About Anhared Stowe
Founder, Artistic Director, and Violinist of the New World Trio, Anhared (Ann) Stowe has spent a lifetime in music as a chamber musician, teacher, Hartford Symphony Orchestra section leader, and a soloist performing with orchestras up and down the east coast and Midwest. She was recently heard on NPR’s Morning Edition, accompanying the poet Edgar Silex with works of her own composition.
About Peter Zay
Cellist Peter Zay’s musical achievements have taken him to concert halls throughout the United States, Europe, and Central America. He appears regularly on the Sunday Serenades Concert Series at the Wadsworth Athenaeum in Hartford, CT., and has traveled frequently to Spain to perform as a guest of the Quartetto Saravasti. As a member of the American Sinfonietta, he has toured to many of Europe’s leading venues, including Vienna’s Musikverein, Frankfurt’s Alte Oper, and Stuttgart’s Beethoven Saal.
About David Ballena
Guest artist David Ballena, a native of Peru, is in demand for his versatility as a soloist, chamber musician and coach. Dr. Ballena has performed throughout the US and South America, including concerts at some of the nation’s most prestigious venues; the Benedict Music Tent and Harris Concert Hall as part of the Aspen Music Festival’s Summer Concert Series in Colorado, Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, the Terrace Theater at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.
About Stephen Gryc:
Farmington-based composer Stephen Michael Gryc has always been fascinated by sounds and musical instruments. An intimate understanding of the technique of orchestral instruments and the imaginative use of instrumental color are hallmarks of his music. Gryc is Professor Emeritus of Music Composition and Theory at the Hartt School of the University of Hartford where he taught full-time for thirty-five years. His instrumental expertise has brought him commissions from some of the world's leading soloists including principal brass players of the New York Philharmonic and Hartford Symphony concertmaster Leonid Sigal.
Gryc has written for every type of western instrument and ensemble from duo to large orchestra. His works for flute and trumpet have served as contest pieces for several international performance competitions. His works have been performed by a diverse group of ensembles such as the New Jersey Percussion Ensemble, American Brass Quintet, Avalon String Quartet, Cascadian Chorale, United States Marine Band, and Minnesota Orchestra. His music has been heard in 46 states, 33 foreign countries and over 200 colleges and universities worldwide.
Sweet Prospect is the fourth work by Stephen Gryc to be premiered by the various incarnations of the New World Ensemble over the years. Dances and Nocturnes for violin, viola, cello, and piano was commissioned by the New World Ensemble and was premiered by the group in 1990. The New World’s recording of the piece is available on a compact disc of Gryc’s chamber music titled Dreams and Nocturnes (Centaur Records CRC 2595). A piece for oboe and string quartet, Fantasy Variations on a Theme of Bela Bartok, was premiered by the New World Ensemble in 1993. The group then recorded the work with famed oboe soloist Bert Lucarelli for a compact disc titled Stephen Gryc: New Music for Flute and Oboe (Opus 1 Recordings CD 166). Gryc’s Dream Vegetables: Six Poems of Maggie Anderson for reciting voice, clarinet, violin, and marimba was premiered in 1997. Both Anhared Stowe and Peter Zay performed with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra under conductor Edward Cumming for the premieres of Gryc’s trombone concerto, Passaggi, in 2006 and violin concerto, Harmonia Mundi, in 2011.