New Classical Featured Artist – 11/21/22 – 12/04/22
In this week’s playlist, we are featuring the Heartland Marimba Quartet (HMQ). The ensemble was established in 2016 by acclaimed marimba soloist Matthew Coley and has done more than 140 concerts since its inception. The group seeks to give a platform to the music of American composers in its programming and continues to expand its repertoire with works from composers worldwide. Comprised of four distinctly creative forces (Ujjal Bhattacharyya, Matthew Coley, Marco Schirripa, and Hannah Weaver) HMQ exemplifies Heartland Marimba’s mission to develop and disseminate the classical marimba art form in both academic and community contexts.
A unique feature of HMQ’s regular performing engagements includes organizing marimba orchestra performances with students and communities. This kind of spectacle, ensembles ranging from 25-100 marimba players, is an important part of the history of classical marimba in America. HMQ has performed marimba orchestra concerts with the percussion students of Arizona State University and San Diego State University, and they were featured performers in late 2021 for the International Marimba Orchestra in Kutztown, PA, and Indianapolis, IN.
HMQ was recently awarded a grant from New Music USA to continue its ongoing effort to support women composers. They will commission and premiere seven new works by Jenni Brandon, Kirsten Broberg, Dorothy Hindman, Nyokabi Kariuki, Tawnie Olson, Nirmala Rajasekar, and Dolores White between 2021 and 2023. Visit their website linked above to stay up to date on all the events with HMQ! We’ll be hearing music from their album, VISION, as well as some performances by their Founder & Executive/Artistic Director, Matthew Coley in this playlist.
Connect with Classical Music Indy Streaming’s New Classical channel for this and much more.
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