Trombone quartet set for Sunday performance at Albany Museum of Art

ALBANY — The Albany Symphony Association will wrap up its 2014-15 Symphony @ the Museum series with today’s concert by Guidonian Hand at the Albany Museum of Art.

The concert, part of the Willson Chamber Music Concert series, is set for 4 p.m. at the art museum, located at 311 Meadowlark Drive.

Guidonian Hand, a trombone quartet, will perform a program titled “Musical Odyssey” that symphony officials say explores some of the most irresistible music of the past 200 years. Arrangements of works of Bach, Haydn, Debussy and Mozart will be set along side new, exciting pieces from living composers.

Acclaimed by the New York Times for its “expertly played” performances displaying “meaty lower brass textures,” the Guidonian Hand is America’s leading modern trombone collective, ASO officials said.

the ensemble has commissioned more than a dozen new works and has received grants from organizations such as Chamber Music America, the Barlow Foundation, and New Music USA (formerly Meet the Composer). The Hand has premiered works by Eve Beglarian, Rob Deemer, Conrad Winslow, J. Mark Stambaugh, Galen Brown, and Jeremy Howard Beck. Current commissions include pieces by Mary Ellen Childs, Max Seigel, Christian Gentry, Tim Hanson, Ryan Carter and Alan Ferber.

The Hand has performed extensively in the New York metropolitan area at venues including the Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society, River to River Festival, Le Poisson Rouge, The Stone, The Juilliard School, Galapagos Art Space, Roulette, Manhattan School of Music, The Tank, Mannes College of Music, New York University, the Bang on a Can Marathon, and the Tribeca New Music Festival. The quartet appeared as featured guest artists at the International Trombone Festival and at the Eastern Trombone Workshop. Upcoming engagements include concerts in California, Arizona, West Virginia and New York.

The Hand is passionate about creating original performance experiences that blend music with other art forms such as film, dance, theatre and spoken word, symphony officials noted. The quartet collaborated with composer Jonathan Bepler, contributing material to the soundtrack for Matthew Barney’s new film “River of Fundament.” Continuing its collaboration with Bepler for the River to River Festival, the Guidonian Hand provided music for “The Set Up” by choreographer Wally Cordona. Other multimedia projects include Eve Beglarian’s River Project and MADArt’s Morphing Me. Past concerts paired new music with machines constructed by kinetic sculptor and MIT Artist-in-Residence Arthur Ganson

In addition to modern literature, the Guidonian Hand gives a fresh voice to classical repertoire, juxtaposing art music of the past with modern works. Programs frequently reflect eclectic and wide-ranging musical interests, from Bach to Mozart to Thelonius Monk to Jacob TV.

Members of the Hand have performed with diverse ensembles in New York City and across the country, including Ensemble ACJW, the Either/Or Ensemble, TILT Brass Ensemble, the Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society Big Band, the Shrine Big Band, Talea Ensemble, Signal Ensemble, Argento, Wet Ink, ACME, the Wordless Music Orchestra and numerous symphony orchestras including the Dallas Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, Pittsburgh Opera, Utah Symphony, Verbier Festival Orchestra, Akron Symphony, New Hampshire Symphony, Rhode Island Philharmonic, Symphony in C, Canton Symphony, Albany Symphony and Vermont Symphony.

Members of the Hand actively participate in community outreach and music education through such organizations as the New York Philharmonic, the American Composer’s Orchestra, Barge Music, the Bronx Charter School for the Arts, Kaufman Music Center, USDAN Center for Creative and Performing Arts, and Third Street Music School Settlement. They have also presented masterclasses at various colleges and universities including the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and West Chester University.

Originally hailing from California, New York, Texas and Utah, the trombonists of the Hand now call New York City home. They hold graduate degrees from the Manhattan School of Music, New England Conservatory and Mannes College of Music.

Tickets for the performance are $15 for adults and $10 for students. The concert is followed by a meet-the-artist reception.

Contact the Albany Symphony offices at (229) 430-8933 or visit www.albanysymphony.org.