Author Archives: Colleen

The Camac Festival is almost here!

We are deeply honored to be included in an elite roster of performers affiliated with Camac Harps at next weekend’s Camac Festival, November 3-5. We will be performing a 30-minute set of new music, including pieces by Russell Nadel, June Violet Aino, and Rachel Brandwein, on Friday night’s (November 3) 7:30pm concert alongside the young celebrated harp soloist Janice Hur and the world-famous harpist Isabelle Moretti.

The entire festival is FREE to attend, courtesy of Camac Harps, and is held at the Sheraton Suites Old Town in Alexandria, Virginia. If you’d like to come, there is still room for you! Please RSVP to the Virginia Harp Center, who is graciously co-sponsoring the festival.

September 2017 Concert Recap

We began our autumn engagements last month with one final round of rehearsals and a concert at Central Connecticut State University on September 19-21, which concluded our artist residency from 2016-2017.

What a fulfilling experience to work with composition faculty Brian Kershner and Charles Menoche bringing their pieces to life! These CCSU premieres are now available to watch streaming on our YouTube channel.

With composition faculty Brian Kershner (left) and Charles Menoche (right) after the Sept. 21 premiere of their new works at CCSU.

The weekend after CCSU found us at Chowan University in Murfreesboro, North Carolina, on September 29, where we presented a workshop on entrepreneurial chamber music for the music industry students and performed a concert on the university’s Friends of Music concert series. We really enjoyed engaging with the students and community members in this lovely college town; everyone we worked with was generous and enthusiastic about new music and our instrumental combination. Thanks to department chair Mary Hellmann for inviting us!

With Chowan University music faculty Mary Hellmann and Ben Thorburn after our concert on Sept. 29.

Apple Orange Pair at Connecticut Summerfest, June 15-21

We are delighted to be returning for a second season as an ensemble-in-residence at Connecticut Summerfest in Hartford, CT! We had a great time collaborating with the festival’s composers last year and look forward to a similarly rewarding and fruitful time this season.

Our opening concert on Friday, June 16 highlights four contemporary compositions for harp and horn with vivid literary connections: Roland, by Michael Weinstein-Reiman; Mask of the Red Death, by S. Beth May; In the Vicinity of Asteroids 325, 326, 327, 328, 329, and 330, by June Violet Aino; and AOIDOI: An Odyssey for Horn and Harp, by Lothar Klein.

We will also be performing premieres of new works by Connecticut Summerfest composers Patrick Holcomb, Joshua Sparkman, and Jonathan Newmark in an evening of premieres on Tuesday, June 21.

Please come join us for any of these concerts if you are in the Hartford area this week! We would love to see you at and after the concerts. (As an added incentive, there may be amazing local ice cream served afterwards!).

All performances are in Berkman Recital Hall at the Hartt School at 8:00pm and are free to the public.

Apple Orange Pair is headed to the Camac Festival in Washington DC!

We are very excited and honored to be performing a 30-minute recital at the first DC-area Camac Harp Festival this November! We will be performing on the same larger concert program as Isabelle Moretti on Friday, November 3.

Thanks to Camac Harps for the invitation! We can’t wait to share some fresh chamber music with the DC-area, and to showcase how Colleen’s Camac harp in action.

camac harp festival flyer

Open rehearsal and concert at CCSU postponed

Unfortunately, due to an unforeseen and unavoidable family situation, we have had to postpone the premieres of CCSU faculty works scheduled for March 7 and 9 until later this fall. CCSU has been wonderfully accommodating and helpful and we are confident that we will be able to finish this important part of our residency in early September. Stay tuned for announcements of the new dates for the premieres of pieces by Dr. Charles Menoche and Dr. Brian Kershner.

Update: We will be performing works by Drs. Menoche and Kershner at CCSU on Tuesday and Thursday, September 19 and 21! Event information has been updated on our calendar page.