Basso Moderno Duo

The Basso Moderno Duo has commissioned over 100 lyrical works for solo bass and piano by some of the worlds most prominent and exciting living composers. Composers from 50 countries and all 7 continents have written specifically for Allan Von Schenkel's virtuosic and highly individualized manner of playing. Kristen Williams' piano playing is a perfect complement to the intense voice of the solo bass. Williams is a focused musician who is able to share her devotion to the piano with the listener. Our program is designed to delight and surprise audiences with a combination of lush sounds, tasteful writing and lyricism. The Basso Moderno Duo is based in NY.Allan Von Schenkel, a creative bass soloist, composed over three hundred musical works in his youth, and now dedicates his energies to giving virtuosic bass performances to museums, embassies, private gatherings, and other select events. In addition, Von Schenkel has commissioned nearly 100 well-known composers from around the world to create new works for the bass, in order to increase the repertoire of works for this extraordinary instrument. He has also premiered pieces by Karlheinz Stockhausen and Alan Hovhaness .Von Schenkel studied with Richard Fiske, the gifted student of the incomparable Nadia Boulanger. His mentors on the bass have been the world renowned Gary Karr, as well as Stefano Sciascia in Italy. His mastery of the bass is eclipsed only by his extraordinary inventiveness and stunning innovations.He has performed throughout the world and has worked diligently to expand the repertoire with music that audiences will embrace. Now located in New York, he plans to continue his extraordinary career with solo performances, commissioning new pieces for bass, and exploring new dimensions in sound and musicology.In Fall 2006, Von Schenkel premiered 'Secret Piece II' written for the Basso Moderno Duo by Yoko Ono-Lennon at the Hirshhorn Smithsonian Museum. He also composed 3 musicals and the music for 8 plays, the most recent being Picasso's Desire Caught by the Tail (2006) with Banished Productions at the Playbill Café in Washington, DC and '69 Ways to Fall in LOVE' with Kristen Williams during the 2007 Capital Fringe Festival in Washington DC.Kristen Williams, a talented pianist and soprano soloist, is a versatile artist who is comfortable performing in a variety of genres. Kristen's playing has been described as "having a great sense of rhythm and syncopation with a light but firm touch."She is the executive director of the Great Noise Ensemble, Washington, DC's premiere contemporary classical chamber music group. With the Great Noise Ensemble she has premiered five new works by DC area composers. She is a soprano soloist with St. Patrick's Catholic Church Choir in Washington, DC.Recent piano performances include solo and collaborative work at THE ARC Theater and the Patricia M. Sitar Center in Washington, DC, The Jane Franklin Dance Company, and master classes in Castres, France. In order to continue growing as an artist, she currently studies piano with Robert Durso. Kristen recently premiered a new solo piano work from composer Blair Goins. In December 2007, American composer Richard St. Clair composed 'Bachiana Dodecafonica' for her.