In Brief: March 26

Decoda Ensemble

Decoda Ensemble to perform March 30

Acclaimed new music ensemble Decoda will perform at the University March 30. The free concert begins at 8 p.m. in Bryan Recital Hall at the Moore Musical Arts Center, and is part of the Music at the Forefront concert series sponsored by BGSU’s MidAmerican Center for Contemporary Music.

Performing at BGSU will be Brad Balliett, bassoon; Claire Bryant, cello; Moran Katz, clarinet; Nathan Schram, viola; Nathan Schram, viola; and Laura Weiner, horn.

They will perform new works by Brad Balliett, Doug Balliett, Andrew Norman, Nathan Schram, Isang Yun and BGSU composition faculty member Christopher Dietz.

Decoda is a chamber ensemble of virtuoso musicians who are also entrepreneurs and passionate advocates of the arts. Based in New York City, the group creates innovative performances and engaging projects with partners around the world, traveling to Abu Dhabi, Iceland, Japan, Mexico, Germany, Hong Kong, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Denmark. 

The members first collaborated with one another in the renowned Ensemble ACJW fellowship program, created by Carnegie Hall, The Juilliard School and Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute. They now extend that relationship as an Affiliate Ensemble of Carnegie Hall. Since its inception in 2011, Decoda’s projects have reached audiences in schools, hospitals and prisons as well as in prominent concert halls and music festivals across the globe.

Since 2011, Decoda has participated in Carnegie Hall's Musical Connections Program, undertaking creative projects at Sing Sing Correctional Facility, Beth Abraham Hospital, Clinton High School in the Bronx, and Valley Lodge Shelter. 

After a successful launch of the inaugural Decoda-Skidmore Chamber Music Institute in July 2014, the ensemble will return to Skidmore College to lead the two-week program that enables young musicians to explore leadership and community service through the intensive study of chamber music. Under the guidance of Decoda artists, students learn how to fully engage their audiences and communities through scripted, interactive chamber music performances while improving their own performance and public speaking skills. 

Music at the Forefront is an annual concert series featuring performances by accomplished and innovative performers of contemporary music. For more information, contact Kurt Doles at the MidAmerican Center for Contemporary Music at 419-372-2685 or kdoles@bgsu.edu.