Talea Ensemble - Artist Bio

Talea Ensemble Flute Barry J. Crawford Oboe Stuart Breczinski Clarinet Rane Moore Clarinet Marianne Gythfeldt Clarinet Gleb Kanasevich Bassoon Adrian Morejon Trumpet Sam Jones Trumpet Miki Sasaki Horn Laura Weiner Horn Nicolee Kuester Trombone Kevin Fairbairn Tuba John Hill Percussion Bill Solomon Percussion Matthew Gold Percussion Nick Tolle Piano/celeste Steve Beck Harp Nuiko Wadden Violin Emilie Anne-Gendron Violin Marina Kifferstein Violin Alex Shiozaki Viola Hannah Levinson Viola Carrie Frey Cello Chris Gross Cello John Popham Double Bass Greg Chudzik

James Baker, conductor

James Baker is Music Director and conductor of the Composers Conference at Wellesley College and Director of the Percussion Ensemble at the Mannes College of Music. He is Guest Conductor of the Slee Sinfonietta at the Institute for 21st Century Music in Buffalo, Speculum Musicae and the Principal Guest Conductor of the Talea Ensemble. He has led concerts across North America, Europe, and Asia at festivals including the Beijing Modern Festival, Monday Evening Concerts, US Library of Congress, and the Transit Festival. He has collaborated with composers on hundreds of world and American premieres including John Cage, Pierre Boulez, Earl Brown, Charles Wuorinen, Mario Davidovsky, Hans Werner Henze, Roger Reynolds, Hans Abrahamsen, Milton Babbitt, Donald Martino, Elliott Carter, Stefano Gervasoni, David Felder and George Crumb. An active composer of electro-acoustic music, Mr. Baker won a Bessie award for composition for dance.

Talea Ensemble Heralded as “a crucial part of the New York cultural ecosphere” by the New York Times, the Talea Ensemble’s mission is to champion musical creativity, cultivate curious listeners, and bring visionary new works to life with vibrant performances that remain in the audience’s imagination long after a concert.

Recipients of the 2014 Chamber Music America/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming, Talea has brought to life more than 40 commissions of major new works since it was founded in 2008. Talea has helped introduce NYC audiences to important works of such esteemed composers as Pierre Boulez, Georg Friedrich Haas, Beat Furrer, Olga Neuwirth, Unsuk Chin, and Hans Abrahamsen.

Praised for their “verve and immaculate virtuosity” by the Washington Post, Talea is sought after both in the U.S. and Europe for its range, precision, risk-taking, and superior performance quality. Recent festival engagements include performances at Lincoln Center Festival, Internationales Musikinstitut Darmstadt, the Fromm Concerts at Harvard University, Warsaw Autumn Festival, Wien Modern, Vancouver New Music, and many more.

The ensemble has also partnered with institutions from across disciplines, such as the Institute of Contemporary Art Boston, the City of Ideas Festival in Mexico, or the Storm King Art Center. Talea’s recordings have been distributed worldwide on the Kairos, Wergo, Gravina Musica, Tzadik, Innova, and New World Records labels.