, Gilad Hekselman and Nir Felder. Grasso has also performed with Freddie Redd, Frank Wess, Leroy Williams, Ray Drummond, Steve Grossman, Tardo Hammer, Jimmy Wormworth, John Mosca, Sacha Perry, Bucky Pizzarelli, China Moses, Harry Allen, Grant Stewart and Joe Cohn
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These days, Grasso teaches and maintains a packed gig schedule around New York, including frequent solo performances at the popular Greenwich Village haunt Mezzrow, where a regular Monday-night gig allowed him to develop his solo-arranging skillset.
Former Juneau Jazz & Classics Artist Director, William Ransom, returns to Juneau for the 38th annual Spring Festival.
William Ransom regularly appears in recitals, as a soloist with orchestras, and as a chamber musician across Europe, Asia, and North and South America.
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Ransom commissioned and premiered several major works by composer Stephen Paulus including his “Concerto for Piano and Wind Ensemble”, and he was also the featured pianist performing music by Dwight Andrews used in August Wilson's Pulitzer Prize-winning Broadway hit, The Piano Lesson, as well as the Hallmark Hall of Fame movie based on the same play.
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Born in Boston, Ransom began his musical studies at an early age. He was a scholarship student of William Masselos at The Juilliard School in New York (BM and MM), and he also worked with Theodore Lettvin at the University of Michigan (DMA) and Madame Gaby Casadesus at the Ravel Academy in France.
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Ransom is currently the Mary L. Emerson Professor of Piano at Emory University in Atlanta. He is founder and Artistic Director of the Emory Chamber Music Society of Atlanta and collaborates with artists like cellists, Yo-Yo Ma and Steven Isserlis; clarinetist Richard Stoltzman; members of the Juilliard, Tokyo, Cleveland, St. Petersburg, American, Ariel, Parker, Vega, Borromeo, Lark, Cavani and Muir String Quartets; violinists William Preucil, Elmar Oliviera, Tim Fain, and Robert McDuffie; guitarist Eliot Fisk, and members of the Empire Brass Quintet, the Eroica Trio and the percussion group Nexus among many other classical musicians. He has also worked with jazz great Dave Brubeck and American masters Chris Thile and Mark O’Connor.
Violist Yinzi Kong, born and raised in Shanghai, China, was a founding member of the internationally acclaimed Vega String Quartet.
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Ms. Kong started her musical training at age five and gave her first public performances at seven.
After moving to the United States in 1995, Ms. Kong received a bachelor's degree from the Harid Conservatory in Florida and a master's degree from the Manhattan School of Music.
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Since winning several top prizes at the Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition in France, the Carmel String Quartet Competition and the Coleman Competition in the US with the Vega, Ms. Kong has enjoyed a versatile career in both solo and chamber music performance and teaching. She has performed in major concert halls all over the world including the stages of Carnegie Hall, and her live performances have been heard on NPR's Performance Today (USA), the National Radio of China, Shanghai TV, Radio France, France Musiques, and the National Radio of the Czech Republic.
Ms. Kong has also collaborated with some finest musicians of our time including Elliot Fisk, William Preucil, David Shifrin, Richard Stoltzman, Charles Wadsworth, and Sarah Chang among others.
Corey Harris, a prodigious guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, and bandleader, was born in Denver, Colorado to parents from Texas and Kentucky. His musical journey began as a street singer in the vibrant city of New Orleans, and from there, he embarked on a transformative exploration of the blues throughout the southern United States.
A year spent in Cameroon, West Africa during his early twenties had a profound impact on his artistic development, shaping his unique approach to the blues. Harris's musical prowess extends beyond traditional blues as he fearlessly integrates influences from reggae, soul, rock, and West African music into his compositions. His ability to honor the roots of the blues while infusing it with his own inventive style is exemplified in his acclaimed albums.
