I’ll be performing with Jonathan Biss and several wonderful wind players at Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall on the evening of April 10th in a performance of Janacek’s Concertino. Check it out!
CALENDAR
The Declassified in South Carolina
A mixed quartet drawn from The Declassified will travel to South Carolina for the last two weeks of March, including a concert in Camden on March 22nd (Performing Arts Center, 7 PM), and at the University of South Carolina on March 27th. Our residency will include a creative project with seniors in Camden, composition readings and coachings at USC, and a program including the Saint-Saens Bassoon Sonata, a Ryan Francis premiere, and a performance of my own ‘Jonah’ for narrator, cello, and bass.
The Declassified at Bloomingdale School of Music
This innovative chamber collective offers a free, fun, variety-filled community concert at the Bloomingdale School of Music (323 W. 108th St.) at 3 pm on Sunday, February 24th. This concert will include instrumental versions of some beautiful songs that resulted from The Declassified’s 3-month songwriting workshop at the Valley Lodge transitional shelter for seniors.
Argento New Music Ensemble at DiMenna Center
I’ll be playing bassoon (and contrabassoon!) in the US premiere of Georg Friedrich Haas’s …wie stille brannte das Licht and Kimmy Szeto’s chamber version of Robert Schumann’s ‘Rhenish’ Symphony. Saturday, February 23rd at 8 pm at the DiMenna Center (450 w. 37th St.).
Cosi Faran Tutti by Jonathan Dawe
A brilliant, sensational new prequel to the classic Mozart opera by Jonathan Dawe. December 13-15, 8 PM at the Italian Academy in Manhattan. Don’t miss this!
L’enfance du Christ at Carnegie Hall
I’ll join the New York Choral Society and Orchestra at Carnegie Hall on December 18th at 8 pm for a special holiday presentation of Hector Berlioz’s L’enfance du Christ. Check it out!
Declassified at Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium
The Declassified will take the stage at Carnegie Hall for a pre-concert presentation shortly before a performance by the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela. December 9th, 1 PM. Check it out!
Hartford Symphony Holidays
If you’ll be around Hartford this month, check out a fun show with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra – on December 8th at the Immanuel Church, hear some choral favorites with the Hartford Chorale, including Respighi’s Lauda. On December 22nd, check out Cirque de la Noel, an astounding mix of music and acrobatics when Cirque de Soleil meets the Hartford Symphony. Tickets for both can be found here.
October 13 – Winds of the The Declassified at Purchase College’s Performing Arts Center
The Declassified is excited to launch a four-concert series at Purchase College that I’m curating for the presenters, The Performing Arts Center at Purchase College and Carnegie Hall. In this first installment – October 13 at 8 pm – a wind quartet with piano presents music by Mozart, Poulenc, and Enzina, along with new music written specifically for this group by Caleb Burhans, Ted Hearne, Ken Thomson, and Zachary Detrick. I’ll be joined by Alicia Lee, Arthur Sato, Alma Liebrecht, and David Kaplan. Come check it out!
The Declassifed at Bellevue Hospital
As part of Carnegie Hall’s Musical Connections program, The Declassified will play a short public program of music by Bach, Nielsen, Beethoven, Poulenc, and a host of tiny pieces composed in the past few years, including my duos for horn and bassoon. October 4, 2012 at 1 pm.
PROJECTS
Metropolis Ensemble at TEAK
In my capacity as leader of YouthWorks, Metropolis Ensemble’s outreach program, I’m thrilled to return to TEAK, a wonderful fellowship opportunity for talented students from challenging backgrounds, beginning in March. This partnership always yields wonderful new music combining new young-people compositions matched with original poetry — watch for a performance in May with the whole Metropolis Ensemble.
New York Philharmonic’s Spring In-School Concert Tour
A whirlwind two-week tour of New York public schools (from February 28th through March 15th), based on Scheherazade and featuring arrangements by Andrew Roitstein and David Wallace. We’ll be hitting all 5 boroughs, from the Bronx to Staten Island and everywhere in-between. Fun!
