rie mobius · pdf filesergio assad as “the most inventive and exciting young guitar...

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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


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)


Adrian Knight, Bon Voyage (2012; acoustic version)



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 )





( 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




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)




( 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)



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)


Sam Adams, Study for Mobius (2013)




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



rie mobius · pdf filesergio assad as “the most inventive and exciting young guitar...

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