|
Event
Blur Division and Matthew Pierce Ensemble at Last Licks Cafe
Since 1996, The Blur Division has emerged as a strikingly resourceful and multi-faceted group of musicians merely by virtue of their willingness to disregard style or genre in their individual and collective pursuit of creative experimentation. The group has steadily gained prominence in the music community, recording their independently released CD, playing a wide variety of gigs, opening for such internationally prestigious jazz acts as Christian McBride and Larry Coryell, receiving regional radio play and national television exposure, and eliciting unanimous praise from the critics. Based on the strength of their live performances, the band's energetic and positive spirit has particularly allowed them to indulge their naturally exploratory approach to music-making, and likewise communicate effectively with each other and the audience.
Although the influences evident in the music of The Blur Division are wide reaching and diverse, their surface characteristics remain secondary to the most significant thread which ties it all together: the band members' mind set of inclusiveness which has enabled them to reconcile their own natural impulses with the vast wealth of information and technologies now instantly available to them. The band's ultimate goal has been to make stimulating discoveries concerning their own individual approach to the world of sound, and in the process make their singular contribution toward bridging the already narrowing gaps between the disparate segments of the global community. And of course, to enlighten and uplift their listeners while doing so.
Matthew Pierce was born in Brooklyn on July 24, 1968, into a family rich in artistic talent. His father, Michael, a painter, and his mother, Catherine, a sculptor, now based in Seattle, gave Matthew his start in the music world in 1976 with formal violin training, and also instilled in him an appreciation for the regional bluegrass and American folk music of his father's Tennessee roots. Matthew's great grandfather, Johnny Pierce, a soybean and corn farmer, toured depression era Appalachia with his banjo.
Pierce moved to New York in 1992 after completing his Masters of Music at The Peabody Conservatory. He abandoned the classical violin performance avenue he initially sought and became a prominent member of the downtown Off-Broadway theater scene. As resident composer of HERE Theater he won a Meet the Composer grant, wrote many incidental and dance scores and performed a selection from his opera, The Cry Pitch Carrolls at the 1999 Village Voice Obie Awards.
Early exposure to the ballet world (his brother Benjamin is a principal dancer with the San Francisco Ballet) developed in Pierce a special passion for the music of dance. He has written ballet scores for Joffrey Ballet, American Ballet Theater, Ohio Ballet, Ballet Met, Cincinnati Ballet, Maximum Dance of Miami, New York City Ballet and the San Francisco Ballet. Night, a full orchestra score set to a Chagall inspir
|
|
 |
LocationLast Licks Cafe @ UUFH
109 Browns Road
Huntington, NY 11743
United States
Categories
| Kid Friendly: No |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: No |
| Wheelchair Accessible: No |
|
Contact
|
