Highest Artistic Honor= Serving Communities
Link to website of my community concert organization discussed in video: www.MusicUnboxed.org
Écouter – “Listen Tour” ’14
Natalie Spehar
"Yet another wonderful example of the tremendous versatility of the cello in the right hands, which Natalie Spehar’s clearly are." - Susan Scheid, Prufrock's Dilemma
An accomplished classical, rock, and folk cellist, Natalie has performed as a member of several ensembles, including most recently the Great Noise Ensemble, Écouter, the Low End String Quartet and the Washington, D.C. based cello rock ensemble, Primitivity. With a strong interest in contemporary music, Natalie has enjoyed mastering and premiering new and experimental works for cello, including several recent projects with live electronics and tape.
Natalie has performed as a soloist with Graham Reynolds in The Kennedy Center’s presentation of The Difference Engine, with the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire and University of Maryland Percussion Ensembles, and with the Canton Symphony Orchestra, and has presented world premiere performances in venues including Ravinia, Severance Hall, and the National Gallery of Art. She has also been awarded several scholarships, among them a USA Projects grant, the Canton MacDowell Club Scholarship and the Howard Hanson Scholarship toward her studies at the Eastman School of Music. In the summer of 2009, Natalie was one of five American performers selected to participate in Northeastern University’s Fusion Arts Exchange, a program and concert tour funded by the U.S. Department of State that featured young musicians from six countries, and in 2011-12 she participated in the inaugural New Music on the Point contemporary music festival as well as the inaugural Fresh Inc. Festival led by Chicago’s esteemed Fifth House Ensemble. An enthusiastic presenter of new music, Natalie has premiered new cello works by composers Tomek Regulski, Finola Merivale, Orie Sato, Keane Southard, Andrew Watts, famed Syrian recording artist Malek Jandali, and her 2011-12 season featured her in premieres of works by renowned composers Zoe Keating, Sarah Lipstate, Cornelius Dufallo and Hannah Lash. Natalie also recorded an original soundtrack for the television documentary Through the Eye of the Needle, as well as composed and recorded the solo cello original soundtrack for the award-winning animated film Test Anxiety.
Natalie holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Cello Performance as well as a Certificate in Arts Leadership from Eastman School of Music, where she studied with Alan Harris. An avid supporter of music outreach, Natalie has recently served as an Arts & Learning Intern for Young Audiences, Inc., an educator with Music For Life, and a performing member of the MacDowell Music Club, all national organizations dedicated to encouraging and providing community music education. She currently resides in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, and looks forward to the upcoming season, in which she will present several solo cello premieres in the Washington, D.C., Ohio, and New York City areas, as well as record her solo debut CD.
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Tasting Notes
Wine pairings:
F. Fiorillo Duet in C Major, Op. 31, No. 1
Mvmt 1
Broglia “La Meirana” Gavi di Gavi, 2013, Piedmont, Italy
Ravel Sonate for violin & cello
I. Allegro
Clos Cibonne Tibouren Rosé, 2012, Cotes de Provence, France
II. Trés vif
Torremilanos “Los Cantos”, 2010, Ribera del Duero, Spain
III. Lent
Masciarelli “Marina Cvectic”, 2009, Montepulciano d’Abruzzo
IV. Vif, avec entrain
Domaine du Gour de Chaulé Gigondas “Cuvée Tradition”, 2010, Rhone Valley, France
Natalie Spehar
"Yet another wonderful example of the tremendous versatility of the cello in the right hands, which Natalie Spehar’s clearly are." - Susan Scheid, Prufrock's Dilemma
An accomplished classical, rock, and folk cellist, Natalie has performed as a member of several ensembles, including most recently the Great Noise Ensemble, Écouter, the Low End String Quartet and the Washington, D.C. based cello rock ensemble, Primitivity. With a strong interest in contemporary music, Natalie has enjoyed mastering and premiering new and experimental works for cello, including several recent projects with live electronics and tape.
