in: Reviews

April 5, 2013

Musical Happening at Avant Gardner - an excerpt from a review of a concert by A Far Cry, Boston’s exciting self-conducted chamber orchestra 

by Cashman Kerr Prince

…”There followed a pause to re-set the performance space, before the start of Geminiani’s Concerto Grosso no. 12 in d, Variations on “La Follia.” The string players performed on a matching set of carbon fiber instruments loaned by Luis and Clark. (The company is based in Milton, MA, and these instruments are made in Bristol, Rhode Island and Luis Leguia, formerly a cellist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, is their inventor and designer.) You can read about the choice of carbon fiber string instruments for this performance of Geminiani on A Far Cry’s blog, here. Carbon fiber instruments have wonderful sound potential; in my very limited experience with a carbon fiber cello, they also have greater possibilities for projection and volume than traditional wooden instruments. The latter was the only problem in this performance of the Geminiani, where traditional wooden harpsichord met carbon fiber stringed instruments. The harpsichord playing the continuo line was overwhelmed. (Might an L&C harpsichord soon appear on the market?) As for the strings, individual notes in rapid runs were more present, clearer, than one often hears. That worked nicely in these La Folia variations, emphasizing the familiar and recurring tune and allowed for greater reverb than one usually hears—here used to great effect on some final notes of sections.”

Read the entire review here:

http://classical-scene.com/2013/04/05/happening

In addition to her work as a composer, Lisa is also a violist with the Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) and the Manhattan Philharmonic.  She has toured France with the Manfred String Quartet and won first prize at BANFF in Canada and the Premier Grand Prix in France, and was one of the original founders of the Bordeaux String Quartet. She was also the original violist with The Elysium String Quartet, which debuted at Carnegie Hall. Lisa, who also teaches strings at Calhoun, is a graduate of The Juilliard School of Music.

Click here for more details

This is an excerpt from the third movement of “Rage” by Lisa Ralia Heffter. Laura Goldberg, violin; Jeremy Reger, piano. Moshe Knoll filmed the video on the iPad2. Laura is playing on a carbon fiber violin made by Luis and Clark.

Date: Friday – January 29, 2010
Time: 7:00 PM

Location: Mary Lea Johnson Performing Arts Center
at
The Calhoun School
433 West End Avenue, New York, NY 10023

http://www.calhoun.org/page.cfm?id=197&calview=list&start=1/29/2010&verbose=5711

Carbon Fiber Chamber Ensemble
February 19, 2010 at 12:00 noon
4th Presbyterian Church of Chicago

126 East Chestnut Street
Chicago, IL 60611-2094

Carbon Fiber Cello and Chamber Orchestra Concert, Calhoun Performing Arts
Series, NY, January 2009. PHOTOS: Beth Krieger/The Calhoun School

Paul Ognissanti, Jorge Paulin, Michael Bacon, Peter Worrall, Gerald Appleman, Derek Gomez, Luis Leguia, Julie Adams, Eric Edberg

• Michael Bacon, composer, co-founder Bacon Brothers
• Peter Worrall, Principal Cellist Edmonton Symphony 1970-72, Principal Cellist, Hallé Orchestra, Manchester, U.K. 1975-2004
• Julie Adams, recording artist and soloist.
• Gerald Appleman, Assistant principal cellist New York Philharmonic, retired
• Derek Gomez, Edmonton Symphony Orchestra
• Luis Leguia, Boston Symphony, inventor Luis and Clark
• Eric Edberg, concert artist and music professor, DePauw University
• Paul Ognissanti, freelance artist New York and New Jersey
• Jorge Paulin, Camerata de Coahuila, Mexico.