Apollo's Fire

Taking its name from the classical god of music and the sun, Apollo’s Fire is dedicated to the performance of 17th- and 18th-century music on the period instruments for which it was written. Music Director Jeannette Sorrell gathers a select pool of dynamic and creative early-music artists from throughout North America and Europe. The ensemble has been praised internationally for stylistic freshness and buoyancy, animated spontaneity, technical excellence, and for the creativity of Sorrell’s programming.

Cameron Carpenter

In July 2007, Cameron Carpenter gave his first performance of Chopin's "Revolutionary Etude" in a live webcast concert from New York City. The performance won Cameron a multi-album recording contract with Telarc International. His debut album, Revolutionary, named for its eponymous opening track, made Cameron the first organist ever nominated for a GRAMMY^® for a solo album.

Cameron, who designs organs, as well as performs on them – and composes for them – knows better than most what the organ requires, both physically and intellectually. The musical virtuosity, sophistication, and showmanship for which Cameron has been critically acclaimed (The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, The Los Angeles Times, MUSO, Fanfare, The Advocate, National Public Radio, Dallas Morning News) require athleticism not ordinarily associated with the organ.

Cameron's concerts are entertaining and his interaction with the organ is astounding, but whether one is impressed or one objects it's really all about one thing – and music is it.

Composer Philip Lasser

Composer of poetic and lyrical music, Philip Lasser (b. 1963) has crafted a unique soundworld blending the subtle colors of French Impressionist sonorities with the crisp, direct sounds and rhythms of America's jaunty musical palette.

Philip Lasser was born in New York City, August 4, 1963. At the age of five, Philip Lasser began piano lessons and composing songs for his mother's voice. At sixteen he entered Nadia Boulanger's famed Ecole d'Arts Americaines in Fontainebleau, France and his musical ear was forever changed. There he also met the legendary pianist Gaby Casadesus with whom he formed a long musical relationship, first as her student and then as co-author of Ma Technique Quotidienne, published by Editions Max Eschig. Following studies at Harvard College where he graduated summa cum laude, Lasser lived in Paris from 1985 - 1988, a pivotal period for his musical development, working with Boulanger's closest colleague and disciple, Narcis Bonet. In 1988 Lasser entered Columbia University's masters program in Composition, and undertook intensive studies in counterpoint with René Leibowitz's disciple, Jacques-Louis Monod, thus forging a seamless link between the French world of musical color and the great German tradition of linear contrapuntal development. Two years later Lasser entered the DMA program at The Juilliard School where he studied with David Diamond.

Philip Lasser's music has been performed by the Seattle Symphony, Gerard Schwarz and The New York Chamber Symphony and by such artists as Elizabeth Futral, Simone Dinnerstein, Margo Garrett, Lucy Shelton, Cho-Liang Lin, Zuill Bailey, Brian Zeger, Jean-Frédéric Neuburger and Sasha Cooke.

Philip Lasser directs the European American Musical Alliance Summer Music Programs. A school dedicated to training young composers, chamber musicians and conductors in the tradition of legendary teacher Nadia Boulanger. The programs are held annually at the historic Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris, France and is a distinguished member of the faculty of The Juilliard School since 1994.

New recordings on Telarc:

Boston Baroque/Michael Maniaci/Mozart: America’s premier period instrument ensemble Boston Baroque collaborates up with a true male soprano, Michael Maniaci, for an all-Mozart disc.  Maniaci has been described as “the man with a 300 year old voice” by the London Times. Professional vocal pedagogists consider Maniaci's voice to be unique among countertenors, and compare his vocal quality to the castrato voice of the past. The highlight of this recording is Mozart’s vocal warhorse “Exsultate Jubilate,” which was written for castrato Venanzio Rauzzini but is typically sung by sopranos today, it is a real treat to hear this in the same voice as Mozart had originally intended.  Other highlights include Overtures from Idomeneo and La Clemenza di tito as well as “Il tenero momento” and “Ah se a morir” from Lucia Silla and “Deh per questo istante” and “Parto, parto” from La Clemenza di tito.

Zuill Bailey:  The dynamic, young cellist returns from his acclaimed first solo disc on Telarc Russian Masterpieces on Cello to the pinnacle of cello repertoire, Bach Cello Suites.  The Toronto Globe has called his playing “heartstopping” and the Chicago Tribune said he “bristles with rare virtuosic fire.”  These six suites are in for a real treat when played by “one of the most exciting cellists to come along in years.” 

