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ARCHAEA
DAN JOSEPH
The Dan Joseph Ensemble:Tom Chiu (violin), Michael Lowenstern (clarinet), Danny Tunick (percussion), Marija Ilic (harpsichord), Loren Dempster (cello), Dan Joseph (hammer dulcimer)
(Mutable 17525-2)
"A major player on the New York new-music scene...." - Time Out New York
Mutable Music is pleased to announce the debut release by composer and hammer dulcimer virtuoso Dan Joseph. Entitled Archaea, the recording consists of three recent extended chamber works performed by The Dan Joseph Ensemble: Tom Chiu (violin), Michael Lowenstern (clarinet), Danny Tunick (percussion), Marija Ilic (harpsichord), Loren Dempster (cello) and the composer on hammer dulcimer. Influenced most directly by the first generation minimalists, Joseph's works bring a welcome new voice to the idiom with his unique sense of timbre, intricate rhythms and unexpected formal turns. Equal parts East coast and West coast, Appalachian and Balkan, Rock and Baroque, his style is characterized by its immediate beauty, positive spirit and exhilarating drive.
Dan Joseph (b. 1966) is a free-lance composer based in New York City. He began his career at 16 as a drummer in the explosive punk scene of his native Washington, DC. During the late 1980s, he was active in the experimental tape music underground producing works for independent labels in the U.S. and abroad. He moved to California in 1991 where he resided for 10 years, earning composition degrees from CalArts and Mills College. His principal teachers included Pauline Oliveros, Alvin Curran and Mel Powell. Equally influential were several workshops with Terry Riley.
As an artist who embraces the musical multiplicity of our time, Joseph works simultaneously in a variety of mediums and contexts, including traditional instrumental composition, free improvisation, sound art and popular electronica. His work has been presented in a variety of venues, including Merkin Concert Hall (NYC), Diapason Gallery for Sound (NYC), Roulette (NYC), Deep Listening Space (Kingston, NY), The Kitchen (NYC) Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (SF) and New Langton Arts (SF).
Since the late 1990s, the hammer dulcimer has been the primary vehicle for Joseph's music. As a performer he is active with his own ensemble, as well as in various improvisational collaborations and as an occasional soloist. Recently he was Composer-in-Residence with New York's Gamelan Son of Lion for which he composed Lion Steps for hammer dulcimer and Javanese Gamelan. Also active as a concert producer, he is a co-founder of the San Francisco Electronic Music Festival and currently serves as the coordinator of the acclaimed Interpretations series produced by the World Music Institute and Thomas Buckner.
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