Dan Joseph Ensemble: about

The Dan Joseph Ensemble was founded by New York-based composer Dan Joseph as a vehicle for his growing body of post-minimal compositions. With a unique instrumentation anchored by hammer dulcimer and harpsichord, a mix of winds, strings and percussion, the ensemble sound is harmonically rich and deeply resonant, evoking a musical world both old and new; ancient and modern.

Described as ”one part classical minimalism, one part rustic European mountain music. . . and maybe one part sunshine” (Time Out New York), and “hypnotic webs of sound reminiscent of early minimalism and psychedelia” (Newmusicbox.org), the ensemble had it’s first performance in San Francisco in 2001. This led to a series of concerts in various New York City lofts, galleries and concert stages from 2002 to 2006 culminating in the release of the full-length CD Archaea on the Mutable Music label. Past performances include Merkin Concert Hall, The Kitchen, The Stone, Issue Project Room, The Construction Company, Cornelia Street Café and Lotus Music and Dance.

Recently the Dan Joseph Ensemble is active again with new repertoire, the focus of which is Dan's newest composition Tonalization for the Afterlife (click here for detailed notes), an expansive 35-minute multi-movement work that takes the ensemble deeper into the composer’s ecstatic realms of rhythm and color. Following two New York performances in spring 2010,Tonalization (for the afterlife), along with the companion piece Wind Patterns for flute and hammer dulcimer, were recorded at Long Island City's Spin Recording Studios for an upcoming release. The current ensemble lineup includes Tom Chiu (violin), Loren Dempster (cello), Maria Ilic (harpsichord), Leah Paul (flute), Danny Tunick (percussion) and the composer on hammer dulcimer.

BIOGRAPHIES:
	A noted champion of new music, experimental violinist and composer-improviser Tom Chiu has performed over 150 premieres worldwide by influential composers such as Virko Baley, Dean Drummond, Roscoe Mitchell, and Somei Satoh, among others. He has also worked with pioneering improvisers David Chesky, David First, Oliver Lake, and Ornette Coleman, with whom he appeared at the Walker Art Center in 2005. Chiu’s discography includes recordings for the Canteloupe, Innova, Koch, Mode, Sombient, and Tzadik labels. He is also founder of the FLUX Quartet, who has become “legendary for its furiously committed, untiring performances.” (Alex Ross, www.therestisnoise.com) Chiu holds degrees in music and chemistry from Yale and a doctorate in music from Juilliard.
	Loren Kiyoshi Dempster is an active chamber musician and improviser, and might be found in the spring of 2010 performing with the ARP chamber ensemble, Tom Swafford’s String Power, Jason Hwang’s Spontaneous River, and the Jerome Begin Ensemble among many others. Also active as a composer and improvisor, Dempster’s works have been presented at The Stone, Roulette, Issue Project Room, North River Music, Weseleyn College, and at Chez Bushwick, a 2007 Bessie Award winning performance arts space in Brooklyn of which he was a founding member.He has toured extensively around the world with Merce Cunningham performing Interscape, and Biped. Ever interested in the relationships between movement, space, and sound, he may be found creating or performing music in spring 2010 for choreographers including Chris Ferris, Gabriel Forestieri, Project Limb, and Stochastic Ensemble.
	Pianist and harpsichordist Marija Ilic is an active performer of the traditional repertoire and new music in New York City and has been praised as a "clear and decisive musician," "compelling," "poetic," and noted for her "quiet intensity" by The New York Times. Ms. Ilic has worked with composers Martin Bresnick, George Crumb, Oliver Knussen, Joan Tower, Vykintas Baltakas, Meredith Monk, and John Patitucci, among others. Her recent performance highlights include recitals with violist Lawrence Dutton of the Emerson String Quartet at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C., as well as in Bronxville, New York, and Westport, Connecticut. A native of Belgrade, Serbia, Ms. Ilic holds degrees from the Belgrade Music Academy and the Mannes College of Music, and a doctorate in piano performance from Rutgers University.
	Leah Paul is a flutist/multi-instrumentalist/composer who has been living in Brooklyn since 2003. Having received her degree from the University of Michigan in 2002 with a focus in flute performance and jazz studies, Leah's musical interests have allowed her to pursue a diverse career in New York, working with contemporary composers, jazz musicians, and rock groups. She has worked with musicians such as Anthony Braxton, Matthew Welch, The Dirty Projectors, and TV on the Radio. Leah's band "The Bridesmaids" has been featured in The Big Takeover, and Venuszine and is a blend of contemporary composition and pop music. Leah is currently working on a series of chamber music for a new woodwind quartet, and anticipating the release of The Bridesmaids' first full length album.
	Percussionist/conductor/bassist Danny Tunick has played, conducted and recorded music ranging from classical (Pierre Boulez, Terry Riley, Annie Gosfield) to punk rock (Jowe Head, The Clean, Stukas Over Bedrock). Along the way, he has attempted to navigate around and through innumerable other musical obstacles. Mr. Tunick can be heard on over 30 record labels, including CRI, Opus One, EMI Portugal, New Albion, Capstone, Tzadik, Merge, Wiiija, Important, Mutable Music, Bridge, Happy Squid, Cantaloupe, Red Toucan, Spaced, Black Box, Rare Book Room, and Rock Against Rock.
	Dan Joseph is a free-lance composer based in New York City. As an artist who embraces the musical multiplicity of our time, Dan works simultaneously in a variety of media and contexts, including instrumental chamber music, free improvisation, and various forms of electronica and sound art. Since the late 1990s, the hammer dulcimer has been the primary vehicle for his music. As a performer he is active with his own chamber ensemble, The Dan Joseph Ensemble, as well as in various improvisational collaborations and as an occasional soloist. He holds degrees from CalArts and Mills College and his principal teachers include Pauline Oliveros, Alvin Curran and Mel Powell and Terry Riley .He has received commissions from several ensembles and performers, including Gamelan Son of Lion, the SF Sound Group, baritone Thomas Buckner, flutist Jacqueline Martelle and clarinetist Matt Ingalls.
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