Spectrum Arts Festival: featured artists
the BandA ecLectics
The music of the BandA ecLectics blends compositions with improvisation under the leadership of Boston University student Petros Sakelliou. The band has drawn members from jazz, folk, classical, and world music backgrounds. Winners of the 2007 Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Composition Competition, the BandA ecLectics has received national acclaim and recognition for their eclectic mix of talents. They were featured at the Composition Competition’s gala concert honoring Herbie Hancock, playing alongside Sting, Joni Mitchell, and Quincy Jones.
JACK String Quartet
Praised for its “powerhouse playing” by the Chicago Sun-Times, the JACK String Quartet includes violinists Christopher Otto and Boston University student Ari Streisfeld, violist John Pickford Richards, and cellist Kevin McFarland. The quartet has given high-energy performances in Europe and North America, with appearances at Carnegie Hall, La Biennale di Venezia, the Lucerne Festival, and the Festival Internacional de Música Contemporánea de Michoacán. The commissioning and performance of new works for string quartets is central to the JACK String Quartet’s mission, leading them to work closely with composers Helmut Lachenmann, Wolfgang Rihm, Matthias Pintscher, Aaron Cassidy, Aaron Travers, Roberto Rusconi, Cristian Amigo, Robert Wannamaker, Randall Woolf, Kirsten Broberg, Alexandra du Bois, and Samuel Adler. www.jackquartet.com
Maria Pikoula
Born in Volos, Greece, pianist Maria Pikoula is an active soloist and has performed in Chicago, Washington, D.C., Toronto, Moscow, Greece, and Cyprus. Pikoula recently gave her official New York debut recital at Carnegie Hall. She was also honored as a featured artist at the Hellenic Consulate in New York and gave a special performance for Greece’s ambassador to the U.S. in 2006. Her many honors and awards include first prize at the HON Hellenic National Competition and the Hellenic American Women’s Music Award. She is also a Joyce Dutka Arts Foundation Award Winner. Maria is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts under Anthony di Bonaventura at Boston University.
TAB
Recently making their Annex debut in New York with guitar legend Joe Perry (Aerosmith) for the release of the Guitar Hero III video game, TAB has established itself as one of America’s top new talents. Listed by Music Connection among the top 100 unsigned bands of 2007, Adrian Perry, Tony Perry, and Ben Tileston have been heralded by the Boston Globe and Blender Review, and have been rewarded with an AOL Spinner download of the day, a featured song on TV’s CSI NY, and a March 2008 Hard Rock Cafe release party. With their new album, Pulling Out Just Enough to Win, TAB brings a new, edgier perspective on the classic rock sound. www.tabtheband.com
Yevgeny Kutik
Yevgeny Kutik is rapidly gaining attention as a highly significant young artist on the concert scene. A recipient of a Salon de Virtuosi grant and the 2006 Tanglewood Music Center Jules Reiner Violin Prize, he has performed in New York, Munich, Montreal, Miami, San Francisco, and Sacramento. He has also appeared with Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops Orchestra, while his premiere of the violin concerto Versus by Ron Ford with the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra received praise from the New York Times and Boston Globe. Kutik’s upcoming season includes the New York premiere of the award-winning Violin Concerto No. 2 by George Tsontakis with the Riverside Symphony, as well as concerto and recital appearances around the country. Kutik recently graduated from Boston University, where he was a student of Professor Emeritus Roman Totenberg. www.yevgenykutik.com
School of Visual Arts: “Spectrum Galleries”
The School of Visual Arts in the College of Fine Arts was established in 1954 as a professional training school at Boston University. With a faculty composed of practicing professional artists, the School offers an intensive program of studio training combined with liberal arts studies leading to the Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) or Master of Fine Arts (MFA). Courses prepare students for future study or professional practice in painting, sculpture, graphic design, and art education. Notable alumni include painters Brice Marden and Pat Steir; Gael Towey, chief creative officer of Martha Stewart Living; Ira Yoffe, vice president/creative director of PARADE magazine; and Rick Heinrichs, an Oscar-winning production designer whose credits include the Pirates of the Caribbean film series, Fargo, and Sleepy Hollow. www.bu.edu/cfa/visual-arts
School of Theatre: “Thesis Presentations”
The School of Theatre in the College of Fine Arts is one of the country’s leading institutions for the study of all aspects of the theatrical profession. Since 1982, The School of Theatre has enjoyed an educational and artistic collaboration with the Huntington Theatre Company, the professional theatre-in-residence at Boston University. Other professional theatre affiliations include Boston Playwrights’ Theatre, Actors Shakespeare Project, The Gutherie Theatre, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Olney Theatre Center, and Woolly Mammoth Theatre. Notable alumni include Andrew Lack, chairman of Sony BMG, and actors Jason Alexander, Michael Chiklis, Geena Davis, Faye Dunaway, Julianne Moore, and Alfre Woodard. www.bu.edu/cfa/theatre