The Albany Symphony is set to open its 2018.19 season on Saturday, October 13, 2018 at 7PM with an enthralling concert event featuring powerhouse guest artists: Sandbox Percussion and the acclaimed violinist Stefan Jackiw.
While the Albany Symphony is no stranger to bringing top tier talent to the Capital Region, it is a rare treat for concert-goers to experience two highly ranked guest artists in one Albany Symphony concert.
| SANDBOX PERCUSSION | PERFORMING Re(new)al BY VIET CUONG
“revitalizing the world of contemporary music with jaw-dropping virtuosity,”
Sandbox Percussion at the premiere of Re(new)al with the Albany Symphony’s 18-member Dogs of Desire. June 2017 | EMPAC
If you are a percussion fan — or even a casual listener with an adventurous spirit — then Sandbox Percussion is a quartet that is sure to captivate. Ian, Jonny, Terry, and Victor, brought together by their love of chamber music and the simple love of playing together, mesmerize audiences with performances that are both visually and aurally stunning.
At the 2017 American Music Festival, Sandbox Percussion described their experience performing together as ‘a group of children playing in the sandbox.’
“There is a facet that is just playing — it’s fun, we enjoying being together and working together. But there is also something about watching a child play in a sandbox that is dead serious. They are making this sandcastle and nothing is going to get in the way. Like that child, we take playing seriously, but at the core, we do it because we love it.”
THE PIECE
Re(new)al was premiered by Sandbox Percussion and the Albany Symphony’s Dogs of Desire at the 2017 American Music Festival in Troy. Inspired by the transformative power of renewable energy, Re(new)al embodies the spirit of reinvention, ideas of cooperation, and synergy that are creating a new, better reality for all.
WHAT TO LISTEN FOR:
Sandbox Percussion playing invented instruments like tuned crystal wine glasses and compressed air canisters, as well as traditional percussion instruments.
Single musical ideas performed by members of the quartet as if they were a performed by an individual soloist.
Movements inspired by Hydro, Wind, and Solar power.
STEFAN JACKIW
“Stefan Jackiw is recognized as one of his generation’s most significant artists, captivating audiences with playing that combines poetry and purity with an impeccable technique.”
If you are an everyday-music fan who loves memorable melodies and wants to experience incredible artistry, then hearing Stefan Jackiw perform Brahms’ Violin Concerto is a must! Born in 1985 to physicist parents of Korean and German descent, Jackiw started playing violin at the age of 4. He has appeared as a soloist in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, and on the international stage. In 2002, Jackiw won the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant Award.
THE PIECE: Brahms once wrote, in a letter to Clara Schumann, “art is a republic” and warned about the danger of thinking of artists in terms of “higher” or “lesser.” In many ways, Brahms’ first (and only) violin concerto embodies that egalitarian spirit as the soloist and the orchestra share the stage in equal partnership with nuanced drama and passion.
WHAT TO LISTEN FOR:
Lush and memorable melodies shared between the soloist and the orchestra.
Virtuosic cadenzas composed by Brahms’ friend and violinist Joseph Joachim.
An ebullient finale with energetic rhythms and gypsy-like melodies.
TICKETS START AT $19 | ORDER TODAY!