Natalie has performed as a soloist with Graham Reynolds in The Kennedy Center’s presentation of The Difference Engine, with the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire and University of Maryland Percussion Ensembles, and with the Canton Symphony Orchestra, and has presented world premiere performances in venues including Ravinia, Severance Hall, and the National Gallery of Art. She has also been awarded several scholarships, among them a USA Projects grant, the Canton MacDowell Club Scholarship and the Howard Hanson Scholarship toward her studies at the Eastman School of Music. In the summer of 2009, Natalie was one of five American performers selected to participate in Northeastern University’s Fusion Arts Exchange, a program and concert tour funded by the U.S. Department of State that featured young musicians from six countries, and in 2011-12 she participated in the inaugural New Music on the Point contemporary music festival as well as the inaugural Fresh Inc. Festival led by Chicago’s esteemed Fifth House Ensemble. An enthusiastic presenter of new music, Natalie has premiered new cello works by composers Tomek Regulski, Finola Merivale, Orie Sato, Keane Southard, Andrew Watts, famed Syrian recording artist Malek Jandali, and her 2011-12 season featured her in premieres of works by renowned composers Zoe Keating, Sarah Lipstate, Cornelius Dufallo and Hannah Lash. Natalie also recorded an original soundtrack for the television documentary Through the Eye of the Needle, as well as composed and recorded the solo cello original soundtrack for the award-winning animated film Test Anxiety.
Natalie holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Cello Performance as well as a Certificate in Arts Leadership from Eastman School of Music, where she studied with Alan Harris. An avid supporter of music outreach, Natalie has recently served as an Arts & Learning Intern for Young Audiences, Inc., an educator with Music For Life, and a performing member of the MacDowell Music Club, all national organizations dedicated to encouraging and providing community music education. She currently resides in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, and looks forward to the upcoming season, in which she will present several solo cello premieres in the Washington, D.C., Ohio, and New York City areas, as well as record her solo debut CD.
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AYAP – Summer String Institute
Natalie Spehar
"Yet another wonderful example of the tremendous versatility of the cello in the right hands, which Natalie Spehar’s clearly are." - Susan Scheid, Prufrock's Dilemma
An accomplished classical, rock, and folk cellist, Natalie has performed as a member of several ensembles, including most recently the Great Noise Ensemble, Écouter, the Low End String Quartet and the Washington, D.C. based cello rock ensemble, Primitivity. With a strong interest in contemporary music, Natalie has enjoyed mastering and premiering new and experimental works for cello, including several recent projects with live electronics and tape.
Natalie has performed as a soloist with Graham Reynolds in The Kennedy Center’s presentation of The Difference Engine, with the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire and University of Maryland Percussion Ensembles, and with the Canton Symphony Orchestra, and has presented world premiere performances in venues including Ravinia, Severance Hall, and the National Gallery of Art. She has also been awarded several scholarships, among them a USA Projects grant, the Canton MacDowell Club Scholarship and the Howard Hanson Scholarship toward her studies at the Eastman School of Music. In the summer of 2009, Natalie was one of five American performers selected to participate in Northeastern University’s Fusion Arts Exchange, a program and concert tour funded by the U.S. Department of State that featured young musicians from six countries, and in 2011-12 she participated in the inaugural New Music on the Point contemporary music festival as well as the inaugural Fresh Inc. Festival led by Chicago’s esteemed Fifth House Ensemble. An enthusiastic presenter of new music, Natalie has premiered new cello works by composers Tomek Regulski, Finola Merivale, Orie Sato, Keane Southard, Andrew Watts, famed Syrian recording artist Malek Jandali, and her 2011-12 season featured her in premieres of works by renowned composers Zoe Keating, Sarah Lipstate, Cornelius Dufallo and Hannah Lash. Natalie also recorded an original soundtrack for the television documentary Through the Eye of the Needle, as well as composed and recorded the solo cello original soundtrack for the award-winning animated film Test Anxiety.
