Tag: classical music

The Harnsberger/Jones Duo ft. the University of Memphis Percussion Ensemble

Crosstown Arts Presents The Harnsberger/Jones Duo ft. the University of Memphis Percussion Ensemble

The Green Room at Crosstown Arts

Wednesday, August 27, 2025

Doors open at 7 pm | Show begins at 7:30 PM

Tickets: $20 In Advance (plus Fees) | $25 at the Door

purchase TICKETS HERE
The Harnsberger/Jones Duo will leave audiences intrigued and stunned by the expressive, yet powerful depth that the marimba evokes live in concert. Led by marimba soloists, Andy Harnsberger and Caitlin Jones, this concert will feature music tailored for the duo and solo works that highlight the ability and musicianship of the marimba and the artists themselves.
The Harnsberger/Jones Duo always begin their concerts with “In the Midst of Darkness” by Andy Harnsberger. Written for Andy and Caitlin (and eventually led to the creation of the duo), this work features intensity, drama, and rhythmic interplay between the two instruments. After the listeners have a chance to breathe, the duo will bring in a brand new piece, “Promises Broken” by Adam Silverman. A complete 180 from the opener, this piece will bring in the subtleties of the instrument, and has been proven to be an audience favorite in recent months.
This concert will also feature the University of Memphis Percussion Ensemble, under the direction of Dr. Bill Shaltis. Audiences are guaranteed to be exposed to new works and sounds that will leave them pondering for days and weeks to come on the beauty of the marimba.

ABOUT THE HARNSBERGER/JONES DUO

Andy Harnsberger and Caitlin Jones are currently in demand as marimba soloists and guest clinicians across the United States. Together, as The Harnsberger/Jones Duo, they are proponents for the advancement of marimba repertoire and frequently perform new works for a variety of audiences. Collectively, their YouTube channels have amassed over 1.8 million views. They have performed and recorded together in a variety of settings, and in 2023, began officially performing together as a duo. In the 2024-2025 season, they performed in Atlanta, Richmond, Florida, Tennessee, Virginia, and Mississippi, as well as recorded and released a brand new marimba duo work written specifically for The Harnsberger/Jones Duo, “Promises Broken” by Adam Silverman. Dr. Harnsberger and Dr. Jones are performing artists and clinicians for Malletech Instruments. They teach at Lee University where Harnsberger serves as Director of Percussion Studies and Jones works in the Percussion Department.

The Iris Collective Strings Return!

Iris Collective Strings

Crosstown Arts presents Iris Collective Strings in The Green Room

The Green Room at Crosstown Arts
Friday, May 16, 2025
Doors open at 7 pm | Show begins at 7:30 pm
Tickets: $20 in advance (plus fees) | $20 at the door

PURCHASE TICKETS HERE

Join the Iris Collective string musicians as they return for an evening of inspiring and eclectic string music.
Gabriela Fogo is a dynamic and versatile violinist and educator from Brazil. In orchestral settings, Gabriela has played with orchestras across Brazil and the U.S. and her chamber music experience includes collaborations with numerous ensembles like Camerata Fukuda, the Abraham Franck String Quartet, and the Burgin String Quartet, as well as the FogoNuevo violin and viola duo. Deeply committed to music education, Gabriela is a trained Suzuki teacher under the guidance of Susan Kempter at the University of New Mexico.
Gabriela has taught private and group lessons, coached youth orchestras in Brazil and the U.S., and was a Suzuki Group class coordinator at the University of New Mexico string lab school. Gabriela holds a bachelor’s degree in violin performance from Faculdade Cantareira in São Paulo, Brazil, and a master’s degree in violin performance and string pedagogy from the University of New Mexico, where she was a teaching assistant. She received her Doctor of Music degree in violin performance at Florida State University as a graduate teaching assistant to Dr. Shannon Thomas.
Roberta dos Santos is an avid chamber musician and advocate for contemporary music. A Brazilian cellist, Roberta collaborates with some of the most diverse and renowned composers to elevate underrepresented voices in the music scene, both in Brazil and internationally. Roberta continues to influence the next generation of musicians through collaborations with the Memphis Youth Symphony Program, PRIZM Ensemble, and Iris Collective as an Iris Artist Fellow, while also maintaining a private studio in the U.S. and Brazil.
Roberta is a doctoral candidate in cello performance at the University of Memphis, where she also serves as a teaching assistant. Roberta earned her bachelor’s degree from Faculdade Cantareira in São Paulo, Brazil, her master’s degrees from the Federal University of Paraíba and Bowling Green State University, and an Artist Diploma from Nicholls State University.

