Art and Sound

The Bronx Arts Ensemble String Quartet and University of Mount Saint Vincent visual arts students will collaborate to create a unique musical and artistic experience in the Cahill Theater.

For the third concert of the 23-24 BAE Community Residency at UMSV, the BAE String Quartet will present a thematically and sonically diverse set of minimalist works by American composers. UMSV student artists will create a mixed media mural inspired by the music, which will serve as a backdrop for the musicians in the intimate setting of the Cahill Theatre.

PROGRAM

Entr’acte (2011) – Caroline Shaw
Canciones de Monteverde (2021) – Oliver Caplan
Peppermint Grass/Bubblegum Field (2011) – Angelica Negrón
Lead Me Home (2021) – Brittany Green
Selections from Bent Suite for String Quartet (1996) – Phillip Glass

PERFORMERS

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

SAMUEL GRAY is a New York-based violinist, violist, administrator, producer, and music contractor. Sam currently holds concertmaster positions at Centre Symphony and PROTESTRA—an orchestra that advocates for social justice through classical music—and is a member of Parlando Chamber Orchestra, Bronx Arts Ensemble, and Rendez-Vous Orchestra. He performs regularly at venues throughout New York City, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Broadway Theatres, Merkin Hall, 54 Below, Tenri Cultural Institute, and the DiMenna Center.
A fervent believer that music is healing to the soul, Sam produces intimate chamber music performances in unconventional places around New York. He is the co-producer and co-founder of Mini Masterworks, an annual series of living room concerts, in collaboration with cellist, singer, and composer Anthime Miller.
Sam began his musical studies at the age of nine. He currently studies with Ming-Feng Hsin and Gary Kosloski, and his formative teachers include Patricia Cosand, Steven Moeckel, and Sarah Plum.
Sam performs on a 2014 Samuel Zygmuntowicz violin generously on loan from Jay and Michiko Jones.

ELISE FRAWLEY is a New York-based violist who performs and records classical, contemporary, and popular music. Elise has performed with a number of orchestras throughout the country including the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, American Ballet Theatre, the American Symphony Orchestra, the Albany Symphony, the New Haven Symphony, the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic, among others. She is a co-founder and member of the contemporary chamber ensemble Atlantic Collective, and performs in a viola/piano duo with acclaimed pianist Nuno Marques. She has appeared on Saturday Night Live, The Tonight Show, The Late Show, Live from Here, America’s Got Talent, and Amazon Prime’s Mozart in the Jungle.

Artists she has performed or recorded with include Paul Simon, St. Vincent, Danger Mouse, Alessia Cara, Julia Michaels, Jon Batiste, Kygo, Halsey, Meghan Trainor, Andrew Bird, Pharaohe Monch, Jacky Cheung, Kelis, Shallou, Pink Martini, Shoshana Bean, Cynthia Erivo, Grace McLean, Santino Fontana, Nathan Gunn, Lady Lamb the Beekeeper, Falls, Landlady, Cassandra Jenkins, and the Airborne Toxic Event.

Elise is a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music and NYU, where she served as Adjunct Instructor of Viola. She serves as a faculty member at the 92nd Street Y, the Trinity School, and the Killington Music Festival in Vermont. She lives in Manhattan with her husband and their two young sons.

ZACHARY BROWN is a contemporary cellist based out of New York City. With degrees in Cello Performance and a Concentration in Jazz studies from Ithaca College and Purchase Conservatory, Zach is a cellist that studies and performs both classical repertoire, as well as Jazz and contemporary art forms. Bridging the gap in musical genres, he focuses on his main project Westbound Situation, a string quartet that performs a fusion of Jazz, classical, and bluegrass into one, all original material. He has been cello and chamber music faculty at the Usdan Performing Arts Camp, The Larchmont Music Academy, and Riverfolk Music and Arts. He has performed as a guest soloist for both the Mansfield and Marquette symphony orchestras, as well as guest artist at The New Directions Cello Festival.

This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and District 11 Councilmember Eric Dinowitz and Assemblymember Jeffrey Dinowitz, and WQXR.

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