We are Fusion String Ensemble!

Fusion String Ensemble was founded in 2007 by a group of musician friends interested in performing classical music alongside an array of different genres of music. Since then, we have shared works of Bach, Beethoven, Holst, Mozart, Shostakovich, Huey Lewis and the News, Billy Joel, Radiohead, Snarky Puppy, Dropkick Murphys and themes from "Game of Thrones" and "Downton Abbey".

We have performed in Symphony Hall Boston, Montreal, Washington D.C., Chicago and New York City. Fusion String Ensemble played the National Anthem at LaLacheur Park, home of the Boston Red Sox Short Season Single A Affiliate, the Lowell Spinners.

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Sunday, December 23, 2012

Fusion String Ensemble performs at the UnityBoston Christmas Celebration Service on Sunday, December 23, 2012 in Brookline!


Fusion String Ensemble members Abe Dewing, violin and Alley Lacasse, flue provide music for Sunday Christmas Service at UnityBoston at Christ's Church Longwood. Repertoire included Silent Night, Holy Night, Joy to the World and Hark the Herald Angels Sing.

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Fusion String Ensemble performs at Moody Street Financial Holiday Open House Celebration on Thursday, December 13, 2012 in Newton!


Our Fusion String Ensemble quartet will be performing at a Holiday Open House Celebration for Moody Street Financial in Newton on Thursday, December 13, 2012. RSVP if you would like to attend this free event.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

2013 Summer Tour Announcement

Fusion String Ensemble will be touring again in the summer of 2013. We will be traveling to Washington, D.C. and performing during a four (4) day period.  Tentative concert date(s) are in August.

In August 2011, Fusion String Ensemble embarked on our first ever international tour of Montreal, Canada.  

Please come to see us perform away from home in our nation's capital!

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Our first debut performance at the Newton Free Library is Sunday, January 6, 2013

Fusion String Ensemble will be performing for the first time at the Newton Free Library on Sunday, January 6, 2013 in Druker Auditorium. The concert begins at 2pm and is FREE to the public. We will be featuring a quartet/ quintet and a special hidden track at the end as we have with some of our previous concerts.  Please come and visit us.

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Fusion String Ensemble debuts two pieces: Ave Maria with vocalist and Lady Gaga's Bad Romance

Fusion String Ensemble performs at two weddings in Sturbridge, MA and the Boston Harbor Hotel on September 1st & 8th. We debut a string quartet version of Ave Maria with a fantastic soloist and our arrangement of Lady Gaga's Bad Romance.

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Performance at Moody Street Financial 1st Anniversary Party


Fusion String Ensemble performs at Moody Street Financial's 1st Anniversary Party in Newton.  This is our third appearance for us. Previous engagements have included their Grand Opening and their Holiday Party.

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

A PRETTY SUITE CONCERT Digital Concert Program


presents


A PRETTY SUITE CONCERT

Jon Ceander Mitchell, special guest conductor 

Unity Boston (formerly Christ Church Unity)
70 Colchester Street
Brookline, Massachusetts

Thursday, July 26, 2012 at 7:30pm
$8

CONCERT PROGRAM

St. Paul’s Suite, Op. 29 No. 2 (Original Version) by Gustav Holst

I. Jig
II. Ostinato
III. Intermezzo
IV. Finale (The Dargason)

Voyage for flute and strings by John Corigliano

Alley Lacasse, flute
Richard Romanoff, conductor

~ INTERMISSION ~

Holberg Suite, Op. 40 by Edvard Grieg

I. Praeludium (Allegro vivace)
II. Sarabande (Andante)
III. Gavotte (Allegretto)
IV. Air (Andante religioso)
V. Rigaudon (Allegro con brio)

Carmen Suite No. 1 by Georges Bizet

I. Prélude (Act I, Prélude: "Fate" motive)
Ia. Aragonaise (Interlude (Entr'acte) before Act IV)
II. Intermezzo (Interlude (Entr'acte) before Act III)
III. Séguedille (Act I, Seguidilla (Carmen): Près des remparts de Séville
IV. Les Dragons d'Alcala (Interlude (Entr'acte) before Act II)
V. Les Toréadors (Theme from Prelude to Act I and Procession of the Toreadors from Act
      IV: Les voici! voici la quadrille des Toreros!)