The Brothers Balliett on WQXR’s Q2 Music
I’m thrilled to be joining the Q2 Music team as a host in a new weekly show with my brother called The Brothers Balliett. Tune in each Thursday at 3pm or Sunday at 8pm to hear some good new music!
The Declassified with Carnegie Hall’s Musical Connections
The Declassified is undertaking two fascinating projects this winter through Carnegie Hall’s Musical Connections program. On December 18th at noon, the Musical Connections Septet will perform an hour-long atrium concert with singer Camille Zamora at Jacobi Hospital. On January 9th, a three-month songwriting project with the residents of Valley Lodge shelter will culminate in a public performance. Stay tuned for more details!
New York Philharmonic School Partnership Program
I’m excited to be working with some of my teaching artist heroes this year for my first year with the New York Philharmonic‘s Teaching Artist School Partnership Program. Check out what they have going on; there’s a lot of cool stuff happening.
Joining the New York Philharmonic’s Teaching Artist Faculty
I’m proud to join the ranks of the New York Philharmonic‘s Teaching Artist Faculty for the School Partnership Program. Excited to begin!
Youthworks at Metropolis Ensemble
I’m honored to have been appointed Director of Metropolis Ensemble‘s YouthWorks program. Under the fearless and endlessly inquisitive mind of Metropolis director Andrew Cyr, the YouthWorks program has grown over the past four years to include some inspiring partners throughout New York City. I’m greatly looking forward to continuing my work with the wonderful people at the TEAK Foundation, Reciprocity, ComposerCraft at the Special Music School, and the Little Red Schoolhouse. Stay tuned for updates on upcoming projects!
Oracle Hysterical at Princeton
The Oracle Hysterical spent a week in Princeton in mid-August 2012, creating a variety of thumpingly groovy music in a variety of styles. Check out a sample — a hip-hop song set over a bassoony beat called ‘Snakes on a Cartesian Plane’
Duo for Horn and Bassoon (2008)
I write a lot of little chamber pieces for wind instruments, especially involving double reeds. As a sample, here is a little set of fanfare-like duos performed here by Alma Maria Liebrecht and myself on bassoon.
Bio
Bradley Robert Balliett
bballiett@gmail.com
New York City-based bassoonist and composer Brad Balliett is gaining a reputation for unusual and thought-provoking programming, performance and composition. As a bassoonist, Brad performs regularly with Metropolis Ensemble, Signal, the Declassified, and Ensemble ACJW. Formerly acting principal of the Hartford Symphony, Brad has also appeared as principal bassoon with the Houston Symphony and American Ballet Theater, and has performed with the New York City Ballet, International Contemporary Ensemble, Anthony Braxton, Zakir Hussain, and Miguel Zenon. Brad is an alumni of Carnegie Hall’s The Academy, and is a founding member of The Declassified, the Deviant Septet, and DZ4. Brad graduated summa cum laude from Harvard University in 2005, and holds an MM from Rice University. Brad is also active as a composer, and makes hip-hop albums with his band The Oracle Hysterical. Brad also hosts a weekly radio show on WQXR’s online channel, Q2, called The Brothers Balliett.
As a teaching artist, Brad gives performances and leads songwriting workshops at hospitals, schools, homeless shelters, and correctional facilities. Through Carnegie Hall’s Musical Connections program, Brad has given concerts and led workshops with the chamber ensemble The Declassified at Beth Abraham Hospital in the Bronx, Jacobi Hospital, New York Presybterian, Valley Lodge Homeless Shelter, and the Fort Washington Men’s Shelter. Through Metropolis Ensemble, Brad has led songwriting projects with the TEAK Foundation, the Reciprocity Foundation and the Special Music School, culminating in performances at le Poisson Rouge. Through Ensemble ACJW, Brad has created and performed in dozens of interactive performances at schools throughout New York City.
STORE
24 Concert Studies for Bassoon
I’m pleased to announce that my book of concert studies for bassoon in all keys – intended for advanced students and professionals – is now available from lulu.com.