LAGQ/Delaware Symphony Orchestra Interchange - This release marks the first concerto recording by the GRAMMY^®-winning LAGQ, and traces an arc from their instrument’s first concerto to its newest one: Joaquín Rodrigo’s Concierto Andaluz and Sergio Assad’s Interchange.  Recorded in May 2009 at the historic Grand Opera House in Wilmington, DE, Interchange marks the Delaware Symphony’s debut recording.world-premiere of guitarist/composer Sergio Assad’s Interchange for 4 guitars and orchestra

David Russell's Sonidos Latinos - the music of Morel, Mangore, Ponce and Ayala. The guitar is the soul of Spanish music, and it was inevitably brought to the New World by the Spanish conquistadors and colonists beginning in the 16th century. The instrument became an integral part of musical life in Latin America, and is the medium through which some of the region’s finest composers have expressed their most characteristic musical thoughts. This Telarc recital by David Russell presents the works of four Latin American masters of the guitar.

Christine Brewer, and the wonderfully rich bass baritone of Eric Owens [on Recognition Scene from Elektra, and the Imprisonment Scene from Die Frau ohne Schatten] under the direction of Donald Runnicles leading the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra bring out the intrigue of Strauss’ heroines on Great Strauss Scenes at retail on July 27, 2010.

With his 2010 Telarc album, CAMERON LIVE!, Cameron Carpenter is a unique voice. The DVD was made on a large cinema organ using HD cameras and repertoire ranging from Bach to Schubert and Sousa. The CD is all major organ works of Bach—plus Carpenter, with a world premiere recording of Carpenter’s “Serenade and Fugue on B.A.C.H.” (published by Edition Peters).

Turtle Island Quartet pushes the edge of their stylistic comfort zone a step further with their latest recording, Have You Ever Been…?, an exploration of Hendrix’s music coupled with a cross genre twist on an old story, Balakrishnan’s Tree Of Life. “…A stellar recording and achievement,” says guitarist Andy Summers, one of the many high-profile heirs to the Hendrix legacy through his work with the Police and beyond. The album is set for release on August 24, 2010.

Headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, The Blues Foundation is a non-profit organization whose mission is to preserve Blues history, celebrate Blues excellence, support Blues education and ensure the future of this uniquely American art form. With 165 affiliated Blues societies and a membership that spans the globe, the Foundation's signature honors and events - the Blues Music Awards, Blues Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, International Blues Challenge and Keeping the Blues Awards - make it the international center of Blues music. Its HART Fund assists the Blues community with medical assistance while it's Blues in the Schools programming exposes new generations to Blues music. Throughout the year, the Foundation staff serves the worldwide Blues community with answers, contact information and news.

A twenty-five person Board of Directors governs the Foundation, supported by an esteemed Advisory Board. Funding for The Blues Foundation comes from membership dues, private donations, corporate sponsorships, grants from private foundations, government agencies and arts organizations and merchandise and event ticket sales. Contributions to The Blues Foundation, including membership dues, are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowable by law.

Kelly Welch's interest in Chinese Medicine was born out of an internal search for a meaningful life initiated by his Jesuit education throughout high school and college.  After graduating from college with a Finance-Accounting degree and working at what was formerly known as Arthur Andersen & Co. in Dallas, TX, he took some time to consider the future of his life and what he wanted out of it.  This path of inquiry involved a daily, self taught, morning meditation which led him to a deeper pursuit of Asian philosophy and then to Chinese Medicine.  With the emotional support of his parents, he researched the top schools in the country for Masters programs in Chinese Medicine.  This landed him at Bastyr University in Seattle , WA where he completed a four year full time program in Chinese Medicine, met his wife and business partner Kate Yonkers, and departed to establish their Internal Medicine practice in Washington DC.  Welch & Yonkers, LLC specializes in the lost discipline of Chinese pulse diagnosis through the lineage of the renowned master John H. F. Shen, as taught to Lonny Jarrett who remains a close friend and teacher of Welch and Yonkers.  Kelly Welch's interests in Chinese medicine specifically involve how he can reach each individual patient most effectively to shift their health towards a more balanced state.  As a personal disciple to maintain as much balance as possible in his own life running a private practice and raising three small children, he practices the Ashtanga Yoga System daily in the morning Mysore tradition. 

Its name derived from creation mythology found in Native American Folklore, the Turtle Island Quartet, since its inception in 1985, has been a singular force in the creation of bold, new trends in chamber music for strings. Winner of the 2006 and 2008 Grammy Awards for Best Classical Crossover category, Turtle Island fuses the classical quartet esthetic with contemporary American musical styles, and by devising a performance practice that honors both, the state of the art has inevitably been redefined. Cellist nonpareil Yo-Yo Ma has proclaimed TIQ to be “a unified voice that truly breaks new ground – authentic and passionate – a reflection of some of the most creative music-making today.”

Previous Clients & Projects:

Naxos' KZ Musik series

Naxos' Wind Band Classics Series

Naxos & Reelin in the Years Jazz Icons 4 DVD box set

DilettanteMusic.com US launch

Joseph C. Phillips, Jr

Cellist Nina Kotova's world premiere of Christopher Theofanidis' Cello Concerto with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra

Santa Fe Desert Chorale

Veiled Voices