Fusion String Ensemble is:

Violin I
Flora Lee, concertmaster
Jeff Bezanson
Monica Mitchell
Melanie Maz

Violin II
Janet Martins, principal
Klenda Martinez
Abe Dewing
Jennifer Lyons

Viola
Molly Shira, principal
Erika Shira
Madeline DiLorenzo
Sarah Izen

Cello
Amy Nolan, principal
Kevin Hedrick
Maggie Zager

Bass
Nate Haggett, principal

Flute
Alley Lacasse
Bria Schecker

Oboe
Anthony Cheung
M. Patrick Kane

Clarinet
Richard Romanoff

Bassoon
Carly Cassano

Trumpet
Jamie Godwin

Trombone
Alley Lacasse
Richard Romanoff

Percussion
Natalie Shelton
Doug Jacobs
Danielle Fortner

Harp (on Keyboard)
Fritz Winegardner

Conductor (for Voyage)
Richard Romanoff


PROGRAM NOTES

GUSTAV HOLST (1874–1934)
St. Paul’s Suite, Op. 29 No. 2 (Original Version)

Holst composed the St. Paul’s Suite, Op. 29 No. 2 [H118] in 1912 for his own orchestra at St. Paul’s Girls’ School, located in London’s borough of Hammersmith.  Parts for wind and percussion were added sometime before the work’s 1922 publication.

The original manuscript score contains four additional measures toward the end of the “Ostinato” that are not in the published score; the movement itself was probably a later addition (Holst’s students were surprised to discover its existence at the time of publication).  Of greater impact, however, are the sixty-three measures in the “Dance” (re-titled “Intermezzo”) dropped from the publication.  These measures change the entire context of the movement, providing an anticipation of the solo string quartet passage as well as a beautiful major-key middle section.  The bold, yet asymmetrical dorian “Jig” and famous “Dargason-Greensleeves” Finale (first used in the Second Suite in F for Military Band, Op. 28, No. 2) remain essentially unchanged in the published version.  The University of Massachusetts Boston Chamber Orchestra takes pride in being probably the only orchestra in the world performing this work as Holst originally conceived it.


JOHN CORIGILIANO (1938-)
Voyage for flute and strings

The Academy Award Winner for The Red Violin (for Best Music, Original Score in 1996) originally composed this as an a capella choral work in 1971. This piece is a setting of Richard Wilbur’s translation of Baudelaire’s L’Invitation au Voyage. Wilbur’s poignant setting pictures a world of obsessive imagination – a vision of heaven full of sensual imagery. The music echoes the quality of the repeated refrain found in this lush translation: “There, there is nothing else but grace and measure, richness, quietness and pleasure.” The flute and string orchestra arrangement was composed in 1983.


EDVARD GRIEG (1843-1907)
Holberg Suite, Op. 40

In 1884, Grieg was one of several Scandinavian composers who were commissioned to write a commemorative piece for the celebration of the bicentennial of the birth of “the Molière of the North”, the Norwegian writer Ludvig Baron Holberg (1684-1754). Grieg called his set of short piano pieces 'From Holberg’s Time'. Holberg was a contemporary of Bach and Handel, so Grieg chose to cast his tribute in the form of a Baroque period keyboard suite.

The work was well received when the composer played it at the Bergen Holberg celebration in December 1884; so well, in fact, that a few months later he transcribed the music for string orchestra. Grieg cast the movements of his charming suite in the musical forms of the 18th century, but filled them with the spirit of his own time and style. A vivacious Praeludium, a miniature sonata-form movement, is followed by a series of dances: a touching Sarabande; a perky Gavotte, which is linked to a Musette built above a mock-bagpipe drone; a solemn Air, modeled on the Air on the G String from Bach’s Third Orchestral Suite; and a lively closing Rigaudon.


