Agata Zubel www.zubel.pl
The talented award-winning composer and vocalist Agata Zubel performs as a featured artist at Seattle's Icebreaker Festival late February. This year's event entitled New Music from the Mediterranean is the 6th edition of Seattle Chamber Players' celebrated festival of emerging music from around the world
The Seattle Chamber Players attempt to break the ice of numerous frontiers: between the West and the East; between Europe, Asia and Africa; between academic concert music and both folk and traditional currents; between the diverse and inspirational cultures within the Mediterranean region; and between the region's deep and ancient history and its colourful present.
The sunny energy of Southern Europe, the Middle East and Northern Africa generates new music from some of the world’s oldest cultures. Seattle Chamber Players bring fascinating composers and virtuoso performers to Seattle to join in the fun. Over two days, the SCP - Paul Taub, David Sabee, Laura DeLuca and Mikhail Shmidt - play works by composers from 13 countries of the Mediterranean region, with many of the composers present for the performances, including Nabil Benabdeljalil (Morocco), Benet Casablancas (Spain), Salim Dada (Algeria), Sanja Drakulic (Croatia), Mohammed Fairouz (Egypt/Lebanon), Yann Robin (France), Uroa Rojko (Slovenia), Luís Tinoco (Portugal), and Yitzhak Yedid (Israel). Joining them are local musicians and special international soloists, among them the young Agata Zubel. The talented vocalist was given a thumbs-up by Georgia Rowe, an arts writer on MusicalAmerica.com, who commented on her performance at the Other Minds festival in 2011
The festival's other great discovery was Zubel. (...) Her voice - a vibrant, voluptuous, precise soprano - is a marvel.
Agata Zubel presents works by Luciano Berio (Italy), Georges Aperghis (Greece) and Luís Tinoco (Portugal).
Born in Wroclaw in 1978, she is an honourary graduate of the Composition Department (under the guidance of professor Jan Wichrowski) and from the Vocal Department under Danuta Paziuk-Zipser of the Academy of Music in Wrocław. The artist also furthered her post-graduate musical studies at the Conservatoruim Hogeschool Enschede in the Netherlands.
Zubel's pieces have been performed at numerous festivals in Poland, among them the "Warsaw Autumn", "Musica Polonica Nova" Festival in Wroclaw, Festival of Polish Music in Krakow, Festival of First Performances "Polish Modern Music" in Katowice, as well as events outside of her home country - "Alternativa" in Moscow, "Velvet Curtain" in L'viv, "Musikhost Odense" in Denmark. The composer is a laureate of numerous awards, including the prestigious Polityka magazine "Passport" award in classical music in 2005. The same year had her Second Symphony - commissioned by Deutsche Welle - premiered as part of the Beethoven Festival in Bonn. Among other awards granted to the musician is the special award for the ElettroVoce duo at the Gaudeamus Interpreters Competition in Amsterdam, and the First Prize at the Krzysztof Penderecki International Competition of Contemporary Chamber Music.
Zubel has performed a vocalist throughout Europe, Canada and the U.S. She is featured on two records recently released by CD Accord label: Cascando, an album of her own chamber music, and Poems, with songs composed by Copland, Berg and Szymański. She is a member of the Polish Composers' Union and teaches at the Academy of Music in Wrocław.
The Icebreaker Festival is presented by the Seattle Chamber Players. Additional support for the participation of Agata Zubel is provided by the Polish Cultural Institute New York.
ICEBREAKER VI: New Music from The Mediterranean
Illsley Ball Nordstrom Recital Hall at Benaroya Hall
200 University Street, Seattle, WA
Tickets: $25 general
$15 students and seniors
Source:
www.polishculture-nyc.org
www.seattlechamberplayers.org
www.zubel.pl