Recent Projects & News
Summer 2023 Performances
May 28 & 30 | Las Vegas, NV
Tesla Quartet performs Moonshot
May 25-27 | Banff, CA
Banff Center for Creativity
July 17 | Tanglewood, MA
Notebook Fragments performed by Thomas Weaver
July 26 | Portland, OR
Cello Sonata “Descendants” performed at Chamber Music Northwest
July 29-August 2 | Santa Cruz, CA
Residency at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music
August 17-19 | Lexington, KY
Violin Sonata [World Premiere] performed by Nathan Cole and Alessio Bax, commissioned by Chamber Music Festival of Lexington
August 21-28 | Burlington, VT
Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival
2022 Steinway & Sons Feature
Read more on steinway.com
Glenstone/Smithsonian Residency 2019
A New Composition Inspired by Visual Art and Space Exploration
“Moonshot” for string quartet was written for the Abeo Quartet and commissioned by the Glenstone Museum in 2019. The piece is inspired by a triptych of “date-paintings” which chart milestones of Apollo 11, created by artist On Kawara and on display at Glenstone. The piece is in three movements to reflect each painting: I. July 16, 1969, launch; II. July 20, 1969, the lunar landing; and III. July 21, 1969, the day people on Earth came together to celebrate humanity’s first steps on the Moon.
Premiere at Glenstone and Pop-Up Concerts
The new work was premiered during a recital by the Abeo Quartet on the Glenstone water court. The evening event kicked off a weekend of pop-up performances where visitors can get up close to the musicians and spend time listening to the music while absorbing the visual art.
Video Recording at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
We partnered with the Smithsonian Institution to produce a video of “Moonshot” being performed among artifacts of human space exploration. Four/Ten Media was hired to produce the film, funded by a generous grant from The Juilliard School.
The video was released in December 2019 to close the Smithsonian Year of Music and NASM’s year-long celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of Apollo 11.
Outreach in Schools
During the residency, we worked with elementary and middle school students to explore the string family and music composition.
Students participated in the “Composer Game” which includes small-group graphic notation activities to experience the connection between written gestures and sound. Through augmentations to various gestures, students learned about dynamics, articulation, tempo, and musical space and time.
Media Sponsorship from Classical WETA 90.9 FM
We partnered with Classical WETA 90.9 FM, DC’s local classical music station. WETA recorded the Glenstone recital for their Sunday night program “Front Row Washington”.
A workshop of “Moonshot” was featured on "Classical Breakdown,” WETA’s podcast hosted by John Banther. The episode featured a performance of the work and an interview with the composer and quartet.