SUNY Oswego's 2014-15 Ke-Nekt Chamber Music Series features Sybarite5 -- a string quintet known for its eclectic repertoire and dynamic performance style -- as well as violinist Jeremy Mastrangelo, bassoonist Gregory Quick, British trio Voice and trumpeter/composer Dave Douglas.
OSWEGO – SUNY Oswego’s Ke-Nekt Chamber Music Series this season will offer star power and a wide array of instrumentalists and styles, including classically trained musicians who cover Radiohead and Led Zeppelin, a renowned much-studied trumpeter/composer, a homegrown orchestral violinist and a respected bassoonist.
All performances in the Ke-Nekt series will take place at 7:30 p.m. on selected Wednesdays in Sheldon Hall ballroom. Each event’s host will deliver a preconcert talk at 7.
Violinist Jeremy Mastrangelo, former associate concertmaster and frequent soloist with the now-dissolved Syracuse Symphony Orchestra, will launch the 2014-15 season on Sept. 17. Now playing regularly as guest principal second violin with Ottawa’s National Arts Centre Orchestra, Mastrangelo recently served as guest associate concertmaster for the orchestra’s tour in China. Juan La Manna of the SUNY Oswego faculty will host Mastrangelo.
“Jeremy is coming back to Central New York for this performance, and we are happy to have him back,” said Trevor Jorgensen of the college’s music faculty, who organizes the Ke-Nekt series.
Sybarite5 — a string quintet pushing the envelope of chamber music and touring from Cordoba, Argentina, to New York City — will take the stage Oct. 29 at SUNY Oswego, thanks to a graduate school connection with pianist Rob Auler of the college’s music department.
The award-winning ensemble has drawn acclaim from reviewers, including the Sarasota Tribune: “Their rock star status … is well deserved. … Their classically honed technique mixed with grit and all out passionate attack transfixes the audience, whether on Piotr Szewczyk’s ‘The Rebel’ or Radiohead’s ‘Weird Fishes.'”
Not only has Sybarite 5 bridged gaps in musical eras, its popularity has grown rapidly, Jorgensen said.
“As a string group, they’re killing it now, because of how good they are and their adventurous repertoire,” he said.
‘Gorgeous sound’
Bassoonist Gregory Quick — the guest of Jorgensen, who conducts the Wind Ensemble at SUNY Oswego — will appear Nov. 12. Quick played at Oswego last year in a concert featuring works of composer Samuel Barber. He formerly was principal bassoonist with Syracuse Symphony Orchestra and has performed with the Detroit Symphony, the philharmonic orchestras in Rochester and Buffalo and Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal.
“He is one of the finest musicians I’ve ever played with — he’s got a gorgeous sound,” Jorgensen said.
In a cross-listing with the college’s Artswego Performing Arts Series, the three-woman a cappella ensemble Voice will perform Feb. 18 as part of Ke-Nekt. The acclaimed British trio brings a program of songs exploring the beauty, heartache and humor of love for Valentine’s season, from medieval to contemporary music.
“Voice will do a collaboration with (SUNY Oswego’s) State Singers under Mihoko Tsutsumi,” Jorgensen said. “So the student involvement is a nice aspect of this concert.”
Ke-Nekt’s finale on April 8 will feature trumpeter Dave Douglas, whose broad stylistic range has attracted musicians across genres. He is noted for expressive manipulations of timbre and pitch, and for the integration of distinctive compositional and improvisational conceptions. Eric Schmitz of Oswego’s music faculty will host the prolific trumpeter, composer and educator from New York City.
“Dave Douglas goes beyond traditional jazz to do very contemporary stuff, including cutting-edge techniques with electronics,” Jorgensen said. “He’s pushing the envelope.”
Tickets for each concert in the Ke-Nekt Chamber Music Series are $15 ($5 for SUNY Oswego students) and are available at the Hewitt Union, Marano Campus Center and Oswego State Downtown box offices, online at tickets.oswego.edu and by calling 315-312-2141.
Parking is included in the price of a ticket, and is available in the lot in front of Culkin Hall and the employee and commuter across Washington Boulevard from Sheldon Hall.
For more information on the Ke-Nekt series, including links to video clips of featured performers, visit oswego.edu/arts
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