Natalie holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Cello Performance as well as a Certificate in Arts Leadership from Eastman School of Music, where she studied with Alan Harris. An avid supporter of music outreach, Natalie has recently served as an Arts & Learning Intern for Young Audiences, Inc., an educator with Music For Life, and a performing member of the MacDowell Music Club, all national organizations dedicated to encouraging and providing community music education. She currently resides in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, and looks forward to the upcoming season, in which she will present several solo cello premieres in the Washington, D.C., Ohio, and New York City areas, as well as record her solo debut CD.
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GNE @ Bang On a Can Marathon
Natalie Spehar
"Yet another wonderful example of the tremendous versatility of the cello in the right hands, which Natalie Spehar’s clearly are." - Susan Scheid, Prufrock's Dilemma
An accomplished classical, rock, and folk cellist, Natalie has performed as a member of several ensembles, including most recently the Great Noise Ensemble, Écouter, the Low End String Quartet and the Washington, D.C. based cello rock ensemble, Primitivity. With a strong interest in contemporary music, Natalie has enjoyed mastering and premiering new and experimental works for cello, including several recent projects with live electronics and tape.
Natalie has performed as a soloist with Graham Reynolds in The Kennedy Center’s presentation of The Difference Engine, with the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire and University of Maryland Percussion Ensembles, and with the Canton Symphony Orchestra, and has presented world premiere performances in venues including Ravinia, Severance Hall, and the National Gallery of Art. She has also been awarded several scholarships, among them a USA Projects grant, the Canton MacDowell Club Scholarship and the Howard Hanson Scholarship toward her studies at the Eastman School of Music. In the summer of 2009, Natalie was one of five American performers selected to participate in Northeastern University’s Fusion Arts Exchange, a program and concert tour funded by the U.S. Department of State that featured young musicians from six countries, and in 2011-12 she participated in the inaugural New Music on the Point contemporary music festival as well as the inaugural Fresh Inc. Festival led by Chicago’s esteemed Fifth House Ensemble. An enthusiastic presenter of new music, Natalie has premiered new cello works by composers Tomek Regulski, Finola Merivale, Orie Sato, Keane Southard, Andrew Watts, famed Syrian recording artist Malek Jandali, and her 2011-12 season featured her in premieres of works by renowned composers Zoe Keating, Sarah Lipstate, Cornelius Dufallo and Hannah Lash. Natalie also recorded an original soundtrack for the television documentary Through the Eye of the Needle, as well as composed and recorded the solo cello original soundtrack for the award-winning animated film Test Anxiety.
Natalie holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Cello Performance as well as a Certificate in Arts Leadership from Eastman School of Music, where she studied with Alan Harris. An avid supporter of music outreach, Natalie has recently served as an Arts & Learning Intern for Young Audiences, Inc., an educator with Music For Life, and a performing member of the MacDowell Music Club, all national organizations dedicated to encouraging and providing community music education. She currently resides in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, and looks forward to the upcoming season, in which she will present several solo cello premieres in the Washington, D.C., Ohio, and New York City areas, as well as record her solo debut CD.