GEORGES BIZET (1838-1875)
Carmen Suite, No. 1

The sequence adopted for this performance is based on the first suite, with the addition of the Habañera from Act 1 of the opera. The short prelude presents the threatening fate motive that occurs frequently throughout the opera, most significantly at the end. The Aragonaise describes the lively street scenes in Seville before the start of the bull fight. The Intermezzo is the central point of the opera. Coming before the opening to Act 3 it expresses Don Jose's deep love for Carmen in a short moment of calm when their relationship seems secure. It contains one of the most beautiful melodies ever written for the flute. The Seguedille is a Spanish song and dance that Carmen uses to seduce Don Jose into releasing her from prison. Les Dragons d'Alcala is march in a 'toy' military style that opens the second act. The habañera, which is perhaps the most famous aria of the opera, is sung by Carmen in Act 1, and fatally attracts Don Jose. The tune was taken, with acknowledgement, from a popular contemporary Cuban dance composed by Sebastián Yradier. The Latin American idiom and the rich orchestration give it a seductive character, yet the chromatic movement in the melody makes it intangible and slippery, suggesting the unattainable. The final movement describes the brilliant parade of the Toreadors on their way to the bull ring in Seville..

A special thanks to the following for making this possible:

Unity Boston, Kyle Dewing, Betsy Kane, Jon Ceander Mitchell, Reverend Evrol Officer, Ashley Sullivan, Fritz Winegardner, Cynthia Woods and You, our fantastic audience!


Thursday, July 19, 2012

Fusion String Ensemble hosts first ever Outdoor Open Rehearsal and Performance on Thursday, July 19th at 7PM

We are hosting our first ever Outdoor Open Rehearsal and Performance on Wyoming Road in Newton on Thursday, July 19th at 7PM. The program will consist of two pieces at these times.

7PM Voyage Rehearsal
715PM Carmen Rehearsal
740PM Voyage Performance
750PM Carmen Performance
815PM End

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Jon Ceander Mitchell, Guest Conductor

JOHN CEANDER MITCHELL

Jon Ceander Mitchell was born in Chicago, IL in 1949. A well-known conductor, scholar, and music educator, he taught music in the public schools of Puerto Rico and Illinois for seven years before embarking on a successful academic career. He has more than seventy publications, including five books. His specialty areas have included Gustav Holst, Ludwig van Beethoven, Ralph Vaughan Williams, and Anton Rubinstein. His international conducting career has thus far manifested itself in six CDs.

His Amazon.com music library can found through this link.

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Fusion String Ensemble will be performing on Saturday, April 21, 2012 at the Reach Out Benefit in Cambridge

Join us for an evening of art and music to benefit the Creative Arts Program
at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute!
in celebration of Anselmo S. Maz, 1937-2011

Saturday, April 21, 2012, 6:30-9:30pm
New School of Music, 25 Lowell St, Cambridge, MA


Featuring:
Artwork by Melanie Maz
Silent auction
Wine reception

RSVP TO EVENT on Facebook or Evite

$10 donation at the door (cash or checks to "Dana-Farber Cancer Institute"). Doors open at 6:30pm. 100% of proceeds from donations and silent auction sales will go to the Creative Arts Program.

You can also support this event by donating art/music supplies to the Creative Arts Program (collected at event), making a gift to the program, or purchasing a painting by M. Maz between now and April 21 (25% of proceeds will be donated to the Creative Arts Program). Visit here for more details.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Fusion String Ensemble Broadcasts Our Last Rehearsal and our performance at the Reach Out Benefit on Saturday, April 21

On Tuesday, April 17th, Fusion String Ensemble fine tuned pieces from our Winter Warmer and Bach, Barber and Bagatelles concerts and broadcast the rehearsal LIVE online through ustream.tv

Serenade No. 6 for Orchestra in D major ("Serenata Notturna"), K. 239 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

I. Marcia (maestoso)
II. Minuetto
III. Rondo (allegretto)

and

Paranoid Android by Radiohead

Our performance on Saturday, April 21st included:


Quintet in G by Michael Hsu

IV. Tempo di Dance Party



Serenade No. 6 for Orchestra in D major ("Serenata Notturna"), K. 239 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

I. Marcia (maestoso)
III. Rondo (allegretto)

Paranoid Android by Radiohead


These events were recorded and archived on the Ustream channel and can viewed through this link.

