meridian arts ensemble profile picture

meridian arts ensemble

About Me

Meridian Arts Ensemble is perhaps more widely known for playing Frank Zappa's music (having worked with him shortly before his passing in 1993). The band is one of the most adventurous contemporary music groups around and regularly performs works by Elliott Carter, Milton Babbitt, David Sanford, Elliott Sharp, Captain Beefheart, Nick Didkovsky and many others in addition to compositions from within the ensemble.The Basic Facts:* five brass players and one percussionist from New York City, * expandable to include piano, extra percussion, guitar, bass, saxophone * performances in 49 states * performances in Romania, Finland, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Austria * performances in Japan and Taiwan * performances in Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, and Cuba * nine critically acclaimed compact discs on the Channel Classics label * assisted in changing the face of chamber music through innovative repertoire and high-octane performances.

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 2/27/2006
Band Website: www.meridianartsensemble.com
Band Members: TRUMPETS - Jon Nelson and Brian McWhorter, HORN - Daniel Grabois, TROMBONE - Ben Herrington, TUBA - Raymond Stewart, PERCUSSION - John Ferrari
Influences:
Sounds Like: "If you're horny for Frank Zappa's modernist monkeyshines, move over to the Meridian Arts Ensemble. The brass quintet (plus drums and sometimes keyboards) are the renegade classicists who cut class to play Zappa, Beefheart and commissioned works from respected avant-garde composers. Finally, Zappa (and others) get the classical valvedation they deserve."-- from Progrography
Record Label: Channel Classics
Type of Label: Indie

My Blog

Timbrano reviewed on NPR’s All Things Considered

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9419995 0The Meridian Arts Ensemble enjoys pushing the boundaries of the traditional brass quintet. All Things Considered, September 2, 2008 - The t...
Posted by on Tue, 02 Sep 2008 19:19:00 GMT

BUY TIMBRANDO ONLINE

TIMBRANDO is one of the best records we've ever made. We're often too shy about it, but this time, we want people to know: this album rocks and we hope you check it out. Clicking the link below will...
Posted by on Sun, 01 Jun 2008 16:00:00 GMT

BRINK review - Progrography

I dreamt of bleating sheep in burning fields, of shepherds with horns in their hands who heralded the arrival of three mad wizards in chariots of sound. When I awoke I was on the brink of a strange, n...
Posted by on Sat, 22 Sep 2007 08:27:00 GMT

It's a boy!!!

Jon Nelson's wife Lazara gave birth to their second child 2 days ago. It's another boy! His name is Diego. Everyone is doing well. Also, the Nelsons will be moving to Buffalo in a week. No more commut...
Posted by on Tue, 05 Dec 2006 11:19:00 GMT

CD .9

We have recorded our 9th cd. We got back from Holland a few weeks ago, having put it in the can and played a few concerts, too. For anyone interested, I kept a log of the recording process, and here i...
Posted by on Tue, 05 Dec 2006 11:16:00 GMT

9th cd recording

I'm reporting from Holland, where we finished recording our 9th cd yesterday in a town in the north that's called something like Voldemort. The repertoire is music from Latin America and South America...
Posted by on Sat, 28 Oct 2006 09:02:00 GMT

MSM masterclass time change

The time of our masterclass at Manhattan School of Music has been changed. New details:Place: Borden Auditorium, MSMTime: 2:30-4:30See you all there.
Posted by on Mon, 02 Oct 2006 21:22:00 GMT

October 9 concert in NY

A reminder that we are playing our fall New York concert on October 9 (Columbus Day) at 7:00PM at Symphony Space on Broadway and 95th Street. It's at the Leonard Nimoy Thalia theater, which is (for yo...
Posted by on Sun, 03 Sep 2006 18:26:00 GMT

Manhattan School of Music

I'm pleased to announce some great news:Manhattan School of Music has just created a new degree program, Masters Degree in Contemporary Performance. The distinguished faculty will include the Meridian...
Posted by on Sun, 03 Sep 2006 18:14:00 GMT

Meridian's concert with Duran Duran

At the end of my previous blog, I was talking about the house concert we played at the Zappa residence, at which one of the guests was Warren Cuccurulo. He had been a guitar player in Frank's band, an...
Posted by on Wed, 12 Jul 2006 14:21:00 GMT