Fast Forward Austin – Charting Influences from Fast>>Forward>>Austin on Vimeo.
Charting Influences is an immersive concert experience exploring inspiration and the creative process. Culminating with the US premiere of UK Composer Charlotte Bray’s ‘Caught in Treetops’ the program includes specific musical and literary influences on Bray’s work. This tapestry of inspiration weaves Jazz, Poetry, and Contemporary Classical music into a seamless program, featuring performances by Peter Bay (Austin Symphony), Sarah Silver (San Antonio Symphony), Kathryn Findlen, Tom Echols, the Graeme Francis Quartet and the Fast Forward Austin Orchestra. Both a regional and international collaboration, ‘Charting Influences’ combines innovative programming concepts, cutting-edge contemporary classical music and the brightest stars of Austin and central Texas.
At the center of the program is the US premiere of rising star UK composer Charlotte Bray’s ‘Caught in Treetops’. Sarah Silver, newly appointed Assistant Concertmaster for the San Antonio Symphony, collaborates with Peter Bay and the Fast Forward Orchestra to bring this vital new work to Austin. Inspired by Sony Rollins, Dante Rossetti and Federico García Lorca, ‘Caught in Treetops’ is an explosive showcase for the violinist set against a deftly scored chamber orchestra accompaniment. The intense, mercurial work moves from playful whimsy to impassioned virtuosity, exhibiting Bray’s distinctive and commanding voice.
The program also includes music by Sony Rollins performed by the Graeme Francis Quartet, readings of poetry by Lorca and Rossetti, performances of Lorca’s own compositions by Findlen and guitarist Tom Echols, and a setting of Lorca poetry by Jesse Jones, an up and coming young american composer.
This event is made possible by generous support from
New Music USA and The City of Austin Cultural Arts Division.