Iris Fellows at the Green Room

Iris Collective Fellows 25-25

Crosstown Arts presents Iris Fellows at The Green Room

The Green Room at Crosstown Arts
Thursday, November 6, 2025
Doors open at 7 pm | Show begins at 7:30 pm
Tickets: $20 in advance (plus fees) | $20 at the door

PURCHASE TICKETS HERE

Join our Fellows, Roberta dos Santos, cello, and Alexandre Negrão, violin, for an eclectic night of music in this intimate setting. From the lyricism of Brazilian masters Osvaldo Lacerda and Chiquinha Gonzaga, to the intensity of Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 7, this program spans worlds of sound and emotion. The program also includes Tucker Fuller’s contemplative The Road Ahead inspired by Thomas Merton’s reflections on faith, and Clarice Assad’s Canções da América, bursting with color and rhythm. Featuring Iris artists Marisa Polesky, violin; Aaron Tubergen, viola and David Carlisle, percussion.About the Fellows:
Originally from Belem do Pará, Alexandre Negrão started his violin studies when he was 7 years old at the Fundação Amazônica de Música. Alexandre is a former member of the Theatro da Paz Symphony Orchestra and has served as acting concertmaster from 2014 to 2016.
Alexandre has studied in a special international string program in Southern Louisiana at Nicholls State University under the direction of Prof. James Alexander in Fall 2016. After completing the program, Alexandre auditioned and was admitted with full scholarship for his undergraduate studies at the University of Missouri – School of Music. He has graduated with master’s in music degree in violin performance in the class of Professor Eva Szekely this August 2025 and was the violin chair for the New Music Ensemble under the direction of Dr. Stefan Freund.
Currently he dedicates his time to discover and perform music from underrepresented composers from Brazil and the USA. While teaching and guiding young musicians in the community, Alexandre help students to find their on paths in music and in life.
Roberta dos Santos is an avid chamber musician and advocate for contemporary music. A Brazilian cellist, Roberta collaborates with some of the most diverse and renowned composers to elevate underrepresented voices in the music scene, both in Brazil and internationally.
As an educator, Roberta has dedicated over a decade to teaching at Associação Músicos do Futuro in Taboão da Serra, her alma mater. She is a Suzuki-certified instructor, trained under Dr. Tanya Carey, and she has mentored students at the Detroit Symphony Orchestra Civic Youth Ensembles.
Roberta continues to influence the next generation of musicians through collaborations with the Memphis Youth Symphony Program, PRIZM Ensemble, and other initiatives, while also maintaining a private studio in the U.S. and Brazil. Roberta is a doctoral candidate in cello performance at the University of Memphis, where she also serves as a teaching assistant. Her doctoral research explores themes of social justice and race within Brazilian classical music. Her principal mentors include Ji Yon Shim Anderson, Felipe Avellar de Aquino, Dennis Parker, Brian Snow, and Kimberly Patterson.

Rushes Ensemble performs Michael Gordon’s Rushes

Central Atrium
Tuesday, September 27, 2022
Show begins at 8PM
Tickets: Pay-What-You-Can

PURCHASE TICKETS HERE

Rushes is a 55 minute tour-de-force that takes the listener on a meditative journey through rich, undulating harmonies captured by the velvety sound of seven bassoons.

Rushes Ensemble is an all-star septet comprised of leading performers of contemporary bassoon music in the United States: Michael Harley, Maya Stone, Lynn Hileman, Jeffrey Lyman, Rachael Elliott, Saxton Rose, and Sara Schoenbeck.

The group debuted in 2012 with the world premiere performance of Michael Gordon’s Rushes at the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center in Troy, New York. Their premiere recording of the work was released by Cantaloupe Records in 2014. Rushes Ensemble has appeared throughout Europe and North America at venues including November Music, Korzo Theater and GLOW Festival in the Netherlands; Surround Festival in Brugge, Belgium; Vancouver New Music Festival; Duke Performances; Oz Arts in Nashville; Big Ears in Knoxville; Peak Performances in Montclair, NJ; and National Sawdust and Park Avenue Armory in New York.

“Rarely does one get to see a group that has been steadily performing the same work to the point of absolute mastery.” — Vancouver Classical Music

This programming is made possible in part thanks to an Organizational Development Fund grant from New Music USA.

