2012 featured artists
camilla hoitenga, flute
Flutist Camilla Hoitenga travels extensively, performing solo repertoire of music ranging from pre- Bach to post-Stockhausen in venues as diverse as Carnegie Hall in New York, the Kremlin in Moskow or Tongyeong, Korea. She has performed concertos written for her by composers Kaija Saariaho, Pèter Köszeghy, KenIchiro Kobayashi and others with orchestras such as the London Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, and Royal Philharmonic of Stockholm, as well as with the radio orchestras of Helsinki, Paris and Berlin. A frequent guest in Japan, she has also specialized in the work of Japanese composers, dozens of whom have dedicated works to her. Her recordings, in particular those with Kaija Saariaho, have won awards in France, Great Britain and in North America.
Camilla Hoitenga holds degrees from Calvin College (B.A) and from the University of Illinois (M.Mus., D.M.A.). Her flute teachers were Darlene Dugan, Alexander Murray, Peter Lloyd and Marcel Moyse. Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan (USA), Camilla Hoitenga now lives in Cologne, Germany.
Todd Reynolds
Todd Reynolds, violinist, composer, educator and technologist is known as one of the founding fathers of the hybridmusician movement and one of the most active and versatile proponents of what he calls 'present music'. The violinist of choice for Steve Reich, Meredith Monk, Bang on a Can, and a founder of the string quartet known as Ethel, his compositional and performance style is a hybrid of old and new technology, multi-disciplinary aesthetic and pan-genre composition and improvisation. Reynolds' music has been called "a charming, multi-mood extravaganza, playful like Milhaud, but hard-edged like Hendrix" (Strings Magazine), and his countless premieres and performances of everything from classical music to Jazz to Rock 'n Roll seem to redefine the concert hall and underground club as undeniably and unavoidably intertwined. He has just released his double CD set, Outerborough on Innova Recordings, featuring InSide, a collection of his own music, paired with OutSide, music written by a veritable who's who of contemporary composers.
A forerunner in the expansion of the violin beyond its classical and 'wood-bound' tradition, Reynolds electrifies in concert, weaves together composed and improvised segments, and makes use of computer technology and digital loops to sculpt his sounds in real time, seamlessly integrating minimalist, pop, Jazz, Indian, African, Celtic and indigenous folk musics into his own sonic blend. As a cross-genre improviser and collaborator, he has appeared and/or recorded with such artists as Anthony Braxton, Uri Caine, John Cale, Steve Coleman, Joe Jackson, Dave Liebman, Yo-Yo Ma, Graham Nash, Greg Osby, Steve Reich, Marcus Roberts and Todd Rundgren, and has commissioned and premiered countless numbers of new works by America's most compelling composers, including John King, Phil Kline, Michael Gordon, Neil Rolnick, Julia Wolfe, David Lang, Evan Ziporyn and Randall Wol!. His interdisciplinary work includes ongoing collaborations with SoundPainter Walter Thompson as well as media artists Bill Morrison and Luke DuBois and sound artist Jody El!.
Reynolds is a founder of the band known as Ethel, a critically acclaimed amplified string quartet, with whom he wrote and toured internationally for seven years. He has also produced Still Life With Microphone, an ongoing theater piece which incorporates his own written and improvised music, compositions written for him, and elements of video and theatrical arts. Nuove Uova [new eggs], new works for violin and electricity, another Todd Reynolds production is a 'new-music cabaret' of sorts, having as its home Joe's Pub in Manhattan. The Todd Reynolds String Quartet and Typical Music, an avant piano trio featuring Ashley Bathgate and Vicky Chow from the Bang on a Can All-Stars, continue to commission, perform and record music from Contemporary Music's brightest stars.
Taavi Kerikmäe
Taavi Kerikmäe is a leading Estonian improviser, composer and electroacoustic musician. Born in 1976 in Tartu (Estonia) he graduated from Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre and went on to study contemporary music in Conservatoire National Superieure de Lyon. He is currently working as a performing artist, composer, and teacher of experimental music and improvisation at the Estonian Academy of Music.
Kerikmäe is a founding member of contemporary music group ensemble U: and electronic music groups Broken Time Orchestra and Eesti Elekter, and has given concerts across Europe, the United States, South Korea, Greenland, and Thailand. His work with Broken Time Orchestra led to his receiving the Electronic Artist of the Year 2008 from the Estonian Association of the Phonogram Producers for his CD Death Has a Meaning for Us. In 2009 the Estonian Cultural Endowment recognized his leading role in Estonian contemporary music with an award for his work with Ensemble U:.
Active as an improviser he has collaborated with artists such as Chris Cutler, Michel Doneda, Jacques DiDonato, Mart Soo, Isabelle Duthoit, Eric Echampard, Xavier Charles, Jean-Marc Montera, Martine Altenburger, Uchihashi Kazuhiza, Paul Lovens, Jean-Francois Pauvros, European Improvisers Orchestra and many others. Kerikmäe is the curator of free improvisation music festival IMPROTEST.
eighth blackbird, ensemble-in-residence
Described by The New Yorker as "friendly, unpretentious, idealistic and highly skilled", eighth blackbird promises its ever-increasing audiences provocative and engaging performances. It is widely lauded for its performing style: often playing from memory with virtuosic and theatrical flair and its efforts to make new music accessible to wide audiences. A New York Times reviewer raved, "eighth blackbird's performances are the picture of polish and precision, and they seem to be thoroughly engaged by music in a broad range of contemporary styles." The sextet has been the subject of profiles in the New York Times and on NPR's All Things Considered; it has also been featured on CBS's Sunday Morning, St. Paul Sunday, Weekend America and The Next Big Thing, among others. The ensemble is in residence at the University of Richmond in Virginia and at the University of Chicago. Visit eigthblackbird.com for more information on 3p's ensemble-in-residence.