Dismantling Dissonance

Soaring around the world with Menominee Indian Reservation roots, Wade Fernandez (Walks With The Black Wolf) is a “deeply authentic” multi-award winning international touring artist from the Menominee Nation. Winning numerous awards in many genres, Fernandez's musical style knows no bounds. Beginning his solo career joining Jackson Browne & the Indigo Girls onstage has led to a long career with over 60 international tours. Both his music and his message is firmly grounded in his Menominee Reservation roots and love for the land, animals, and people.  His passion to educate, share music, culture and honor Grandmother Earth is reflected in his international presentations and work in schools (k-college), workshops, with the elderly, the mentally disabled, elders, youth and concerts both rocking and soothing stages from Woodstock 94 to Honor The Earth.  During the COVID-19 epidemic Wade became a team leader/community health worker for Creative Health Collective servicing the needs of the Native American community on the ground, through film, and livestreaming. He continues to give concerts and lectures through the internet as he waits for the world to become safe for touring again.

Website
Facebook

Violinist and violist Gabe Bolkosky has been praised for the way he "takes audiences into his confidence and includes them" and described as having "the serenity of a master without a hint of coldness." He has performed and taught across the United States, abroad, working with all ages of musicians.  He recently pioneered an online approach to music-making and collaboration from home. His organization, Education for Happiness, recently launched PhoenixPhest Virtual Online Chamber Music Immersive, culminating a 20 year in-person program.  His focus educationally has been to help musicians in all developmental stages and levels of interest with a focus on inclusion.

Primarily a violinist, he performs a diverse repertoire of classical and contemporary works with different collaborative artists from many musical genres in many of the great concert halls.  As a violist, Gabe helped found the Bayberry String Quartet in 2018 and continues to play in this group with his wife Steffani. To date, Gabe has released seven recordings that show his breadth as a musician focused in the areas of contemporary music, jazz, and nuevo tango as well as traditional classical music, with plans to expand into the world of DAW and BandLab. Over the last two decades, Gabe served as the executive director of The Phoenix Ensemble, a nonprofit organization dedicated to warm hearted and compassionate arts education. 

Education for Happiness
Gabe's Website

American violist Rita Porfiris  has performed in major concert halls and music festivals worldwide as a chamber musician, orchestral musician, and as a soloist.

Currently the Associate Professor of Viola and Director of Chamber Music at The Hartt School, she has also been on the faculties of New York University, the University of Houston Moores’ School of Music, Florida International University, and the Harlem School for the Arts in New York. She has given master classes, lectures and clinics across the U.S., United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Argentina, Brazil, Iceland, Taiwan, and the Dominican Republic.

Ms. Porfiris is a member of the Miller-Porfiris Duo and the Hartt Quartet. As a founding member of the Plymouth Quartet, she was in-residence at the Ojai Festival, Mainly Mozart, Point Counterpoint, and the Internationale Quartettakademie Prag-Wien-Budapest. She was the recipient of Austria’s prestigious Prix Mercure, a prize winner in the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition and the Primrose International Viola Competition, and a laureate of the Paolo Borciani International Quartet Competition.

In her 20 year-long career as an orchestral musician, 15 years of which were spent with the Houston Symphony, she worked under some of the most recognized conductors of the 20-21 Centuries, including Leonard Bernstein, Sergiu Celibidache, Kurt Masur, Michael Tilson Thomas, and Christoph Eschenbach. Equally at home in a wide variety of genres, Rita has shared the stage with Burt Bacharach, Ray Charles, Bernadette Peters, Lyle Lovett, Rod Stewart, and Tony Bennett, to name a few.

Highlights of recent seasons include chamber concerts with Lynn Harrell, Joseph Kalichstein, and Jamie Laredo; tours to Israel, Europe, and Taiwan; sold-out concerto appearances at the historic Gewandhaus in Leipzig, Germany; Baltimore, Maryland and Lincoln, Nebraska; and a performance of the rarely played Romantic Rhapsody for Violin, Viola and Orchestra by Arthur Benjamin as part of the Miller-Porfiris Duo. In May 2016, the Baltimore Sun declared "Rita Porfiris proved an ideal soloist, as much for her richness of tone and impeccable articulation as for the warmth and subtlety of her phrasing."

Rita’s transcriptions for the viola of both classical music staples and pop favorites have been enjoyed worldwide by audiences and performers. Gramophone Magazine called her  transcription of Gliere’s Eight Pieces Op. 39, recorded on the Miller-Porfiris Duo’s second CD “Eight Pieces,”  "satisfying" and "sung with beautiful warmth." Recent acclaim from Fanfare for the Duo's third CD, entitled "Divertimenti" declares their playing "a lightning bolt" and speaks to the "color, fire, and passion."

Ms. Porfiris received both her BM and MM in Viola Performance from The Juilliard School, studying with William Lincer. Other teachers and mentors included Paul Doktor, Norbert Brainin, and Harvey Shapiro.

