Festival Accompanists2010 Information will be posted by Dec 15
Rajesh Bhandari began studying tabla at the age of nine at the East Indian Academy in New York with Pandit Ravideen Ramsamooj. He continued his study of tabla, harmonium and classical Hindustani vocal techniques as well as studying Latin, West African, Jazz and Western Classical music. Often sought after to accompany, he began teaching and performing in Florida in the late 90's. Since 2000 he has served as an accompanist for New World School of the Arts (Miami) playing for Peter London, Robert Battle, Jacqulyn Buglisi, Ethel Winter and Toni Pierce Sands and at Rutgers University. He has also accompanied the Merce Cunningham and Martha Graham companies. Rajesh has had the privilege to perform with Lakshmi Shankar (vocalist for the film Gandhi), Krishna Mohan Bhatt, Sharafat Ali Khan, Questlove, Krishna Das and many others. Rajesh has performed and taught at many universities including University of Miami, University of Florida, MIT, Harvard and NYU, as well as across the U.S., South America and Canada. He is now studying with Pandit Samir Chatterjee and developing his own fusion compositions. Charles Vincent Burwell
Charles Vincent Burwell is a multi-instrumentalist with a background in theater, dance, voice, and ethno-musicology. A Congressional Scholar in Leadership, Burwell received a B.S. in Choral Music Education from Florida A & M University. Since moving to New York, he has worked with many organizations including: the Lincoln Center Institute, City Center, the Katherine Dunham Institute, Trenton Educational Dance Institute (TEDI), National Dance Institute, Urban Bush Women, Festival del Caribe (Santiago de Cuba, Cuba), Ile Aiye (Salvador de Bahia, Brazil), and Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. Burwell is co-founder of the Prophecy Arts Collective – a multifaceted collection of professional creative and performing artists. He serves as the musical director of Prophecy Dance Works and Executive Director of ProphecyMusic/NY. Glen Fittin
Percussionist Glen Fittin received his BA in Classical Performance from William Paterson University. He was the Music Director for the Stuyvesant Cove summer concert series in 2004-2005 and has been an Adjunct Professor, accompanist/ composer at Montclair State University since 1993. Glen has also served as a dance accompanist at Brooklyn Academy of Music, Rutgers University, Raritan Valley College, New Jersey School of the Arts, Dance Space Center and for the Paul Taylor Dance Company. He has composed music for Freespace Dance, Kim Whittam, Umoja, Art of Motion and Ruth Clark. He has also been a percussionist, rehearsal accompanist and workshop presenter for the Broadway production of The Lion King since 1998. In 2004 he performed at the Crossover Festival Dance and Korea International Drum Festival in Seoul Korea. He is the Artistic Director /Vice President of the North American Frame Drum Association, and Frame Drum Fest 2008-2009. His CD entitled Circulation was released in 2001. Glen has been a musician in residence at the Bates Dance Festival since 2004. Peter Jones
Peter Jones is a composer, multi-instrumentalist and improviser with a wide stylistic range. He has been an active musician in the dance field for over 20 years. He has created numerous scores for choreographers including, Viscous Beauties for Kevin Wynn, 21st Century Stride for Danny Buraczeski’s JAZZDANCE and The Metal Garden for Sean Curran. He has released seven CDs of music on his own recording label, Joneschord Music. New releases include Gradual Motion III and Gradual Motion IV. Currently, he is musical director for the dance program at Mount Holyoke College in western Massachusetts. www.joneschord.com
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Carl Landa
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| photos by Arthur Fink |
Carl is a full-time accompanist at Skidmore College in Saratoga Carl is a full-time accompanist at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY. He plays piano, synthesizer, percussion and hammered dulcimer and has composed scores for dance, video, film and television. Before joining the Skidmore faculty in 2000 he accompanied classes on a full-time basis at the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance, Merce Cunningham Studio, Julliard School, Jose Limon Institute and many private studios in New York. http://www.carllanda.com/
Jesse Manno
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| photo by Arthur Fink |
Jesse Manno was born into a performing arts family and grew Jesse Manno is a composer, producer, multi-instrumentalist and teacher based in Boulder, CO, where he is Music Director of the University of Colorado Dance Department and runs a small recording studio. His work has been presented all over the U.S., as well as in several European and Asian countries, and he has received three Meet the Composer grants, among others. Playing for dance classes has been his favorite professional activity for 25 years running. He is honored to be enjoying his eleventh season doing so at the Bates Dance Festival. http://www.jessemanno.com/
Albert Mathias
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| photos by Phyllis Graber Jensen |
Albert Mathias is a multi-instrumentalist who has been creating music in San Francisco since 1992. His training includes cello, trap drums, tabla, voice and various computer/MIDI programs. He has released five solo CDs (cdbaby.com) through Motion Lab and four albums with LiveHuman, the critically acclaimed improvisation-based trio with Andrew Kushin and DJ Quest. Livehuman has toured the U.S., Europe and Japan and released their work through Fat Cat (London), Matador Records (New York) and Hip Hop Slam (San Francisco). Mathias is the Musical Director of Motion Lab, a movement and sound collaboration with artistic director Kathleen Hermesdorf. His composition for BLUE 2000 was nominated for a 2000 Isadora Duncan Award. He was a member of Contraband/Sara Shelton Mann and has worked with many talented San Francisco artists. Mathias is currently composing and performing with Bebe Miller Company.
Return to topGilles Obermayer
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| photos by Phyllis Graber Jensen |
Gilles Obermayer is a French musician and composer living in New York City. He started his professional career as a musician for dance in Paris in 1981. Later he moved to Scandinavia where he served on the faculty of the Norwegian National College of Dance in Oslo, the Swedish National College of Dance and the Ballet Academy in Stockholm. Since 2000 he has been on the faculty at Barnard College as the Musician Coordinator for the Department of Dance. Gilles is a license massage therapist, a certified shiatsu practitioner and a diplomat of Asian body work. http://gillesobermayer.com/
Shamou
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| photo by Phyllis Graber Jensen |
Shamou’s music career began at an early age in his native Iran where he also studied and performed with the Iranian National Ballet as a dancer. He began his formal music training in Tehran, studied with teachers from the Royal College of Music in London and completed his training at Berklee College of Music in Boston. He is known nationally for his collaborative work with dancers, including the world-renowned Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Co., Mark Morris Dance Company, ODC/San Francisco and Prometheus Dance Company. He has contributed music to several CD compilations and has released his own solo CDs entitled Spirits Dance, Traces, and Shodjah with his former band by the same name, and Live at CCE with his current ensemble, Loopin. Shamou has taught hand drumming, percussion, music for dance and body music across the country in a wide variety of settings. http://www.shamou.com/
Mike Vargas
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| photo by Arthur Fink |
Mike Vargas began playing music in 1959. He started specializing in music for dance in 1978. He works as a freelance composer across the US and internationally, performing, teaching, recording and improvising. For the past 9 years, he has been working around the world with Nancy Stark Smith. He has released 9 CD's of his music and he is on the faculty in the Dance Department at Smith College.