Friday, January 27, 2012

Winter Warmer - Online Concert Program



Winter Warmer Concert
Fusion String Ensemble
Unity Boston
70 Colchester Street
Brookline, Massachusetts

Friday, January 27, 2012 at 7:30PM
(In celebration of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's 256th Birthday)
$8

CONCERT PROGRAM


Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana by Pietro Mascagni

L’Estro Armonico, Op. 3, Concerto No. 10 in B minor for four violins, cello and strings, RV 580 by Antonio Vivaldi

I. Allegro
II. Largo - Larghetto
III. Allegro

John Lyneis, Flora Lee, Sarah Izen, Abe Dewing, violins ~ Amy Nolan, cello

Symphony No. 5 by Gustav Mahler

III. 4. Adagietto

- INTERMISSION -

Quintet in G by Michael Hsu - A Boston Premiere!

IV. Tempo di Dance Party

Serenade No. 6 for Orchestra in D major ("Serenata Notturna"), K. 239 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

I. Marcia (maestoso)
II. Minuetto
III. Rondo (allegretto)

Abe Dewing, violin ~ John Lyneis, violin ~ Ken Allen, viola ~ Nate Haggett, double bass ~ Natalie Shelton, timpani

MUSICIANS

Violins
Flora Lee, Concert Maestro
Abe Dewing
Jessica Garbern
Sarah Izen
John Lyneis
Klenda Martinez

Violas
Ken Allen
Madeline DiLorenzo
Erika Shira
Molly Shira

Celli
Kevin Hedrick
Kate Miller
Amy Nolan

Double Bass
Nate Haggett

Harpsichord / Organ
Timothy Blalock

Timpani
Natalie Shelton

Harp
Smadar Levy

Flute
Alley Lacasse

Conductor
Richard Romanoff

PROGRAM NOTES

Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana
by Pietro Mascagni
Cavalleria Rusticana (Rustic Chivalry) is the most famous opera written by Mascagni (b. 1863, d. 1945) and is part of today’s mainstream opera repertoire. It made the 26-year-old Mascagni instantly world-famous in 1890 when it won the opera contest of music publisher Sonzogno in Italy. “Cav” launched the so-called verismo movement in opera and inspired such works as Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci. The libretto, based on a short story by famed Sicilian writer Giovanni. Verga, tells of the story a young Sicilian man, Turiddu, who is unfaithful to his fiancée Santuzza, because he is in love with his ex-girlfriend, the now married Lola. When Santuzza discovers Turiddu’s infidelity, she reveals it out of spite to Lola’s husband, Alfio, who provokes a duel with Turiddu and kills him. The intermezzo has figured in the soundtrack of several films, most notably in the opening of Raging Bull and in The Godfather Part III, which featured a performance of the opera as a key part of the film's climax.

L’Estro Armonico, Op. 3, Concerto No. 10 in B minor for four violins, cello and strings, RV 580
by Antonio Vivaldi
L'Estro Armonico (the harmonious inspiration) is a book of twelve string concertos written by Antonio Vivaldi (b. 1678, d. 1741) and first published in 1711. The concertos were written at least partly while he was working at the Ospedale della Pietà, an orphanage in Venice where girls were trained to be musicians. The concertos are arranged in four groups of three, each containing a solo, double and quadruple concerto. After Corelli's Opus IV, the book was the most popular set of concertos throughout the 18th century. The concertos exemplify several methods of writing parts for solo players and accompaniment part, and the methods used in them were frequently analyzed and used as guidelines for writing future concerti. This can be particularly noticeable in the Larghetto movement of this concert, four distinct methods of arpeggiation in the various parts are played simultaneously.

