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www.arielartists.com G booking@arielartists.comSPIRITS TO ENFORCE art to enchant
ARTISTSAriel
“Mobius Trio’s [programming] choices were substantive and
captured the full range of their sonic potential as a guitar trio…
they proved in every way that they were capable of holding their
own, both as performers and curators of a new generation of
music.” –Danny Clay, I Care If You Listen
“Chock-full of extended techniques, the acoustic works whirred,
buzzed, and slapped their way into being. Belinda Reynolds’s
Edges kicked things off with a flowing ostinato figure accented by
off-beat interjections. A cradled scalar motive is shared, hocket-like,
among the players, who carried it with delicacy and feeling.
Brendon Randall-Myers’s Making Good Choices opens with an
intense accretion of muted strums, strums above the neck, left
hand slurs, slaps, all of which the ensemble bit into with flair.”
–Artificialist
short bio
press
Described by the eminent
Sergio Assad as “the
most inventive and
exciting young guitar ensemble today,”
Mobius Trio has made it its mission to
fully integrate the classical guitar into
the 21st century’s adventurous musical
lexicon. The Trio exclusively performs
music that they have commissioned;
they seek to expand the guitar ensem-
ble’s repertoire to encompass all of the
myriad currents passing through
contemporary art music. Mobius Trio
has commissioned over three dozen
composers in their first few years of
existence, and that pace isn’t slowing.
Recent commissions include Sergio Assad, Luciano Chessa, and Ryan Brown, with more pieces and collaborations on the way.
Mobius Trio was formed in 2010 by guitarists Robert Nance, Mason Fish, and Matthew Holmes-Linder while studying at the San Fran-
cisco Conservatory of Music. They started things off with a bang, commissioning and learning five pieces within the span of a couple of
months, and performing many of those pieces at Washington, DC’s Kennedy Center the following April. Matt, Rob, and Mason are all
accomplished, competition-winning guitarists in their own right, and they all live and work in San Francisco. When not rehearsing, the
group enjoys home brewing, BBQ, hacky sack, and nature documentaries.
“Mobius executes the dizzying array of techniques and
technical challenges written for them with ease and expres-
sivity… [T]heir unforced integration of inventive ways of using
their instruments into their solid base of traditional technique
made for a consistently excellent evening. It’s clear from the
unity of their playing that the members of Mobius genuinely
love making music together, cuing each other with just the lift
of an eyebrow or even a hint of a smile.” –Sid Chen, New
Music Box
“The Mobius Trio are getting rave reviews from guitarists around
the world for their dramatic performances and their bold
commitment to commissioning new repertoire.” –Scott Cmiel,
San Francisco Classical Voice
P H O T O B Y A N N E M I L L E R
MOBIUS TRIO guitar trio
www.arielartists.com G booking@arielartists.comSPIRITS TO ENFORCE art to enchant
ARTISTSAriel
SAN FRANCISCO (ALL-ACOUSTIC)
In their “San Francisco” concert program, captivating young
guitar ensemble Mobius Trio joins forces with six of the Bay
Area’s brightest composers to present a vibrant evening of
virtuosic new music for classical guitar trio. From the twisted
jazzy licks of Brazilian guitar legend Sergio Assad to the socially-
conscious neo-Persian stylings of Sahba Aminikia, this nuanced
treasury offers a taste of the stunning beauty and substantial
variety currently evident in the contemporary work coming out
of the San Francisco Bay Area.
Works to be performed on the “San Francisco” program include:
Sergio Assad, Kindergarten (2014)
Anthony Porter, needle-play (2010)
Dan Becker, Last Light (2012)
Danny Clay, a place that inhabits us (2011)
Belinda Reynolds, Edges (2013)
Sahba Aminikia, Persian Dances for Guitar Trio (2010)
MAXIMUM POSTMINIMALISM (ALL-ACOUSTIC, WITH
HALF-ELECTRIC OPTION)
Using the term “Postminimalism” (or Post-Minimalism, or its myriad
other homonyms) to describe a piece or composer of contemporary
music can be vague, confusing, or even subtly dismissive, depend-
ing on the context. What does postminimalism mean, when
“Minimalism” itself has historically been such an embattled
descriptor?
Mobius Trio seeks to answer this question with solid data — a full
concert program of composers whose music has been publicly
described as “postminimalist.” The sheer variety of sounds and
styles in this program displays the varied implications of the term.
From the subtle indeterminacy and pattern-based improvisation of
Anthony Porter’s needle-play to the relentless, churning soup of
musical references of Belinda Reynolds’s Edges and the delicate
tintinnabulation of Adrian Knight’s Bon Voyage, these musicians
have taken the influence of composers like Steve Reich and Terry
Riley and run in completely different directions. Postminimalism
isn’t a genre of music, it’s a complex and oft-mutating genealogy.
