Andy & Friends #5

ABOUT ANDREW ARMSTRONG (SERIES MUSIC DIRECTOR)

Praised by critics for his passionate expression and dazzling technique, pianist Andrew Armstrong has delighted audiences across Asia, Europe, Latin America, Canada, and the United States, including performances at Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, London’s Wigmore Hall, the Grand Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, and Warsaw’s National Philharmonic.

Andrew’s orchestral engagements across the globe have encompassed a vast repertoire of more than 60 concertos with orchestra. He has performed with such conductors as Peter Oundjian, Itzhak Perlman, Günther Herbig, Stefan Sanderling, Jean-Marie Zeitouni, and Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, and has appeared in solo recitals and in chamber music concerts with the Ehnes, Elias, Alexander, American, and Manhattan String Quartets, and as a member of the Caramoor Virtuosi, Boston Chamber Music Society, Seattle Chamber Music Society, and the Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players.

In addition to his many concerts, his performances are heard regularly on National Public Radio, WQXR, New York City’s premier classical music station, and stations across the country.

Indra Thomas, known for her lush and warm voice, has established herself as an artist of incredible sensitivity, poise, and virtuosity. Ms. Thomas has appeared at many of the world’s great opera houses, such as the Metropolitan Opera and the Vienna State Opera; and prominent venues in France, Germany, Spain and England, including the Royal Albert Hall. Among numerous top orchestras with which she has appeared are the New York Philharmonic, the London Symphony and Leipzig’s Gewandhaus Orchestra – as well as leading ensembles in Paris, the Netherlands, Japan, Finland, South Korea, Malaysia, Abu Dhabi, Boston, Cleveland and Detroit.

Called “a force on the rise” by JazzTimes magazine, Alison Shearer’s explosive career hits refresh on what it means to be a jazz saxophonist today. With classical technique and legendary jazz mentorship undergirding a raw, natural talent, Alison synthesizes the many disparate influences crowding our listening landscape into a style at once personal and global. She leads a new generation of performers, inhabiting her individuality as a member of an international artistic community, and reconfiguring the identity of “jazz fusion” for our current moment.

Praised for her ‘mesmerizing combination of sound and sight’ (Irish Times), the award-winning marimbist, Eriko Daimo, is one of the leading artists of her field. Her recent performances include concerto performances with some of the world’s leading orchestras such as the RTE Ireland National Symphony Orchestra, Tampere Philharmonic in Finland, Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra, Sophia Philharmonic in Bulgaria, Osaka Symphony Orchestra, Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra, Magdeburg Philharmonic Orchestra in Germany, Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra and Orchestra Nipponika among others; as well as recital tours over 25 countries in Asia, Europe and the Americas.  She has given recitals and masterclasses in some of today’s most recognized percussion festivals, including the Taiwan International Percussion Convention, Italy PAS Percussion Festival, International Marimba Festival in Minneapolis, Internacional de Marimbistas in Mexico, Festival des Journees de la Percussion in Paris, Universal Marimba Festival in Belgium, KOSA International Music Festival in the US, International Percussion festival in Korea, International League of Artists Marimba Festival in Tokyo, Bamberg International Marimba Festival in Germany, and PASIC.