Throughout his illustrious career, Corey Harris has shared stages, recorded, and toured with an esteemed array of musicians, including BB King, Taj Mahal, Buddy Guy, Henry Butler, R.L. Burnside, John Jackson, Ali Farka Toure,
Dave Matthews Band, Tracy Chapman, Olu Dara, Wilco, and Natalie Merchant. Notably, Harris's talent caught the attention of renowned filmmaker Martin Scorsese, who featured him as an artist and narrator in the critically acclaimed documentary "Feel Like Going Home" (2003), tracing the blues from its origins in West Africa to the southern United States.
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With his enduring dedication to pushing the boundaries of the blues, Corey Harris continues to create music that blends tradition and innovation.
One of the brightest young talents to emerge in Cajun, Creole and Zydeco (Louisiana French) music over the last decade, Cedric Watson is a four-time Grammy-nominated fiddler, singer, accordionist & songwriter with seemingly unlimited potential.
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Originally from San Felipe, TX (population 868), Cedric made his first appearance at the age of 19 at the Zydeco Jam at The Big Easy in Houston, TX. Just two years later, he moved to south Louisiana, quickly immersing himself in French music and language. Over the next several years, Cedric performed French music in 17 countries and on 7 full-length albums with various groups, including the Pine Leaf Boys, Corey Ledet, Les Amis Creole with Ed Poullard and J.B. Adams, and with his own group, Bijou Creole.
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With an apparently bottomless repertoire of songs at his fingertips, Cedric plays everything from forgotten Creole melodies and obscure Dennis McGee reels to more modern Cajun and Zydeco songs, even occasionally throwing in a bluegrass fiddle tune or an old string band number. He is also a prolific songwriter, writing almost all of his songs on his double row Hohner accordion. Cedric’s songs channel his diverse ancestry (African, French, Native American and Spanish) to create his own brand of sounds.
Drums - Musician Second Class Ray Carega
Saxophone - Musician Second Class Chandler Davis
Saxophone - Musician Third Class Jared Goodrum
Trumpet - Musician Second Class John Landis
Trumpet - Musician Second Class Wesley Carroll
Trombone - Musician Third Class Andrew Taylor
Trombone - Musician Third Class Alex Mayhew
Trombone - Musician second class Leland Matsumara
Tuba - Musician Third Class Donovan Klutho
Navy Band Northwest is the United States Navy's musical ambassador in the Pacific Northwest region. Through military ceremonies and public performances, Navy Band Northwest serves to heighten esprit de corps throughout military and civilian communities, promote patriotism, and increase public awareness of the Navy's mission. This 35-member unit is comprised of professional musicians performing in various ensembles including ceremonial band, parade band, concert band, rock band, New Orleans-style brass band, jazz combo, brass quintet and woodwind quintet. Under the operational control of Commander, Navy Region Northwest, Navy Band Northwest is one of nine official U.S. Navy Bands located in the continental United States, Hawaii, Italy, and Japan.
Navy Band Northwest's current mission is to provide musical support for official Navy functions and recruiting efforts, as well as community outreach performances in Alaska, Northern California, Colorado, Idaho, Western Kansas, Montana, Western Nebraska, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
Zuill Bailey, widely considered one of the premiere cellists in the world, is a Grammy Award-winning, internationally renowned soloist, recitalist, Artistic Director, and teacher. His rare combination of celebrated artistry, technical wizardry, and engaging personality has secured his place as one of the most sought-after and active cellists today.
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Mr. Bailey received his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees from the Peabody Conservatory and the Juilliard School. His primary teachers include Loran Stephenson, Stephen Kates and Joel Krosnick. Mr. Bailey performs on the "rosette" 1693 Matteo Gofriller Cello, formerly owned by Mischa Schneider of the Budapest String Quartet. In addition to his extensive solo touring engagements, he is the Artistic Director of El Paso Pro-Musica (Texas), the Sitka Summer Music Festival/Series and Cello Seminar, (Alaska), Juneau Jazz and Classics, (Alaska), the Northwest Bach Festival (Washington), Classical Inside Out Series- Mesa Arts Center(Arizona) and is Director of the Center for Arts Entrepreneurship and Professor of Cello at the University of Texas at El Paso