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We are ALL Needed
Peacefulness, Beauty, Goodness, Gentleness, Courage, and so on are all things the world will always want more of and so PLAY ON MY FELLOW ARTISTS, POETS, MUSICIANS :0)
Nicole Camacho
New York based Flutist, composer, and improviser, Nicole Camacho is creating a name for herself as an eclectic musician via vibrant premieres of composers’ works, performing in the world of popular music, involving an element of multi-media in her solo performances, and composing new flute works with a language all her own. She is a member of the folk band KK Group led by Norwegian Singer/ Songwriter, Kjersti Kveli and a founding member of Cochlea Freedom Ensemble a free improvisation group. As a result of her deep love for community, Nicole directs a community concert production organization by the name of Music Unboxed and writes a blog dedicated to featuring what's new in the flute community called Future of Flute. :0)
All posts from Nicole Camacho
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Tap into Twitter
Natalie Spehar
"Yet another wonderful example of the tremendous versatility of the cello in the right hands, which Natalie Spehar’s clearly are." - Susan Scheid, Prufrock's Dilemma
An accomplished classical, rock, and folk cellist, Natalie has performed as a member of several ensembles, including most recently the Great Noise Ensemble, Écouter, the Low End String Quartet and the Washington, D.C. based cello rock ensemble, Primitivity. With a strong interest in contemporary music, Natalie has enjoyed mastering and premiering new and experimental works for cello, including several recent projects with live electronics and tape.
Natalie has performed as a soloist with Graham Reynolds in The Kennedy Center’s presentation of The Difference Engine, with the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire and University of Maryland Percussion Ensembles, and with the Canton Symphony Orchestra, and has presented world premiere performances in venues including Ravinia, Severance Hall, and the National Gallery of Art. She has also been awarded several scholarships, among them a USA Projects grant, the Canton MacDowell Club Scholarship and the Howard Hanson Scholarship toward her studies at the Eastman School of Music. In the summer of 2009, Natalie was one of five American performers selected to participate in Northeastern University’s Fusion Arts Exchange, a program and concert tour funded by the U.S. Department of State that featured young musicians from six countries, and in 2011-12 she participated in the inaugural New Music on the Point contemporary music festival as well as the inaugural Fresh Inc. Festival led by Chicago’s esteemed Fifth House Ensemble. An enthusiastic presenter of new music, Natalie has premiered new cello works by composers Tomek Regulski, Finola Merivale, Orie Sato, Keane Southard, Andrew Watts, famed Syrian recording artist Malek Jandali, and her 2011-12 season featured her in premieres of works by renowned composers Zoe Keating, Sarah Lipstate, Cornelius Dufallo and Hannah Lash. Natalie also recorded an original soundtrack for the television documentary Through the Eye of the Needle, as well as composed and recorded the solo cello original soundtrack for the award-winning animated film Test Anxiety.
Natalie holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Cello Performance as well as a Certificate in Arts Leadership from Eastman School of Music, where she studied with Alan Harris. An avid supporter of music outreach, Natalie has recently served as an Arts & Learning Intern for Young Audiences, Inc., an educator with Music For Life, and a performing member of the MacDowell Music Club, all national organizations dedicated to encouraging and providing community music education. She currently resides in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, and looks forward to the upcoming season, in which she will present several solo cello premieres in the Washington, D.C., Ohio, and New York City areas, as well as record her solo debut CD.
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Curious Vlog
Brenton Alston
Brenton F. Alston
Visiting Instructor of Symphonic Conducting- Conductor of the FIU Wind Ensemble
At FIU, Dr. Alston conducts the FIU Wind Ensemble and Chamber Winds in addition to teaching Private Graduate Conducting Lessons, Basic Undergraduate Conducting and Symphonic Literature courses.
Prior to coming to FIU Alston served as Director of Instrumental Music and Conductor of the Wind Ensemble at the famed New World School of the Arts High School (Miami, Florida) as well as Visiting Director of Bands at Radford University (Radford, Virginia).
Dr. Alston has been conferred with the Doctorate of Musical Arts and Advanced Artist Diploma in Instrumental Conducting from the University of Miami- Frost School of Music (Coral Gables, Florida), Master of Arts in Music with a concentration in Conducting from Radford University (Radford, Virginia) and Bachelor of Arts in Music with concentrations in Music Education and Performance from Catawba College (Salisbury, North Carolina).
Dr. Alston retains memberships in the Conductors’ Guild, College Band Directors National Association and Pi Mu Alpha Sinfonia.
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Video Blog – Active Engagement?
