Mighty ‘Hudson’

All-star trio to present 'Hudson River Quadricentennial'

Grammy-winning fiddle master Mark O’Connor, jazz clarinetist Don Byron and violinist Daniel Bernard Roumain will honor an influential body during the “Hudson River Quadricentennial Concert” March 21 at SUNY Oswego.

During the multimedia show, which will begin at 7:30 p.m. in Tyler Hall’s Waterman Theatre, the musicians will explore the past, present and future of the Hudson River 400 years after Henry Hudson’s journey of discovery. WRVO’s Mark Lavonier will serve as narrator.

O’Connor (pictured) melds influences spanning his mentors, folk fiddling giant Benny Thomasson and jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli. Aiming to blaze a new trail in American string playing, O’Connor has composed six violin concertos and recorded with artists including James Taylor, Alison Krauss, Wynton Marsalis, Chet Atkins, Dolly Parton and Yo-Yo Ma.

The Los Angeles Times called O’Connor “one of the most talented and imaginative artists working in music—any music—today.”

A clarinetist, saxophonist, composer, arranger and social critic, Byron has performed at major music festivals in such places as Vienna, San Francisco, Hong Kong, London and New York on Broadway. Named “Jazz Artist of the Year” by Down Beat Magazine in 1992, he also works in such styles as classical, salsa, hip-hop, funk, and rhythm and blues.

“Byron has carpentered an extraordinary career precisely by obliterating the very idea of category,” Time magazine noted.

Roumain creates violin pieces from orchestral and chamber to music for film, theatre and modern dance. He is noted for “One Loss Plus,” the first of three pieces commissioned by the Brooklyn Academy of Music for the Next Wave Festival, and “Five Chairs and One Table,” a commission for Imani Winds premiering at Carnegie Hall this year.

The Haitian-American artist’s work with his ensemble DBR & The Mission was described as “an evening of chamber music with the accessible feel of a rock concert” by the Albany Times-Union.

The “Hudson River Quadricentennial Concert” was commissioned by the Empire State Plaza Performing Arts Center and comes to SUNY Oswego through the college’s Artswego Performing Arts program.

The Oswego appearance is made possible by funding from Explore New York, the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Music Fund and the Ontario Center for the Performing Arts/Oswego Music Hall.

Tickets cost $15 ($12 for seniors and students, $7 for SUNY Oswego students).

For more information or tickets, contact Tyler box office at 312-2141 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), or visit http://tickets.oswego.edu.

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CONTACT: Mary Avrakotos, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

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(Posted: Feb 25, 2009)