Symphony No. 5
by Gustav Mahler
III. 4. Adagietto
The Symphony No. 5 by Gustav Mahler (b. 1860, d. 1911) was composed in 1901 and 1902, mostly during the summer months at Mahler's cottage at Maiernigg. Mahler had experienced severe health problems in February 1901 when he suffered a sudden major hemorrhaging. His doctor later told him that he had come within an hour of bleeding to death. The composer spent quite a while recuperating and doubtless was shaken by the experience. The musical canvas and emotional scope of the work, which lasts over an hour, are huge. After the first public performance of the symphony, Mahler is reported to have said, “Nobody understood it. I wish I could conduct the first performance fifty years after my death.” During the early part of the century, music programmers didn’t believe whole Mahler symphonies would be acceptable to audiences, and the Adagietto was frequently performed alone.

The British premiere of the entire Fifth Symphony came thirty-six years after the Adagietto alone had been introduced in 1909. The Adagietto continues to be the most performed of Mahler's pieces. Notable uses of the movement include the soundtrack to the 1971 Luchino Visconti film, Death in Venice, a performance conducted by Leonard Bernstein at the mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York, on the burial of Robert Kennedy, and the as the program music for ice dancers Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir from Canada at the 2010 Winter Olympics and 2010 World Championships. The movement is peculiar to its era, in that it is scored for strings and harp alone with the rest of the orchestra silent throughout. It lasts for approximately 10 minutes, with the added instruction by Mahler to play ‘sehr langsam’ (very slowly). This has led to certainconductors taking the movement well over its normal duration, in some cases nearly 12 minutes.

Quintet in G
by Michael Hsu
IV. Tempo di Dance Party
The String Quintet in G was composed by Michael Hsu (b. 1978) in spurts between 1999 and 2008. Originally titled "Manc Rhythms" to honor the hometown of British band New Order (Manchester, UK), the quintet is replete with syncopated rhythms reminiscent of synthpop dancetracks. The playful outer movements were dedicated to violinist Becky Tinio (EnsembleLeonarda). The final movement, "Tempo Di Dance Party", loosely follows a Rondo format, in which the refrain features syncopated "orchestra hits", harmonic "hi-hats" in the first violin, rhythmic bass in the second cello, and Elfman-esque chord progressions. The melody from the "B" section is taken from "Almond Eyes", an indie/new-wave song composed by Hsu in 1998. The piece culminates in an ever-accelerating Coda, and a rock-concert ending featuring the first cello.

Serenade No. 6 for orchestra in D major ("Serenata Notturna"), K. 239
by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
I. Marcia (maestoso)
II. Minuetto
III. Rondo (allegretto)
The serenade, along with the divertimento and notturno, were popular pieces in the 18th century written to be played as atmosphere music at parties, wedding receptions, and other festive gatherings. There was no standard instrumentation or length, but the common mood was a light and pleasant one that evoked conversation, flirtation, and similar amusements. This occasion or patron for which Mozart (b. 1756, d. 1791) composed this particular serenade is unknown. The work is scored for two small "orchestras," one comprising four soloists: two violins, viola and double-bass; the other, two violins, viola, cello (without bass) and timpani. The Serenata notturna comprises three compact movements: a genteel march (with a timpani solo!) better suited to crinolines than to khakis; a country-dance minuet; and a spirited rondo, one of whose episodes probably quotes two rustic melodies familiar to the Salzburgers of the time, but which are now forgotten.

Special thanks for making this all possible:

Christ Church Unity ~ Kyle Dewing ~ Betsy Kane ~ Lewis Malaver ~ Melanie Maz ~ Katherine Miller ~ Reverend Evrol Officer ~ Ashley Sullivan ~ Fritz Weingardner ~ Celeste Wilson ~
You, our fantastic audience!