 |
 |
||
 |
 |
|
|
 |
|
||
 |
|
||
 |
 |
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
 |
|
||
| Samuel Z. Solomon | Eric Hewitt |
 |
The yesaroun' Duo, Samuel Z. Solomon, percussion and Eric Hewitt, saxophones, explore an eclectic mix of contemporary art music with influences ranging from the classical to popular, from the academic to spiritual and from the serious to absurd. The Duo has been featured in recitals all over the northeast United States and in Cuba. Yesaroun’ has commissioned and premiered seventeen new works for saxophone and percussion.
Yesaroun’ has been featured as soloists with the New England Conservatory Composers Orchestra in NEC’s Jordan Hall, performed as part of the Walden School Ensemble in Residence series, the Princeton Marimba Festival, New York City Day of Percussion, Harvard University Group for New Music, the 54th annual Cantors Assembly Convention, Juilliard Summer Percussion Seminar, the Society of Composers Region 1 Conference, New England Conservatory Composers Series, Brandeis Composers Series and has even appeared on public radio. Yesaroun' is soon to release their first recording which features some of the first works written for the group, including pieces from Shawn Crouch, Dennis DeSantis, Cody Wright and Ken Ueno, as well as an adaptation of a set of Charles Ives songs. This recording will be released in mid 2003. Yesaroun' is excited to announce upcoming collaborations with composers Michael Gandolfi, Erik Spangler, Bob Hasuagwa and Harvard University. Previous collaborations include those with composers Shawn Crouch, Lei Liang, Ross Popoff, Pamela Madsen, composers of the Minimum Security Composers Collective: Adam B. Silverman, Roshanne Etezady, Dennis Desantis and Ken Ueno, members of the Walden School faculty: Danielle Schindler, Rebekah Griffin, Cody Wright, Brooke Joyce and Loretta Notareschi, and composers of Princeton University: James Randall, Barbara White, Stefan Weisman and Miriama Young. The Duo’s website, yesaroun.com, has become a resource, visited by people all over the world (England, France, Japan, Denmark, Russia, Malaysia, Israel, Costa Rica, to name a few). Over 50 pages large, including a complete repertoire listing with program notes, composers' biographies and contact information, the site is possibly the best online source for information on saxophone and percussion music. As a result, composers listed on the page are now getting many requests for scores, expanding Yesaroun’s composer-promotion efforts worldwide. |
Percussionist Samuel Z. Solomon has premiered works for soloist and orchestra in Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall and Jordan Hall, including the American premiere in 1999 of O-Mega by Iannis Xenakis. O-Mega was Xenakis' final work
Mr. Solomon has been responsible for over two dozen world premieres of solo and small ensemble works, and has been involved in numerous additional projects to perpetuate the music of young composers. He is soon to release a new book, How to Write for PERCUSSION, a comprehensive guide to percussion composition. This text is due in the fall of 2003 and will be the most complete of its kind.
Mr. Solomon has lectured at Princeton University, the Walden School and The Boston Conservatory. He spent six summers at Tanglewood, three as a Fellow of the Tanglewood Music Center, and six years at Juilliard, receiving two degrees under the tutelage of Daniel Druckman, Roland Kohloff and Gordon Gottlieb.
Click here for more on Sam
Bio of a Duo | Samuel Z. Solomon
As the winner of the 2000 Boston Modern Orchestra Project Concerto Competition, Eric Hewitt played the American premiere of Luciano Berio's Chemin IV for soprano saxophone and eleven strings in Jordan Hall, Boston. "Hewitt played with purpose, and intensity, kicking off the concert with style," said Boston Herald critic Keith Powers. Mr. Hewitt was invited to give a return performance of this work on the 2003 FROMM Foundation concert with the BMOP at Harvard University. He has performed as soloist with eight other Boston area ensembles, and has been featured on tours to Japan, Venezuela, and Cuba.
Mr. Hewitt has been featured in concert with saxophonists Arno Bournkamp, Jean-Michel Goury, and Kenneth Radnofsky. Through World Wide Concurrent Premieres and Commissioning Inc., Mr. Hewitt presented a premiere of Gunther Schuller's Sonata for Alto Saxophone and Piano, and was featured on WGBH's "Classical Performances," hosted by Richard Knisely. Richard Dyer of the Boston Globe said he "summon[s] the qualities of a bel canto singer like Sinatra from his instrument in the Schuller." Mr. Hewitt recorded the Donald Martino Saxophone Concerto in piano reduction, working with Dr. Martino at the sessions, and has recorded the saxophone quartet music of Iannis Xenakis and Franco Donatoni.
Beyond classical music, he is a member of the Ryles Jazz Orchestra headed by trumpeter Frank Vardarous, and has performed with jazz legends such as John Faddis, Ed Calle, George Garzone, Jerry Bergonzi, Slide Hampton, George Russell, Marvin Stam, and Phil Wilson. A native of Medford, Massachusetts, and longtime student of Kenneth Radnofsky, Mr. Hewitt received his BM with a Distinction in Performance and Academic Honors from the New England Conservatory in May 2001 where he received the Chadwick Medal, the highest honor bestowed upon an undergraduate. He has returned to NEC as the Tourjeé Alumni Award winner for a Masters Degree in conducting under Charles Peltz.
Click here for more on Eric