COMMAND-e is thrilled to premiere some exciting new works in conjunction with some reenvisioned Bach and Mendelssohn pieces at their next performance at the Firehouse Space in Brooklyn. Be there or be square!
Premiering:
“Death Has Friends” – Craig Michael Davis
“Where I Am Now” – Craig Michael Davis
Bach – Brandenburg Concerto no. 5 (Allegro), as arranged for COMMAND-e
“Lost Illusions”, from Mendelssohn’s Songs Without Words, as arranged for COMMAND-e
The stellar members of COMMAND-e:
Borah Han
Kristen McGuire
Rob Guilford
Jason Kohler
Paul Swensen
Max Zooi
Craig Michael Davis
Borah Han
Pianist
As a solo and collaborative pianist, Borah Han has performed in recitals and masterclasses in Italy, Spain, Korea, and the United States at Carnegie Hall, Symphony Space, Wharton Center, and Skirball Center. In 2009, she appeared as a soloist with the Michigan State University Philharmonic Orchestra. As an orchestral keyboardist, her experience ranges from classical music and operas to contemporary musicals and movie soundtracks. As an active collaborative pianist, she received masterclasses and coaching from the Shanghai Quartet, Paul Roczek, Fora Baltacigil, and Håkan Hagegård among others. Furthermore, Ms. Han specializes in violin-clarinet-piano repertoire as a part of Red Cedar Trio, which took first prize at the University Research and Arts Forum in 2009. In addition to performing, she was appointed as an Adjunct Faculty at NYU to teach group keyboard classes and private lessons to undergraduate students. She also served as a staff pianist for conducting, violin, cello, and brass repertoire classes. She received a Bachelor’s degree in Piano Performance with honors from MSU and a Master’s degree in Collaborative Piano from NYU where she studied with Anne-Marie McDermott, Jose Ramon Mendez, and Grant Wenaus. Ms. Han currently resides in NYC collaborating with instrumentalists, vocalists, and composers and spends her summer at Interlochen Arts Camp as a staff collaborative pianist. For more, check out www.borahhan.com.
Kristen McGuire
Flute
New York based flutist Kristen McGuire is dedicated to the commission and performance of new works for chamber ensemble and innovation in concert presentation, collaborating with artists across the disciplines. She is a founding member of the Ceto Ensemble and Gemini, as well as the Empire Quintet, with whom she traveled to South Africa to perform at the Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival. In 2014, she as an artist at the Round Top Festival Institute, both of her chamber groups were selected to play in the distinguished “Best of Chamber Music” concert, and her performances there have been broadcast on WQXR. Ms. McGuire was a finalist in the 2015 Byron Hester Flute Competition, a semi-finalist in the 2013 National Flute Association Young Artist Competition, a winner of the Miami String Quartet Competition and the Florence Reinauer Memorial Music Award, and was a member of the prestigious Performance 20/20. She holds a Master of Music from the Purchase College Conservatory of Music, under the tutelage of Dr. Tara Helen O’Connor, and a Bachelor of Music from the Hartt School.
Jason Kohler
Electric Guitar/ Banjo
“Jason Kohler is a Composer and Guitarist born out of the woodlands of Southeastern Massachusetts. He received his B.A. in Music Composition from UMass Dartmouth in 2010 after studying with composers Ken Ueno and Jing Wang. Coming from the world of rock and venturing into contemporary composition through his studies, Jason seeks to express a blend of the familiar and extraordinary through his writing and playing.
Jason can be found performing live with his bands “Sun of Sound,” and “Juan Bond.” He has also been a part of such groups as “Emma Ate the Lion,” and “Something About Horses.” He has had the opportunity to work with musicians such as Carla Kihlstedt and Matthias Bossi as well as touring members of Atmosphere, Dessa, Weezer, Daughters, the Dear Hunter, Ezekiel’s Wheels, amongst others. His bands have shared the stage with national acts such as the Memorials, KRS One, Bad Rabbits, Sworn Enemy, Talib Kweli, Gavin Castleton, Nappy Roots, Hollywood Undead, and Kayo Dot amongst others. He currently resides in New York City.”
