In 2012, after years of performing mostly Brazilian and Latin influenced original music, guitarist Michael Joseph Harris began studying and playing the music of legendary guitarist Django Reinhardt which led to the creation of The Hot Club of Baltimore later that same year. After a surge of Django-inspired composing in 2013, Harris formed the band Ultrafaux in 2014 to perform his original songs in the style of Gypsy Jazz. In 2016, Harris founded and remained Artistic Director for Charm City Django Jazz Fest, the longest running annual Jazz festival in Baltimore.
NCHS Bulldog Class Of 2023
Baltimore-based Mount Vernon Virtuosi is an innovative chamber orchestra of exceptional young musicians who are in transition from their studies to a professional career. Founded by cellist, pedagogue, and conductor Amit Peled, the ensemble alternates between a free-of-charge concert season in several Baltimore area communities with events in Virginia, greater Washington DC, and beyond. The Mount Vernon Virtuosi regularly performs at three venues in Maryland – the Pratt Library in Baltimore, Spencerville Seventh-day Adventist Church in Silver Spring, and the Bender JCC in Rockville.
Sonette der Elisabeth
Yulia Petrachuk performes "Sonette der Elizabeth Browning" by Egon Wellesz (five songs cycle for soprano and chamber string orchestra, composed in 1934) at the festival of contemporary music Européen Voix étouffées 2019 in Strasbourg, France with SÜDWESTDEUTSCHES KAMMERORCHESTER PFORZHEIM and conductor Conrad van Alphen.
Year: 2019
Musalliance presents
Short excerpts from Musaliance's classical music program.
With Anna Kusner on guitar and Peter Omelchenko on domra and mandolin, Musalliance is an exciting new string duo offering virtuoso interpretations of classical, international, and folk favorites. Both natives of Russia and graduates of Moscow’s prestigious Gnessin Academy of Music, Anna and Peter formed Musalliance shortly after Peter’s recent emigration to the Washington, DC area, where he is a featured soloist with the Washington Balalaika Society.
With Anna Kusner on guitar and Peter Omelchenko on domra and mandolin, Musalliance is an exciting new string duo offering virtuoso interpretations of classical, international, and folk favorites. Both natives of Russia and graduates of Moscow’s prestigious Gnessin Academy of Music, Anna and Peter formed Musalliance shortly after Peter’s recent emigration to the Washington, DC area, where he is a featured soloist with the Washington Balalaika Society.
Year: 2018
Requiem for the Fallen
The oratorio “Requiem For The Fallen” by Belgian composer Emmanuel M. Dubois performed at Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall in October 2019. The oratorio is a substantial work offering an emotional and dignifying pause for reflection on the loss of life due to senseless war violence, written for a soprano solo, orchestra, and chorus. The lyrics set to music are excerpts of moving poems about the loss of life by Emily Dickinson, Laurence Binyon, Rudyard Kipling, and John McCrae; performed by Russian-American soprano Yulia Petrachuk, Austrian conductor Kurt Schmid, orchestra Symphony in C, and Lyrica's vocal ensemble.
Year: 2019
Details: 1 hour
Prayer for Peace - concert
Live-stream of the concert "Prayer for Peace" from Aldersgate Churtch. The program includes works written on Catholic and Orthodox prayer texts by composers Eli Tamar and Emmanuel Dubois performed by sopranos Olga Orlovskaya and Yulia Petrachuk, mezzo-soprano Katelyn Jackman, pianist Tatiana Loisha, and organist Nicholas Will; Serge Khrichenko's "Cantata 9/11" dedicated to the lives tragically lost in the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, performed by the Maryland-based quartet Lost On Mars; and James MacMillan's "O Radiant Dawn" performed by the Wesley Choir.
Year: 2021
Details: 2 hours
I lead a four-piece jazz band (the Creole Gumbo Jazz Band) that plays early New Orleans jazz (King Oliver, Jelly Roll Morton), and we are available to present an educational program that illustrates how the meeting of African Americans and European Americans gave birth to the beginnings of American popular music.
TED Talk
In this talk, Wordsmith discusses how he finds his purpose not from fame or notoriety, but simply from pursuing his passion as a musician who gives back. He answers the question, "Can you impact the world and be a successful musician without being famous?" Wordsmith is a Baltimore-based songwriter, performer, entrepreneur and philanthropist. His music has been featured in hit shows like Russian Doll (Netflix), Preacher (AMC TV), ESPN and WWE Programming. Wordsmith's partnership with the US Department of State has sent him to 11 countries over the past 4 years to hold major concerts, anti-bully and Hip Hop History Workshops for underprivileged youth. His non profit, Rise with a Purpose, Inc. is currently raising funds for a consistent music school in Baltimore City while his work as a cultural ambassador to Kids Connection Haiti and Project Plase bring attention to fighting homelessness.
His Ted Talk will center around his search for purpose while answering the question: can you impact the world and be a successful musician without being famous? This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx
His Ted Talk will center around his search for purpose while answering the question: can you impact the world and be a successful musician without being famous? This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx
Year: 2021