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Musical Chairs Chamber Ensemble, Inc.
reshaping all you thought you knew about classical music.

The official Chamber Ensemble in Residence
at the Staten Island Museum

Musical Chairs Chamber Ensemble, Inc. (MCCE) is currently presenting our
4th concert season “Shatter” at the SI Museum
-  a four part concert series (with 2 pre-performance roundtable discussions)
featuring composer-in-residence Mick Rossi!
 
Voted “Best Classical Music Act” - 2007 AWE Reader’s Poll
 
With the trend of making classical music more accessible and interesting to audiences, we believe in making a connection with our listeners even before a single note is played. With spoken program notes and informal panel discussions, we encourage an open dialogue that has proven successful with attendees. Our style and format has also been well received especially amongst young adults and individuals new to chamber music. Set in a relaxed cabaret setting complete with candles, wine & food, the series on Saturday evenings is a collaborative effort with the SI Museum.
 
 “The group, all composed of conservatory-trained musicians, has proven to be unusually open-minded and flexible. It tackles early music, conventional concert music, jazz and new music with near-equal aplomb.”
 - Michael Fressola, SI Advance, 4/20/07
 
“sonic perfection” - AWE, SI Advance 8/30/07
 
“…the way chamber music was intended to be heard.”

Eileen Siegel, SI Advance, 11/17/05
 
Who we are... Musical Chairs Chamber Ensemble, Inc. is a consortium of primarily young, high caliber musicians dedicated to the craft of chamber music. With wide-ranging presentations of both classical and contemporary chamber music, combined with consummate artistry, they believe in serving two goals; entertaining audiences and exposing them to the valuable literature that is seldom heard elsewhere.

Musical Chairs Chamber Ensemble, Inc. represents the next generation of emerging artists who are reshaping all that you thought you knew about classical music.

Garcia, Jensen, Cecil-Sterman, Keshecki
Photo by Louise Luger

 

  mick rossi
Mick Rossi

 

 

Visit www.mcensemble.org for complete concert information and descriptions.















Mick Rossi
Composer-in-Residence
2007-2008
 
Pianist, composer, percussionist, conductor and arranger Mick Rossi—a member of the Philip Glass ensemble as both percussionist and keyboardist—is known for his diverse work in the NY Downtown scene and beyond. Rossi's work has been heard throughout the United States and Europe including performances at the Knitting Factory, Fringe, Singapore, MATA, Ravenna, Lincoln Center, Les Nuits de Fourviere, and Montreux jazz festivals, WNYC's "New Sounds" and NPR's "All Things Considered" as well as in Russia and the Far East. He is currently guest curator for the up-coming MATA (Music At The Anthology) Festival. A regularly commissioned composer, Rossi has amassed a vast continuum of work, encompassing a multiplicity of disciplines and media. Notable venues include Jazz At Lincoln Center, New Wave Festival, The Acropolis, The Philadelphia Academy of Music, The American Dance Festival, Jacob's Pillow, The Eastman School of Music, Merce Cunningham, LA County Museum of Art, American Ballet Theater, and the Metropolitan Opera. Awards and grants include Grammy nomination as Orchestrator/Keyboardist, Meet The Composer, State Council on the Arts, and the Eubie Blake Scholarship. Mick has also been heard as pianist in performance and on recordings with numerous popular artists including Brandy, Jackson Browne, Marc Cohn, Natalie Cole, Ry Cooder, Roger Daltry, Daryl Hall and John Oates, Jewel, Arif Mardin, Randy Newman, David Sanborn, and Carly Simon (including "Live At Grand Central"). He has made appearances on PBS, Lifetime, Jay Leno, Good Morning America, VH1, MTV and David Letterman. 

Special Children's Concerts...
by public demand! MCCE will be presenting three special children's concerts for ages 4-10 at New York Public Libraries on Staten Island. Join us and experience original stories narrated with live music accompaniment and a live illustrator - a three dimensional story that come to life right before your eyes! (Free coloring book) The MCCE Children's Series focuses on making listening and learning about music a fun adventure for all!

Masterclasses for Young Adults…Due to overwhelming success last year,MCCE will again be offering teens on Staten Island a new musical experience with two Masterclasses be taught by acclaimed vocalist Elizabeth McCullough and a jazz improv workshop with Mick Rossi. A Masterclass utilizes the idea that students can learn from the mistakes made by others through a public lesson. In a Masterclass setting, students are given that unique opportunity for learning with a top expert in that field. Ms. McCullough’s vocal masterclass will feature 4 high school students in a concert performance environment on different topics including breathing, tone and technique - skills that can be applied to any musician, instrument or age group. Mr. Rossi’s jazz improv workshop will include as many teens as would like to participate. Rossi will perform with the teens along with another professional musician, talk about improv techniques and styles and then provide an opportunity for both questions and for the teens themselves to perform and be taught & critiqued. Interested students will be able to apply to perform in either class via an open application process that MCCE will promote to all Staten Island high schools.   The classes are open to the public (students: free/adults: $10) and will take place at the SI Jewish Community Center Bernikow Center.

 

MCCE's concert series and programs are supported in part by public funds from NYC Department of Cultural Affairs and through grants received from Con Edison, Independence Community Foundation as well as the Staten Island Museum.

 

Contact: Tamara Keshecki
(718) 907-3488
Email: info@mcensemble.org

http://www.mcensemble.org

 


Tamara Keshecki