Flutist Alice K. Dade will be heading to Paris and New York for the official CD release parties for her new album of pieces by living composers, but first, she is getting the band back together in San Luis Obispo at Festival Mozaic’s WinterMezzo weekend, February 23-25.
Dade’s album Living Music was just released on Naxos Records, an international record label. In many ways, the recording is a product of Festival Mozaic. Dade invited a group of musicians she met at Festival Mozaic to participate in the recordings, which took place at Skywalker Sound on George Lucas’ famous ranch. On top of that, Festival Mozaic musicians composed two works on the CD (Michael Fine and Noam Elkies).
“Festival Mozaic is one of the highlights of the year for me. It made perfect sense to ask friends from Mozaic to record Living Music with me,” says Dade. “I’ve actually known Scott Yoo, Noam Elkies, and Maurycy Banaszek since I was a graduate student at Juilliard in the early 2000s, and those friendships have cemented through our experiences playing together at Festival Mozaic.”
These relationships have led to many collaborations in San Luis Obispo, New York, and abroad, including a major collaboration – Dade and Festival Mozaic Music Director Scott Yoo married in 2014.
“As I set out to record my first solo CD, my goal was to find music that my parents would also enjoy.” Dade continues. “My parents are non- musicians, or civilians as classical musicians say. They have been supportive throughout my career but sometimes looked lost when I performed a piece with lots of extended techniques. Living Music has a program that is moving, nostalgic, humorous, and somewhat programmatic.”
Festival Mozaic super-fans will note the recording features artists and pieces they have heard before. Dade will be joined by pianist John Novacek, cellist Jonah Kim, and violinist Scott Yoo, all of whom will be performing on the Festival Mozaic’s upcoming WinterMezzo weekend, February 23-25, 2018.
The repertoire featured on the WinterMezzo weekend features one piece from the CD: a sonata by the mathematician/composer Noam Elkies, who has been a frequent guest harpsichord and keyboard player at Festival Mozaic. Elkies is a math professor at Harvard University and his piece, E Sonata for Flute and Piano, is a jazz riff on a baroque style.
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The remainder of the WinterMezzo program explores music by three different French composers. Suite en Duo for flute and harp by Jean Cras and the Serenade for flute, harp and string trio by Albert Roussel will be followed by Gabriel Faure’s Piano Quartet No. 2. For these works, Alice will be joined by Festival favorites pianist John Novacek and music director Scott Yoo, plus three Bay Area musicians: Jessica Chang (Founder, Chamber Music by the Bay), cellist Jonah Kim (Founding Member, Ensemble San Francisco), and harpist Meredith Clark (Principal Harp, Oakland Symphony).
The WinterMezzo weekend consists of three sequential events: two Notable Encounters, in which the musicians talk about the pieces and perform selections, and a traditional concert. While the musicians are visiting the Central Coast, they will also perform a free mini-concert at the Performing Arts Center, at a special dinner at the Park Ballroom in Paso Robles, with wines by Tablas Creek, and cellist Jonah Kim will give a master class for local cellists.
Dade is the Assistant Professor of Flute at the University of Missouri and Artist Faculty of Flutes by the Sea and PRIZM International Chamber Festival. A graduate of The Juilliard School and former Acting Co- Principal of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, she has performed as Guest Principal with the Bergen and Seoul Philharmonics. A Powell Artist, Alice plays a handmade 14K gold Powell flute with a platinum headjoint. Learn more about Alice at www.alicekdade.com. Copies of Alice’s CD will be available for purchase at all of the WinterMezzo events and Alice will be signing CDs at the conclusion of the February 25th concert at the Cuesta College Cultural and Performing Arts Center.
Founded as the Mozart Festival in 1971, Festival Mozaic celebrates the art form of classical music by creating unforgettable live music experiences in a variety of venues in San Luis Obispo County. The Festival is an immersive experience that includes professional performance, outreach, education, and dialogue. The Festival presents more than 30 events annually, including its summer music festival. For more information on Festival Mozaic’s WinterMezzo Chamber Music Series and the upcoming 2018 Summer Festival, please visit www.FestivalMozaic.com