Happy New Year!
I am so thrilled and beyond excited to announce that the arrangements for the album are near completion! The overwhelming interest and enthusiasm from all of the arrangers has been phenomenal and I am so grateful to have such talented people sharing their gifts for the album. Allow me to introduce the people who have been working hard to turn my dreams into a reality!
LJOVA (Lev Zhurbin)
I met LJOVA at a recording session where he performed and arranged a lively rendition of O Sole Mio. He owns his style and I am totally excited and impressed that he agreed to arrange Nella Fantasia!
Hailed by the New York Times as “dizzyingly versatile… an eclectic with an ear for texture… strikingly original and soulful”, LJOVA (Lev Zhurbin) was born in 1978 in Moscow, Russia, and moved to New York with his parents, composer Alexander Zhurbin and writer Irena Ginzburg, in 1990. He divides his time between performing as a violist in diverse groups ranging from his own, LJOVA AND THE KONTRABAND, to string quartets, jazz combos and Gypsy bands; studying and arranging music for Yo-Yo Ma, the Kronos Quartet, Jay-Z, Gustavo Santaolalla, Osvaldo Golijov, Alondra de la Parra and others; and composing original music for film, TV, dance, and the concert stage. Learn more about LJOVA!
Dave Nelson
I first heard of Dave through a friend of a friend of Sufjan Stevens. He is a talented musician and composer in his own right and was the right fit to arrange Don’t Give Up.
A native of southern Georgia, Dave Nelson currently resides in Brooklyn, NY where he maintains a multi-faceted freelance career as musician, composer, and arranger. As a trombonist, Dave has performed/recorded with a range of talented artists including The National, Sufjan Stevens, Jonsi, Martha Wainwright, Bryce and Aaron Dessner, Beirut, Stanley Clarke, and Spoon.
In addition to his work in popular music, Dave performs regularly with today’s premier classical and new music ensembles in New York City including The Knights Orchestra, International Contemporary Ensemble, Talea, the Deviant Septet, Signal, and Argento New Music Project. In 2010, Dave played first trombone on the Broadway revival of West Side Story. He can also be heard on film scores and television.
As a composer and producer, Dave uses his skills as multi-instrumentalist to create musical works in his studio. His EP “Logistic Minutia” was released Fall of 2011. It’s a set of four instrumental pieces for rock band and 4-piece horn section. In the past, much of Dave’s music has been licensed or scored specifically for tv and film. Credits and placements include “Whatever, Martha!” Saturday Night Live (NBC), The Colbert Report, and Hunt’s Tomatoes.
Mike Atkinson
Mike is one of the busiest working musicians and arrangers in the business. He knows his way around the recording biz and I am grateful that he lent his immense talent toward May It Be and You’ll Never Walk Alone.
Michael P. Atkinson actively participates in the cultural scenes of New York City and Brooklyn as a hornist, composer, arranger, and producer.As a member of The Knights, Michael has concertized in the US and Europe, and has made numerous recordings, including two on two Sony Classical recordings, two on Ancalagon Records, and a live concert DVD. The Knights were also the subject of a September 2011 documentary on WNET, hosted by Paula Zahn.
As a commercial musician, Michael has recorded for Hollywood and Independent film projects, television commercials, and numerous Electronic Arts video game soundtracks. On Broadway, Michael was lead horn in the orchestra of the 2007-08 revival of Les Misérables, and has played as a substitute at many other Broadway shows including Wicked, Phantom of the Opera, Grey Gardens, Young Frankenstein, and West Side Story. In 2009, Michael joined the orchestra of the Tony-winning production of South Pacific presented by the Lincoln Center Theatre. In August 2010, this production was featured nationally as a live telecast on PBS’ Live From Lincoln Center.
As an arranger, Michael has collaborated extensively with Sufjan Stevens. After performing with him on tours of Europe, Asia and the U.S., Michael began working with Sufjan to prepare orchestrations, score and parts for his award-winning symphonic film suite B.Q.E. In 2008, Michael conducted the world premiere at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, celebrating the 25th Anniversary Next Wave Festival. Learn more about Mike!
Charlie Porter
Charlie is the jazz man and has a successful International career. We nabbed him to arrange a few tunes when he was back in the states and are totally impressed with his work on Windmills of Your Mind and Hallelujah.
As a multi-genre trumpeter and composer, Charlie Porter takes an all-encompassing approach to music. He has been steadily forging a strong reputation in music, both abroad and on the New York City music scene.
Charlie has toured throughout most of the United States and abroad as both a bandleader and sideman. His quartet was selected by Jazz at Lincoln Center and the U.S. Department of State in 2010 to tour Asia, including India, Sri Lanka, Dhaka, Bangladesh, and Turkey. Previously, in 2007, his quartet toured West Africa under the same program, where they performed in Sierra Leone, Togo, Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire and Cameroon. Charlie also toured with the JALC “All-Star” quartet in 2008, which toured extensively in India, China and Africa. As a core member of The Absolute Ensemble, an electro-acoustic crossover chamber orchestra lead by Kristjan Jarvi, Charlie has toured Germany, Italy, Sweden, France, Belgium, Austria, Finland, Norway, Greece, Denmark, Switzerland, England, Brussels, Holland, Latvia, Estonia, Australia, and New Zealand. Charlie also toured the U.S. extensively with the internationally acclaimed Dallas Brass in their 2009/10 season, playing both trumpet and Eb alto horn. Recently, as the brass coach for the Baltic Youth Orchestra, Charlie has also traveled to Lithuania. Throughout Charlie’s travels, he has gained experience in performing for a wide variety of communities and fostering cultural exchange with local musicians and audiences. As one of the resident groups in Carnegie Hall’s “Musical Connections” program, the Charlie Porter Quartet plays an active role in performing for disadvantaged audiences in the NYC community. As a composer, Mr. Porter was commissioned by Chamber Music America and The Doris Duke Foundation in 2005 to compose a piece, “The Buddy Bolden Suite,” for his septet, which was then premiered at The Jazz Gallery and JALC’s Dizzy’s Club to sold-out crowds.
Brian Mahany
A major freelance performer and lover of pop music, Brian was the perfect fit for Firework and Taking Chances.
Brian Mahany is an in-demand performer, teacher, arranger, chamber musician, and soloist. He has recorded for both SONY and Summit record labels. His vast career has included performing with New York City Opera, New York City Ballet, San Fransisco Ballet, Andrea Bocelli Orchestra, American Ballet Theater, Princeton Symphony, New Haven Symphony, Harrisburg Symphony, Scranton Symphony, Bridgeport Symphony, Amor Artis Orchestra, New York Grand Opera, Westchester Philharmonic , Brooklyn Philharmonic , and New England Symphonic Ensemble.
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