Adam W. Sadberry: “Musical Journalism”

Doors open at 7PM | Performance begins at 7:30PM

Tickets: $15 advance | $20 at the door ($5 student tickets available)

Purchase tickets here

This is a concert inspired by Adam W. Sadberry’s late grandfather and unsung hero of the Civil Rights Movement, L. Alex Wilson. Wilson’s work as an editor and journalist changed the world through covering pivotal Civil Rights events including the lynching of Emmett Till, the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the desegregation of Central High School by the Little Rock 9, the last of which played a part in Wilson’s transformation into a martyr. In this concert, Adam intertwines articles that he collected from the archives of the Tri-State Defender, Wilson’s newspaper in Memphis, Tennessee, with music that contextualizes the humanity and inhumanity of the stories.

Adam will be joined on stage by pianist Dr. Artina McCain and clarinetist Dr. Andre Dyachenko.

This programming is made possible in part thanks to an Organizational Development Fund grant from New Music USA.

Brasilis String Quartet

Doors at 7pm | Performance begins at 7:30pm
Tickets: $10 advance | $15 at the door (students $5)

Purchase tickets here

The Brasilis String Quartet has a mission to share the passion of Latin American music for string quartets and celebrate the living composers. On this concert, they will perform works by Heitor Villa-Lobos, José Elizondo, Dimitri Cervo, Dimitri Shostakovich, and César Guerra Peixe.

Formed by Amaro Dubois on viola, Rebeca Rathlef and Noel Medford on violins, and Roberta Dos Santos on cello, Brasilis String Quartet, has been gathering attention from composers and selected audiences as a diversified and competent group.

“We want to be able to introduce the beauty of Latin American music so that our audience will understand our creative personality and purpose.”

The Brasilis String Quartet also loves to perform works by other composers such as Shostakovich. His famous String quartet No. 8 is the one that is in our next concerts in June/2022.

The Brasilis String Quartet is passionate about understanding the composer’s message behind notes and rhythms. With a varied repertoire mixing Latin American, black and brown, and female composers, the group has performed around the Tennessee area in many recent concerts. Also, Their love for performing compositions that show the varied range of their instruments engages the audience in every concert. Passion and motivation are the keys to the success of their concerts.

“Versatile is a word that defines us, and diversity and inclusion are our power.”

About the Brasilis String Quartet Members:

Praised for his “utmost commitment, and sensitivity to the composers’ diverse voices” (Fanfare Magazine), Brazilian violist Amaro Dubois has become known for expanding and popularizing lesser-known repertoire for the viola through collaborative projects in South and North America. Amaro was awarded the Iris Orchestra Fellowship position under the guidance of music director and conductor Michael Stern for the 19-21 seasons. Recent recordings include the complete Preludes of the Cello Suites by Bach for Breve Classics, and Adoration – Music of The Americas with his Dubois-Yao Duo, where they highlight the music of underrepresented composers. Mr. Dubois is an award-winning violist in many international competitions such London Classical Music Competition, World Classical Music Awards, and King’s Peak International Music Competition.

Violinist Rebeca Rathlef is from Sumaré, Brazil, where she started her violin studies with her grandfather .Rebeca received her undergraduate degree from the University of São Paulo under the tutelage of Professor Eline Tokeshi. In São Paulo, she played at the Orquestra Experimental de Repertório. In the Spring of 2021, Rebeca completed her Master of Music studies at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She is now in the process of earning a D.M.A. at the University of Memphis with Professor Timothy Shiu. Rebeca currently holds the Judith & Sheldon Korones Memorial Fellowship, performing with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra. She has also been invited to play with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra and the Paducah Symphony Orchestra. After completing her studies, Rebeca intends to teach violin under the Suzuki Method and perform in orchestras and chamber ensembles.

As an active advocate of performing music of all sorts of different styles and genres, Noel Medford, violinist, has performed across the United States and in Europe. Next fall, he will begin pursuing an Artist Diploma at the University of Memphis where he will collaborate with Iris Collective. Mr. Medford enjoys performing regularly in several symphony orchestras across the mid-south and teaching students in his violin studio. He currently holds a degree from the University of Memphis (B.M.)

Currently pursuing her doctoral degree at University of Memphis as a Teaching Assistant, Brazilian cellist Roberta dos Santos is an active chamber musician and a new music enthusiast advocating for social justice in classical music. She holds degrees from Bowling Green State University, Nicholls State University, Federal University of Paraíba (Brazil) and Faculdade Cantareira (Brazil).