Website
Uncertainty of Fate Festival

Krissy Bergmark is a tabla player, percussionist, and composer in the Twin Cities. Bergmark
centers her work on bringing tabla to new genres and cross-genres through composition and
performance. She has received commissions and grants through the Cedar Commissions, the
Jerome Foundation, the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, and the Minnesota State Arts
Board for her tabla studies and compositions for tabla, percussion, and strings. She was also a
participant in the International Workshop in Jazz and Creative Music at Banff Center for Arts
and Creativity in 2018, and Silkroad Ensemble’s Global Musician Workshop in 2016. She
performs with her progressive folk trio Sprig of That, electronics and tabla duo Lo.mocean, and a variety of other musicians in Minneapolis, Saint Paul, Chicago, and New York. Krissy is a
2010 graduate of Northern Illinois University and a 2012 graduate of the University of
Minnesota. She is an Adjunct Professor of Percussion at Gustavus Adolphus College. Krissy
endorses Innovative Percussion sticks and mallets. You can stay updated on her latest
recordings, projects, and performances via Facebook, Instagram, and krissybergmark.com.

Kenji Bunch is one of America’s most engaging, influential, and prolific composers. Through an expansive blend of classical and vernacular styles, Bunch makes music that’s “clearly modern but deeply respectful of tradition and instantly enjoyable.” (The Washington Post) Deemed “emotional Americana,” (Oregon ArtsWatch) and infused with folk and roots influences, Bunch’s work has inspired a new genre classification: “Call it neo-American: casual on the outside, complex underneath, immediate and accessible to first-time listeners… Bunch’s music is shiningly original.” (The Oregonian) Hailed by The New York Times as “A Composer To Watch” and cited by Alex Ross in his seminal book The Rest Is Noise, Bunch’s wit, lyricism, unpredictability, and exquisite craftsmanship earn acclaim from audiences, performers, and critics alike. His interests in history, philosophy, and intergenerational and cross-cultural sharing of the arts reflect in his work. Varied style references in Bunch's writing mirror the diversity of global influence on American culture and reveal his deft ability to integrate bluegrass, hip hop, jazz, and funk idioms. Rich, tonal harmonies and drawn-out, satisfying builds characterize Bunch’s work and easily lend themselves to dance and film. Over sixty American orchestras have performed Bunch’s music, which “reache(s) into every section of the orchestra to create an intriguing mixture of sonic colors.” (NW Reverb) Recent works include commissions and premieres from the Seattle Symphony, the Oregon Symphony, the Lark Quartet, the Britt Festival, Music From Angel Fire, Chamber Music Northwest, the Eugene Ballet, and the Grant Park Music Festival. His extensive discography includes recordings on Sony/BMG, EMI Classics, Koch, RCA, and Naxos labels among others. Also an outstanding violist, Bunch was the first student ever to receive dual Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in viola and composition from The Juilliard School and was a founding member of the highly acclaimed ensembles Flux Quartet (1996-2002) and Ne(x)tworks (2003-2011). Bunch currently serves as Artistic Director of Fear No Music, and teaches viola, composition, and music theory at Portland State University, Reed College, and for the Portland Youth Philharmonic.

Website: https://www.kenjibunch.net
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kenjibunchmusic  

Performer-Composer Brian Kavolius-Matherne is a horn and electronics soloist with
projects as varied as the medium is unique. With influences including Tchaikovsky, Strauss,
Broadway, French-Acoustic-Folk, David Maslanka, and Julia Kent, it is no wonder that he
took to composition to synthesize all the music he hears!

Brian developed a taste for new music early in his career, performing with the EDGE New
Music Ensemble at Shenandoah Conservatory during his early training. Since then, he has
commissioned multiple new works for solo horn and various chamber groups and has
served as principal horn for world premieres of works for orchestra and band. A
collaborator at heart, common theme of a recital organized by Brian is a connection to
another art form, such as winemaking, brewing, oration, photography, or writing. As a
performer-composer, he has performed his works for audiences across the US
and Canada, ranging from Hawaiʻi to the east coast, including a recent appearance at the
Santa Clara Universities Music@Noon series.

In addition to horn and electronics life, Brian has had a full career as a solo, chamber,  and
orchestral musician. He served as principal horn in performances with the University of
Maryland Symphony Orchestra, the University of Maryland Wind Orchestra, the
Shenandoah Conservatory Symphony Orchestra, Shenandoah Summer Music Theater
Company, the Plainville Wind Ensemble, the Rapidan Orchestra, the Miami Summer Music
Festival Symphony Orchestra, and the Miami Summer Music Festival Opera Orchestra. He
is an active participant in the chamber music community wherever he lives and has been a
regular member of many groups. 

