New Music Miami ISCM Festival: The Amernet String Quartet & Martin Kuuskmann

Pre-Concert Talk with Martin Kuuskman: 6:30pm

Performance: 7:30pm

Grammy nominated bassoonist Martin Kuuskmann joins FIU’s Ensemble-in-Residence the Amernet String Quartet & members of the NODUS Ensemble for an evening of works by Tulve, Berio, Dougherty, Kim, Koonce, Rolle, and others.

About Kusskmann– Grammy nominated Estonian-born bassoon virtuoso, Martin Kuuskmann’s charismatic and commanding performances throughout the world have earned him repute as one of the leading solo instrumentalists today. The New York Times praised Kuuskmann’s playing as “…the amazing bassoonist…Kuuskmann played stunningly…”

Constantly pushing the boundaries for new artistic and technical possibilities, Kuuskmann has premiered eight bassoon concertos, all written and dedicated to him by some of the foremost composers of our time — Erkki-Sven Tüür, Eino Tamberg, Tõnu Kõrvits, Christopher Theofanidis, David Chesky, Gregor Huebner, Gene Pritsker and Charles Coleman. In 2013/14 season he will premiering concertos written for him by Ülo Krigul, Miguel Kertsman as well as a new concerto by Gene Pritsker. Kuuskmann’s collaboration with composers including Daniel Schnyder, Helena Tulve and jazz icon John Patitucci have lead to numerous new solo works from bassoon and string quartet to amplified bassoon and electronics. Kuuskmann has performed Michael Daugherty’s madcap concerto “Dead Elvis” across the world nearly 50 times and won the prestigious German Record Critics Prize in 2001 with Absolute Ensemble and the recording of “Dead Elvis.”

A graduate of the Yale and the Manhattan Schools of Music, Kuuskmann’s mentors include Stephen Maxym, Frank Morelli, Ilmar Aasmets and Rufus Olivier. As an avid educator, Kuuskmann taught at the Manhattan School of Music Contemporary Performance Program (2007-2012) and currently teaches at Cornish College of Arts in Seattle. He serves as the woodwind coach of the Baltic Youth Philharmonic and teaches regularly at the Arosa Music Academy in Switzerland. Kuuskmann is a founding member and solo bassoonist of the New York City based Absolute Ensemble. An artist of Bernd Moosmann bassoons, Miller Marketing Company, Martin Kuuskmann plays on the Moosmann 222 model bassoons.

Program

Song to a Distant Friend by Tõnu Kõrvits

performed by Martin Kuuskmann, bassoon

*Parallax by Paul Koonce

*Aphakia by William Dougherty

performed by Jason Calloway, cello & Chen-Hui Jen, piano

*From the Bottom of the Sea by Jihyun Kim

Jihyun Kim, Sheng

Vertigo by Olav Berg

performed by Martin Kuuskmann, bassoon

*für Klarenz by Brandon J. Rolle

performed by Chen-Hui Jen, piano

Und von liehte vinster by Helena Tulve

performed by Martin Kuuskmann, bassoon & Amernet String Quartet

*ISCM International Call for Scores Selected work