Max Zooi
Bass Clarinet
Maximillian Zooi is a New York based Saxophonist, Bass Clarinetist, Pianist, Composer, Songwriter, Arranger and Bandleader. Originally from Los Angeles, California, he attended the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music on a full scholarship and graduated in 2014. As a lover of Jazz music, Classical music, Indian classical music, and more mainstream genres such as Pop, Hip Hop, and Neo-Soul, Max has forged a musical identity that does not conform to any single genre or style. His songs retain influence from all aforementioned genres but in doing so also contain many idiosyncrasies that hold the key to his personal identity as an artist. He is also a well versed composer and arranger, with works written for all manor of orchestral and jazz instruments.
Paul Swensen
Cello
Cellist and music educator Paul Swensen has earned performance degrees from SUNY Fredonia and SUNY Purchase, studying with Natasha Farny and Julia Lichten. As an orchestral musician Paul has served as a substitute with the Buffalo Philharmonic as well as the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra. As a teacher, Paul is a faculty member of the Paterson Music Project in Paterson New Jersey, modeled after El Sistema, which provides music education to underprivileged children.
Robert Guilford
Percussion
Rob Guilford works as performer of percussion music in a wide variety of contexts. His studies in the field began after a trip to New York City as a child, where he was captivated by the power of the drummers on and off of Broadway. Lessons on the drums began immediately afterwards and he has since developed proficiency in several genres, with a particular affinity for West African and Afro-Carribean music.
Percussionists in today’s music culture are presented with an incredible amount of instruments from around the world to study and perform on. Rob seeks to take full advantage of these opportunities and has spent a summer as a member of the Round Top Festival Orchestra in central Texas, studied contemporary chamber music at the So Percussion Summer Institute in Princeton, New Jersey and most recently, traveled with the Brooklyn Steel Orchestra to Trinidad and Tobago to perform at the inaugural “International Conference and Panorama.” When he is at home in New York City, Rob enjoys applying these diverse experiences to his career as a freelancer, which includes performing rudimental music, collaborating with various chamber ensembles and working as a musical theater percussionist.
Rob holds a Bachelors of Music in music education from Texas State University and a Master’s of Music in percussion performance from New York University. His instructors include Kari Klier, Butch Miles, Jonathan Haas, James Sapporito, Valerie Naranjo and Madeline Yayodele Nelson. In addition to his work as a performer, Rob holds a K-12 teaching artist position with the Center for Arts Education and teaches music throughout the five boroughs.
Craig Michael Davis
Conductor and Music Director
Craig Michael Davis is an internationally known composer, conductor, and pianist from California who currently lives in Brooklyn, NY. He performs with ‘The Craig Michael Davis Contemporary Music Ensemble,’ which he founded in 2012. Receiving a Master’s of Music in Theory and Composition from the New York University, Craig studied predominately with Michael Gordon and Julia Wolfe. Craig’s most recent work Re-Creation, for String Orchestra, was performed by the L’viv Philharmonic Orchestra in May 2015.
Since 2009, Craig has conducted various full and scratch orchestra-type ensembles, including the Broadway Chamber Players, the New Music Ensemble at California State University, Fullerton; the Fullerton Choir; and The White Noise Contemporary Music Ensemble. These ensembles have curated music from the Renaissance through music of today including David Lang, Louis Andriessen, Terry Riley, Kyle Gann, Lloyd Rodgers, and Frederic Rzewski.
His writing has earned a number of awards and residencies, among which include The 2013 Alan A. Mannason Award for Composition and The 2012 Henriquez Award for Composition. His music has been played in the United States as well as in Europe. Most recently, his works have been performed by the New York University Philharmonic Orchestra; the L’viv Philharmonic Orchestra in L’viv, Ukraine; the JACK Quartet, in New York; and at various new music performance spaces in and around New York City. Craig’s music is published through Jack Harrison Publishing Inc.