After his collegiate training, Brian was appointed the Principal Horn of the US
Navy’s “U.S. Pacific Fleet Band” in Pearl Harbor, Hawaiʻi and served under the baton of
Fleet Bandmaster Lieutenant Commander Kelly Cartwright. While serving in the Navy, he
was a featured soloist and regular horn player for the organization’s premiere brass
quintet, “Harbor Brass” and wind quintet, “Trade Winds”. During his service in the US Navy, Brian completed multiple international and domestic tours, providing musical
support for hundreds of diplomatic, military, and outreach events. He participated in the
Oʻahu Joint Military Service Band Concert in 2019, serving as principal horn for military
members in the Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Army, and National Guard. In 2018, he was
selected to perform at the Midwest Band Conference as a member of a Navy-wide
chamber ensemble. He received the National Medal of Arts “for personifying excellence in
music and service to country”. 

As a fierce advocate for musical outreach in educational settings, Brian contributed
hundreds of hours of volunteer teaching for local high schools during his military service.
He served as the head of the U.S. Pacific Fleet Band’s Music Education Outreach Program
and was the initiating agent for key programs, including multiple joint programs with
the University of Hawaiʻi Department of Music and the Navy’s first online outreach
program during COVID-19. He is committed to education and maintains an active
horn studio and stays in touch with a network of band directors, providing educational
outreach as a soloist.

Brian received his undergraduate degree in Music Therapy along with a performance
certificate from Shenandoah Conservatory and his MM in Horn Performance
from the University of Maryland. He maintains an MT-BC credential with the Certification
Board for Music Therapists. His principal teachers are Janelle Ellis, William
Zsembery, Joseph Lovinsky, and Gregory Miller.

https://www.briankm.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Brian

We're back! Bailey kicks off this next run of episodes with friend and fellow fiddle demon, Rachel Calvert. Rachel plays fiddle and sings with Barbaro, an award-winning Bluegrass and Americana band based out of Minneapolis. Barbaro’s musical vision explores their collective life experiences through intricate instrumentation, creatively bending traditional music into a style that is all their own.  The Minneapolis-Winona based rising stars have created their eclectic sound through original songwriting craft, with inspiration derived from bluegrass, jazz and chamber music.

Barbaro's social media:

• Website - barbaroband.com
• Instagram - barbaro_band
• Twitter - @Barbaro_band
• Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/barbaro.band
• YouTube - youtube.com/barbaromusic

Rachel's social media:

• Instagram - bleepbloopbeeboop
• Twitter - @callmebackplz
• Email - [email protected]

**Want to register for Sarah's cooking class on February 12th and get a discount? Use code "Dissonance" for 20% off when you click the link below!**
 https://www.hungrymusician.as.me/feast
Sarah Jane Kenner (The Hungry Musician) is a professional violinist, blogger, and culinary coach in the New York City area. As a violinist, Sarah specializes in early music, and has performed with leading period instrument ensembles in venues such as Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Washington National Cathedral, the Caramoor Center for Music and the
Arts, and Trinity Church Wall Street. She holds performance degrees from The Juilliard School, the Manhattan School of Music, and Temple University.

At The Hungry Musician, Sarah enjoys providing cooking tips and wholesome, flavorful recipes geared towards creative individuals. She knows firsthand how hard it can be to fit cooking (and other forms of self- care) into a busy lifestyle - but she also knows how essential it is for maintaining physical, mental, and creative health. For this reason, she has made it her mission to encourage her unique following and clientele to embrace cooking creatively and efficiently.

Blog: https://www.thehungrymusician.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hungrymusician
Music: http://www.sjkviolin.com
IG: @hungrymusician

This week kicks off a mini-arc of episodes that takes a look at a few ways we as musicians can take care of ourselves. Up first, we have Keri Anderson! Keri describes her passion as, "to help people look and perform at their best through fitness, nutrition, and lifestyle coaching." Keri has been the nutrition program coordinator at Lifetime Fitness since 2016, and has been a fitness professional and nutrition coach since 2006. She specializes in both 1:1 and small-group training. Her certifications include Precision Nutrition, ISSA Personal Training and Nutrition, NASM, and RKC.

On top of helping others with their own fitness and nutrition goals, Keri was a pro bodybuilder in 2015, physique and figure competitor, and competed in powerlifting in 2017. She is a wealth of information on this topic and I'm excited to share one of the strategies that has been helpful in maintaining my body so I can continue to play at a high level. * Keep in mind that everyone's needs are different, so it's always recommended to check with a professional before beginning any lifestyle changes*

This week, Bailey sits down with Evan Newman, pianist and sales wiz. A lot of musicians get turned off when they hear the word "sales;" the art should speak loudly enough for itself, right? Not always the case! Evan brings a unique perspective as someone who performs at a high level both musically and as a Cutco Sales Professional. With half a million dollars in personal sales, his experience brings a lot to this discussion! 

Outside of the Cutco world, Evan is a professional pianist, who earned his Master's Degree in Piano Performance from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He continues to teach independently in the Minneapolis area, as a part-time instructor. With Cutco, Evan specializes in helping Realtors/LO's with their gifting needs and works with the #1 team in MN. His favorite pastimes include traveling, fishing, reading, and bodybuilding.

https://www.facebook.com/Evan-Newman-Cutco-Sales-Professional-105046724553740
https://evannewmanpiano.com