About the Artist
Baltimore-based percussionist and performer Adam Rosenblatt has a penchant for finding interesting and uncommon ways to present and perform contemporary music. He has a keen interest for growing an interdisciplinary performance practice, believing that a mix of media and art forms can speak more directly and powerfully to our current modern context.
Adam frequently performs with the lctus Ensemble in Brussels, Belgium, and is a founding member of QuaQuaQua, a new percussion trio which focuses on the ambiguous space between musical and theatrical performance. Adam has recently performed in such varied venues as The Onassis Cultural Centre in Athens, Greece; Berghain in Berlin with experimental electronic duo Matmos; The Banff Centre for the Arts as part of the Concerts in the 21st Century residency; and the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, Belgium to perform a work for drumset, electronics, and motion sensors for school children. Adam's interest in interdisciplinary performance has led him to collaborate with dancers and choreographers on several occasions, including the "ln Vivo Danse" workshop through IRCAM's Manifeste festival, and in Rosas dance company's production of "Drumming Live."
Highlights of Adam's 17-18 season include performances in Moers, Germany, and Orleans and Paris, France to premiere new theatrical works by François Sarhan; performances at the Charm City Fringe Festival; and workshops and masterclasses at The Creative Alliance, Vanderbilt University, and TUMO Technology Center in Armenia.
Adam avidly collaborates with composers to bring new and exciting works to fruition. He has premiered many works by emerging composers in venues such as Gare du Nord in Basel, Het Veem in Amsterdam, the Walters Art Gallery in Baltimore, and Q-O2 in Brussels. With QuaQuaQua, Adam recently participated in the Avaloch Farm Music lnstitute's New Music lnitiative, inviting composer François Sarhan to develop several new theatrical works for percussion. Adam continues to keep the creation of new works and collaborations with composers among his highest priorities, having had the great fortune in past years to work closely with such composers as David Lang, Thierry de Mey, Martin Bresnick, and James Wood.
Adam also devotes much of his energy to introducing contemporary music to young people in creative ways. He has collaborated extensively with Belgian presenter Zonzo Compagnie, participating in their "music rooms" program and in their "Big Bang" festivals in Lisbon, Brussels, Lille, and Gent, As an extension of these productions, Adam has co-created and led interactive body percussion workshops for children in Antwerp, Belgium, and in Yerevan, Armenia. Currently, Adam works as a teaching artist for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra's OrchKids program and Young Audiences of Maryland's Summer Arts and Learning Academy. He also co-directs the percussion program at the Peabody Preparatory.
Adam earned a Bachelor of Music Degree from the Peabody Conservatory and a Master of Music Degree from the Yale School of Music, both under the tutelage of Robert van Sice. Through grants from the Flemish Government, the Frank Huntington Beebe Fund, and the Belgian American Education Foundation, Adam performed and studied contemporary chamber music with the lctus and Spectra Ensembles in Belgium as part of their Advanced Masters academy program.
Adam is currently an artist in residence at The Creative Alliance in Baltimore.
Adam Rosenblatt website View Website
Artist's Statement
My artistic practice currently focuses on two areas:
- creating performances that focus on social issues faced by the local community
These large-scale projects present pieces of contemporary music in unique and theatrical ways to more powerfully speak about a crucial social issue such as homelessness, or the struggles of diaspora communities. Using lighting, staging, projection, and other theatrical elements, the performance becomes more than just a musical concert.
- developing emerging technologies that can expand the boundaries of expression and possibility for live performance
This includes developing new musical works that employ cutting-edge motion capture and motionsensing technology.
