About DUE EAST
DUE EAST has performed in Brazil, Europe, Canada and the USA at venues such as the Warsaw Crossdrumming Festival, the Banff Centre for the Arts, the State University of São Paulo, and the Percussive Arts Society International Conventions in Texas, Tennessee and Ohio. Most recently, they were named winners of the 2008 National Flute Association Chamber Music Competition, held in Kansas City.
The duo has given recitals at performing arts series, such as Ke’nek’t (SUNY-Oswego) and Arts and Ideas(Lewis University); new music festivals (Greensboro, NC and Moline, IL); and universities across the United States. In the summer of 2005, DUE EAST was invited to be an ensemble-in-residence at the Yellow Barn Chamber Music Festival.
DUE EAST actively promotes new music, and has commissioned several works. They have premiered works for Bargemusic (NYC), Wet Ink Musics (NYC), Composer’s Concordance (NYC), Columbia University Composers Ensemble, Princeton University Composer’s Ensemble, and the 21st Century Schizoid Music Series at Cornelia Street Café (NYC). In conjunction with performance, Lesser and Beyer are frequently asked to present workshops for composers and instrumentalists on contemporary music and its various extended techniques for their respective instruments.
Both accomplished and virtuosic soloists in their own right, Beyer and Lesser work closely with young composers to develop unique and engaging 21st century repertoire. Their programs are varied and highly engaging, ranging from extensive multi-media and technology-driven works to pieces that call for a variety of world music instruments in combination with folksong-like vocals and narratives. Beyer is an expert performer of the Afro-Brazilian berimbau, and incorporates this instrument into DUE EAST shows.
Here is what others are saying about DUE EAST:
"In DUE EAST, Erin Lesser and Greg Beyer have achieved a rare level of
synergy that makes for an amazingly expressive and delightful program.
Their wide-ranging repertoire is delivered with passion and vibrancy,
and audiences are witnesses to an astonishing display of virtuosity. DUE
EAST is a joy to behold."
- Rich Holly, Immediate Past President, Percusssive Arts Society
"Due East brings a deep musicianship and stunning virtuosity to all that they play. In a single evening they travel through the raw beauty of Brazilian folk music to the intricate scores of Xenakis with an unwavering commitment. Due East does not merely play together, they breathe as one, inspiring audiences with illuminating insight into new musical vistas."
-Seth Knopp, Artistic Director, Yellow Barn Music Festival
Pianist, Peabody Trio
NEWS
Due East is proud to announce that we took first place in the 2008 National Flute Association Chamber Music Competition in Kansas City.
BIG CONGRATULATIONS to John Supko who has just been awarded the Leo Kaplan Award -- the
top award in the ASCAP / Morton Gould Young Composer competition, for his work, Littoral. John was chosen out of some 600 applicants this year. The piece was written for DUE EAST, and we premiered the work in March of 2007 and have been performing it regularly ever since. (If the audio on your computer is turned on, you are listening to Littoral right now.)
We've just premiered two movements of a new double concerto written for us by NYC composer, Alex Mincek. The performances were at NYC's Bargemusic with Wet Ink Composers and The Knights string orchestra. The world premiere of the entire work is scheduled for July 2009, in Europe at the CrossDrumming Festival in Warsaw, Poland.
Early 2009 will see the premieres of two works written for Due East, James Romig's Recall Coordinator and Eric Simonson's Geometry V. Look to our calendar page for details!
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