Sapphire Ensemble @
The Knitting Factory – Tap Room
74 Leonard Street – New York
7PM door, 7:30 PM show
Thursday, June 28
Adv. $8/DOS $10
Sapphire Ensemble (Elaine Kwon – piano; Demetrius Spaneas – winds; and other guest performers) is a NYC-based music group with flexible instrumentation that specializes in crossing genres by presenting new classical chamber music influenced by jazz, rock, film, theater, world music, and other forms of improvisation.
This concert will present new works by Nickos Harizanos, Elaine Kwon, Demetrius Spaneas, William Susman, and others, along with my Jazz Suite for Clarinet and Piano.
Actually, my piece may be the oldest in the batch. I wrote it for two of my best friends while I was still a student at Queens College. It’s one of the few pieces from that time (circa 1991?) that was spared from the trash-bin. It’s been performed with some regularity ever since I wrote it. It’s been performed in several U.S. venues, but also in Canada, Mexico, Italy, and most recently here in Latvia. Please check it out.
I met Demetrius virtually at first, via Classical Lounge, but I happened to be in New York at the time, and so we met in person then and again during another visit. He’s a great guy and a great performer. And! He will soon be coming to my part of the world. He’s moving to Russia this coming Autumn, making this a temporary (?) farewell concert to the big apple. Go to the concert and give him a great send-off if you can.
Directions to the Knitting Factory:
You can take the 1 or 9 train to Franklin Street, walk one block south to Leonard, turn left and walk a block & a half to the club.
You can take the A, C or E train to Canal Street, walk 4 blocks south and turn left on Leonard. You could also take the N or R train to Canal Street, walk down Broadway 4 blocks to Leonard, turn right, and see the club at the far end of the block.