Elaine Li
Elaine Li is the current Bands Collection Librarian at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. Her position centers around serving all performing groups, conductors, and conducting GTAs with their music needs including acquisition, research, creation of part folders for student performers, creating edited parts, assembling scores, preparing materials for band related classes, and maintaining one of the world's largest performance collections of band repertoire. She also manages certain responsibilities centered around performances and touring including program copy and concert PR support.
Ms. Li received her master’s degree in Library Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2012. She also holds a master’s degree in violin performance from the University of Miami and bachelor's degrees in music performance and English from the University of Florida. Prior to her appointment at the University of Illinois Bands, she was Orchestra Librarian for Sinfonia da Camera, a graduate assistant at the University of Illinois Archives, and an Ensemble Library Intern in the Frederick and Elizabeth Ludwig Fennell Library at the 2012 Interlochen Arts Camp. She was a library fellow at the 2011 Tanglewood Music Center in the Ozawa Library, working closely with members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Juilliard School, and was a librarian during the Aspen Music Festival 2010 season, working as Aspen Opera Theatre Company librarian and assistant librarian for the American Academy of Conducting at Aspen. From 2008 to 2010, Ms. Li was the Head Librarian of the Greater Miami Youth Symphony. She continues to perform violin locally with the Champaign-Urbana Symphony, Sinfonia da Camera, and other ensembles around Central Illinois.
All posts from Elaine Li
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Creating Opportunities – Fairfax Chamber Ensemble
Natalie Spehar
"Yet another wonderful example of the tremendous versatility of the cello in the right hands, which Natalie Spehar’s clearly are." - Susan Scheid, Prufrock's Dilemma
An accomplished classical, rock, and folk cellist, Natalie has performed as a member of several ensembles, including most recently the Great Noise Ensemble, Écouter, the Low End String Quartet and the Washington, D.C. based cello rock ensemble, Primitivity. With a strong interest in contemporary music, Natalie has enjoyed mastering and premiering new and experimental works for cello, including several recent projects with live electronics and tape.
Natalie has performed as a soloist with Graham Reynolds in The Kennedy Center’s presentation of The Difference Engine, with the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire and University of Maryland Percussion Ensembles, and with the Canton Symphony Orchestra, and has presented world premiere performances in venues including Ravinia, Severance Hall, and the National Gallery of Art. She has also been awarded several scholarships, among them a USA Projects grant, the Canton MacDowell Club Scholarship and the Howard Hanson Scholarship toward her studies at the Eastman School of Music. In the summer of 2009, Natalie was one of five American performers selected to participate in Northeastern University’s Fusion Arts Exchange, a program and concert tour funded by the U.S. Department of State that featured young musicians from six countries, and in 2011-12 she participated in the inaugural New Music on the Point contemporary music festival as well as the inaugural Fresh Inc. Festival led by Chicago’s esteemed Fifth House Ensemble. An enthusiastic presenter of new music, Natalie has premiered new cello works by composers Tomek Regulski, Finola Merivale, Orie Sato, Keane Southard, Andrew Watts, famed Syrian recording artist Malek Jandali, and her 2011-12 season featured her in premieres of works by renowned composers Zoe Keating, Sarah Lipstate, Cornelius Dufallo and Hannah Lash. Natalie also recorded an original soundtrack for the television documentary Through the Eye of the Needle, as well as composed and recorded the solo cello original soundtrack for the award-winning animated film Test Anxiety.
Natalie holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Cello Performance as well as a Certificate in Arts Leadership from Eastman School of Music, where she studied with Alan Harris. An avid supporter of music outreach, Natalie has recently served as an Arts & Learning Intern for Young Audiences, Inc., an educator with Music For Life, and a performing member of the MacDowell Music Club, all national organizations dedicated to encouraging and providing community music education. She currently resides in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, and looks forward to the upcoming season, in which she will present several solo cello premieres in the Washington, D.C., Ohio, and New York City areas, as well as record her solo debut CD.
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