image by Darian Donovan Thomas
Lost Coast
Duo Album and Cello Concerto
Lost Coast is a dynamic work of original music composed by Gabriella Smith for cellist Gabriel Cabezas inspired by Gabriella’s reflections on climate change, which she has seen devastate her home state of California.
The project began its life as sketches for a conceived work for cello and orchestra. Upon entering Reykjavik’s Greenhouse Studios with producer Nadia Sirota, Gabriella embraced a new way to put her musical ideas forward. The result is a 7 track album, anchored by the three-movement central work, now re-imagined as a dense soundscape predominantly comprised of layered voice and cello.
The album was released June 25th on Bedroom Community, was named one of NPR Music’s “26 Favorite Albums Of 2021 (So Far)” and a “Classical Album to Hear Right Now” by The New York Times.
Gabriel will premiere Lost Coast, put back together by the composer as a daring concerto for cello and orchestra, with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Gustavo Dudamel in May 2023.
For booking and inquiries, contact James Lemkin
Encuentros
Encuentros is an ongoing collaboration with the Catalyst Quartet rooted in their musical relationships in Cuba. In February of 2019, the quartet traveled for the first time to the island in partnership with the Cuban American Youth Orchestra and the Sphinx Organization. On that historic trip they shared a program with the Cuarteto de Cuerdas de la Habana and were introduced to the music of Jorge Amado Molina. The quartet and Gabriel were collectively electrified by his compositional voice and were immediately inspired to develop a project that featured a commission for string quintet by him as well as works exploring the rich heritage of Cuban classical music by composers such as Guido López-Gavilán, Tania León, Leo Brouwer, and Paquito D’Rivera. They premiered the resulting work by Jorge Amado Molina, Relatos Mágicos, October of 2022 in Havana, Cuba.
For booking, contact the Catalyst Quartet
design by Adam Larsen
Gabriel Cabezas - Live in Isolation
When cellist Gabriel Cabezas heard that his Kaufman Music Center, Tuesday Matinee recital at Merkin Hall was cancelled due to COVID-19, he started thinking of ways to rescue the opportunity. “I was really proud of the program I put together, and I wanted to get the music out there,” said Cabezas. “The big question was: how do we create something special that will stand out in a sea of home recordings?”
Famed director James Darrah and designer Adam Larsen met this challenge by signing on to create a recital film remotely. “They shipped a bunch of audio and visual equipment to my [Harlem, New York City] apartment, and then it was my job to set it all up -- I had never wrestled with a giant green screen before!”
The resulting hour-long program features dazzling visuals and stunning performances. An EP featuring four works from the program was released December 18, 2020 on Bedroom Community.
photo by Volker Riemann
Journals (vol. 1)
Journals (vol. 1) is the first of an ongoing collection of works written for Gabriel Cabezas and guitarist Jordan Dodson by composer, singer, and programmer Elliot Cole.
In the words of the composer, “I usually make music to get outside myself, to explore, to roam. But Journals is a return to the personal. I remember being weary that year - touring and teaching more than I ever had, buried in projects that didn't feel like mine, burned out on the pretensions of New Music. Writing these on planes and trains, without a deadline or anyone to impress, helped me reconnect with the music in my heart. With the exception of Serenade, which I worked over endlessly, each of these pieces was more or less written in a single day.”
photo by Shervin Lainez
yMusic
yMusic, "six contemporary classical polymaths who playfully overstep the boundaries of musical genres,” (The New Yorker) performs in concert halls, arenas and clubs around the world. Founded in New York City in 2008, yMusic believes in presenting excellent, emotionally communicative music, regardless of style or idiom. Their virtuosic execution and unique configuration (string trio, flute, clarinet, and trumpet) has attracted the attention of high profile collaborators—from Paul Simon to Bill T. Jones to Ben Folds—and inspired original works by some of today’s foremost composers, including Nico Muhly, Missy Mazzoli and Andrew Norman.
photo by Ashley Gellman
Owls
Drawing from a deep well of musical passions and backgrounds, Owls is a quartet collective that defies expectations and labels with original, visceral, and personal performances. Each an artistic force in their own right, violinist Alexi Kenney, violist Ayane Kozasa, cellist Gabriel Cabezas and cellist-composer Paul Wiancko share an uncommonly fierce creative spirit which drives the quartet to challenge the way meaningful concert experiences are conceived. While weaving together new compositions with original arrangements of music ranging from the 1600s to the present, Owls' distinctive instrumentation allows them access to beautiful and exhilarating new sound worlds—effectively guaranteeing that each performance is uniquely them and without limits.
photo by Vikki Sloviter
Duende
A music and dance collective focusing on the interaction between performers and dancers in the live realization of new scores, Duende's shows emphasize an equal collaboration of music and dance, exploring the creative possibilities that result from the
marriage of these two disciplines.