Turnout The Bronx: Performance

Violinist and composer Evelyn Petcher Brandes brings a passion for innovation and community to both her performing and teaching. Her work frequently blurs the line between performance and workshop; she has performed all over the US and abroad at venues from international concert halls to community spaces like hospitals, museums, and coffee shops. She is a co-founder of Leadlights Ensemble, a community focused string quartet based in Washington Heights, and East Lake Expression Engine, an El Sistema inspired music education program for underprivileged youth in Chattanooga, TN. Evelyn performs regularly with the Bronx Arts Ensemble and Leadlights around NYC, and has been awarded several grants from the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council for musical projects. She has served as a teaching artist for organizations such as the New York Philharmonic Very Young Composers program, the Bronx Arts Ensemble, the Little Orchestra Society, the Youth Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and LEAP NYC.

In 1999, Thomas Martin recorded Bach’s Concerto in D minor for two violins with Joshua Bell, Diane Monroe, Mark O’Connor, Isaac Stern, Itzhak Perlman, and Michael Tree, for the soundtrack to the film, “Music of the Heart.” In 2002, at the invitation of the Soesterberg International Music Festival, he performed Beethoven’s “Ghost” Trio, Opus 70, in Soesterberg, Netherlands. In 2009, he received a Bachelors of Violin Performance from Manhattan School of Music, studying under Grigory Kalinovsky. In 2017, at the invitation of the Gharana Music Festival, he performed the Beethoven Spring Sonata with Neecia Majolly, and conducted the festival orchestra in a program of Bartok, Sibelius, Holst, and Jenkins. Since 2018, Martin has been an adjunct faculty member at The City University of New York, teaching Violin, music theory, and ear training. Since 2019, he has been a Teaching Artist for the Bronx Arts Ensemble, providing musical outreach and performances in the NYC Public Schools.

Wilden Dannenberg is a multifaceted musician committed to engaging listeners in a range of musical styles and experiences. With a firm foundation in the repertoire of early to contemporary works, Wilden is regularly engaged as a hornist, conductor, arranger and organist. Recent highlights include the premiere of Silver, Blue, a Carnegie Hall commissioned quintet for Horn and Strings by TJ Cole, multiple collaborations as a conductor and performer with composer Tania León, and a performance of Schumann’s Konzertstücke for Four Horns and Orchestra. A South Georgia native, Wilden holds degrees from Florida State University and Stony Brook University, and is an alum of Ensemble Connect, a fellowship program of Carnegie Hall and the Juilliard School. He is a member of the New York based quintet Connect Five, a resident artist with the Bronx Arts Ensemble, a teaching artist for Carnegie Hall, and faculty member at Adelphi University.

Hailed as having a voice that is “elastic and luxurious” (Ars Raving Mad), Bronx-native Mezzo-Soprano Linda Collazo has performed at Carnegie Hall, the United Palace Theater, the United Nations, Lincoln Center, and with the Metropolitan Opera Guild. Linda has sung with many opera companies including Opera Naples, The Aspen Music Festival, City Lyric Opera, New Camerata Opera, Martina Arroyo’s Prelude to Performance, Sarasota Opera, and more. In her concert and chamber music work, Linda has sung at Bargemusic with trombonist David Taylor, and with organizations such as the Mimesis Ensemble, The Vertical Player Repertory Theater, and the Washington Heights Chamber Orchestra. Other venues include BAM Fisher with the Brooklyn Chamber Orchestra. Awards include 1st place in the Woodmere and BAE Competitions and an encouragement award from the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions New York District. www.lindacollazo.com.