Works to be performed on the “Maximum Postminimalism”
program include:
( A L L - A C O U S T I C O P T I O N )
Danny Clay, a place that inhabits us (2011)
Dan Becker, Last Light (2012)
Adrian Knight, Bon Voyage (2012; acoustic version)
Anthony Porter, needle-play (2010)
Belinda Reynolds, Edges (2013)
Kevin Villalta, Witch Wagon (2012)
Brendon Randall-Myers, Making Good Choices (2011)
( H A L F - A C O U S T I C , H A L F - E L E C T R I C O P T I O N )
Anthony Porter, needle-play (2010)
Dan Becker, Last Light (2012)
Belinda Reynolds, Edges (2013)
Brendon Randall-Myers, Making Good Choices (2011)
( E L E C T R I C S E C O N D H A L F )
Luis Escareño, Fractured (2014)
Adrian Knight, Bon Voyage (2012; electric version)
Mario Godoy, Infinite Earths (2014)
program offerings
P H O T O B Y A N N E M I L L E R
MOBIUS TRIO guitar trio
www.arielartists.com G booking@arielartists.comSPIRITS TO ENFORCE art to enchant
ARTISTSArielprogram offerings (cont.)
BON VOYAGE (HALF-ACOUSTIC, HALF-ELECTRIC)
The guitar is (by far) the most popular instrument in the world, and
it’s utilized in almost every musical style imaginable. In essence,
this makes Mobius Trio a group of multi-instrumentalists, capable
of playing a multitude of musical styles in a single program, or
even in a single piece, such as Anthony Porter’s needle-play.
Nowhere is this versatility more relevant than in “Bon Voyage,” a
concert program whose sheer compositional variety effects a fine
stew, each varied piece flowing beautifully into the next.
No other group would be capable of producing a musical mix with
the variety and synergistic balance of “Bon Voyage.” From the
groundbreaking classical guitar works of the first half, like Sergio
Assad’s Kindergarten and Brendon Randall-Myers hardcore-influ-
enced epic Making Good Choices, to the mind-expanding electric
guitar works of the second half, such as Nick Vasallo’s cosmic
meditation Dark Matter, “Bon Voyage” somehow combines a bit of
everything into a holistic, deeply moving musical experience.
Works to be performed on the “Bon Voyage” program include:
( A C O U S T I C F I R S T H A L F )
Sergio Assad, Kindergarten (2014)
Anthony Porter, needle-play (2010)
Dan Becker, Last Light (2012)
Brendon Randall-Myers, Making Good Choices (2011)
( E L E C T R I C S E C O N D H A L F )
Nick Vasallo, Dark Matter (2010)
Adrian Knight, Bon Voyage (2012)
Mario Godoy, Infinite Earths (2014)
Luis Escareño, Fractured (2014)
ELECTRIC MOBIUS (ALL-ELECTRIC)
The members of Mobius Trio are highly-
trained, world-class classical guitarists who
have played on the instrument’s highest stages and worked,
studied, and collaborated with its most influential figures, but
that’s not all they do. Mobius Trio, in its constant quest to create
today’s repertoire for three guitars, has also commissioned over
a dozen pieces for electric guitars, often utilizing other electronic
instruments and processes. The groundbreaking, cross-pollinating
pieces on “Electric Mobius” are by some of today’s leading young
composers, including Samuel Adams, Nick Vasallo, and Adrian
Knight. Feedback and amplitude are paired with chiming, bell-
like harmonics and delicate balance. Loop pedals, laptop signal
processing, and scordatura on a massive scale make this program
an unmissable tour de force.
Works to be performed on the “Electric Mobius” program
include:
Joseph Colombo, Initial Darkness (2014)
Nick Vasallo, Dark Matter (2010)
Adrian Knight, Bon Voyage (2012)
Luis Escareño, Fractured (2014)
Sam Adams, Study for Mobius (2013)
Mario Godoy, Infinite Earths (2014)
MOBIUS TRIO guitar trio
www.arielartists.com G booking@arielartists.comSPIRITS TO ENFORCE art to enchant
ARTISTSAriel
GUITAR MASTER CLASS
The three members of Mobius Trio are an unusual breed in the
guitar world: expert contemporary music players with years of
chamber music experience. In this master class, student guitarists
will perform solos or ensemble pieces for the members of Mobius
Trio and an audience and then receive feedback and detailed
coaching on their performance. The members of Mobius will give
the performer(s) advice on all aspects of performing guitar music –
presentation, phrasing, technique, ensemble playing, etc. This pro-
cess is rewarding and entertaining for both the performing student
and the audience, and it often leads to larger discussions of topics
that benefit every guitarist and musician in the room.
LECTURE/DEMONSTRATIONS
Mobius Trio often holds lectures and workshops on a variety of
topics, including writing for guitar, composer/performer relation-
ships and the commission process, extended techniques, and
their own unique repertoire and brand of chamber music. Ideas
and thoughts that come up in discussion will be expanded
upon through musical performance, and vice versa. This event
can be tailored (in terms of format, length, etc.) to fit the
needs of the presenter.
STUDENT COMPOSER WORKSHOP
Working with composers is a favorite part of their musical pro-
cess for the Mobius Trio, so they are very happy to share their
years of commissioning, workshopping, and musical trouble-
shooting experience with student composers in front of an audi-
ence of their peers.
In the workshop, Mobius will perform pieces that have been
submitted ahead of time, and then give the composer feedback
on a variety of topics (notational, musical, and otherwise), in
order to help create the best guitar piece possible. Writing for
guitar can be unfamiliar and potentially intimidating, so Mobius
will confer closely with the composer to make sure everything
works the way s/he wants.
additional offerings
P H O T O B Y A N N E M I L L E R
MOBIUS TRIO guitar trio
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