Kaufman Music Center’s groundbreaking Artists-in-Residence are re-imagining the future of music on stage, in the classroom and in our community together with our students and audiences.
Aaron Diehl
At once temporal and ethereal, pianist and composer Aaron Diehl transforms the piano into an orchestral vessel in the spirit of beloved predecessors Ahmad Jamal, Erroll Garner and Jelly Roll Morton. Following three critically-acclaimed leader albums on Mack Avenue Records – and live appearances at historic venues from Jazz at Lincoln Center and The Village Vanguard to the New York Philharmonic and the Philharmonie de Paris as well as a European tour with Wynton Marsalis – Diehl conjures three-dimensional expansion of melody, counterpoint and movement through time.
This season, Diehl will perform music by J.S. Bach and Rolland Hanna on our Piano Dialogues series at Merkin Hall and team up with Curtis Stewart, Harlem Quartet and Mazz Swift for Ecstatic Music, coach Kaufman Music Center jazz musicians and chamber ensembles, and give masterclasses with our students focused on careers in music and the performance practice of Black composers in addition to a public masterclass on April 25.
Harlem Quartet
The Grammy-winning New York-based Harlem Quartet has been praised for its “panache” by The New York Times and hailed in the Cincinnati Enquirer for “bringing a new attitude to classical music, one that is fresh, bracing and intelligent.” The quartet’s mission is to advance diversity in classical music, engaging young and new audiences through the discovery and presentation of varied repertoire that includes works by composers of color. They have been featured in the What Makes It Great? series at Merkin Hall.
This season, Harlem Quartet will give a thrilling concert featuring works by Fanny Mendelssohn, Aldo López-Gavilán, and more. They’ll join Artist-in-Residence Aaron Diehl and violinist Mazz Swift in an Ecstatic Music event envisioned by violinist/composer Curtis Stewart. They will also work closely with Kaufman Music Center students in masterclasses and side-by-side performances with students in Merkin Hall.
Harlem Quartet’s Artist Residency is generously underwritten by The Barbara Bell Cumming Charitable Trust and Wendy and Bruce Mosler.
VOCES8
“The singing of VOCES8 is impeccable in its quality of tone and balance,” writes Gramophone Magazine. “They bring a new dimension to the word ‘ensemble’ with meticulous timing and tuning.” The British vocal ensemble is proud to inspire people through music and share the joy of singing. Touring globally, the group performs an extensive repertoire both in its a cappella concerts and in collaborations with leading orchestras, conductors and soloists.
This season, VOCES8 will give three unique performances in Merkin Hall, including two Give Voice concerts and a Bridges series event with students from Kaufman Music Center and the John J. Cali School of Music featuring a range of composers from early renaissance to contemporary. They will lead student workshops focused on composition and choral arranging, and give classes on vocal production and career paths in music and music education.
The Artist Residency of VOCES8 is generously underwritten by The Roz Lasker Artist Mentorship Fund.
The Artists-in-Residence program is funded, in part, by the Roz Lasker Artist Mentorship Fund.