BAQ
A new quintet founded by cellist Brent Arnold, with Arun Ramamurthy on violin, Zosha Warpeha on Hardanger d'amore, John Murchison on contrabass, and Alaina Ferris on harp. Five extraordinary musicians, each with a distinctive voice, building on adventurous compositional structures with improvisational brilliance.
Live excerpts: https://s.disco.ac/ggtuilgxstkm
Contact: brent@audiofriction.com
Arun Ramamurthy is a multifaceted violinist, composer and educator. He is a disciple of the celebrated Carnatic violinist brothers, Sri Mysore Nagaraj & Dr. Mysore Manjunath and esteemed violinist Sri Ananthakrishnan. He performs internationally in traditional Carnatic and Hindustani settings and in his own projects like the Arun Ramamurthy Trio. Arun is a recipient of Chamber Music America's New Jazz Works commission, and a co-founder of Brooklyn Raga Massive.
Zosha Warpeha is a composer-performer working in a meditative space at the intersection of contemporary improvisation and folk traditions. Using bowed stringed instruments alongside her own voice, her long-form compositions explore transformations of time and tonality. She performs primarily on Hardanger d’amore, a sympathetic-stringed instrument closely related to the Norwegian Hardanger fiddle, as well as five-string violin.
Brent Arnold is a cellist and composer whose music incorporates experimental jazz, rock, and free improvisation with his studies of classical and folk musics from Europe, Africa, and Asia. His opera Ali, co-written with Grey Filastine and Walid Ben Selim, premiered April 2024 at La Monnaie in Brussels, Belgium. He studied with violinist Michael White (Pharoah Sanders, John Handy) and cellist Walter Grey (Kronos Quartet).
John Murchison is a Brooklyn-based bassist and multi-instrumentalist. He is one of the most in-demand bassists for traditional Arabic music in the US and is known for his work in pop, musical theater, jazz, and avant-garde. He also performs regularly on qanun, gimbri, oud, ney, and percussion. He is cofounder of Brooklyn Maqam, an organization dedicated to presenting, promoting, and building community around Arabic music in NYC.
Alaina Ferris is an interdisciplinary composer, poet, and performer who specializes in choral works, opera, and contemporary theater. Her music has been described by The New York Times as “arrestingly lovely” and “haunting.” Her new oratorio The Lydian Gale Parr premiered in New York in Spring 2024.