OFFICIAL
DBR NEWSLETTER - FEBRUARY 2007
DBR@CRR:
"From January 24 through February 9, I toured my string quartets
from Oklahoma City to Washington, DC. My CIVIL RIGHTS READER
is a collection of my string quartets, composed as musical
portraits of iconic figures from the Civil Rights era. These
five quartets are a composers response to the lives, times,
and writings of Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr., Adam Clayton
Powell, Jr., Maya Angelou, and Rosa Parks. The tour was a
dizzying display and adventure for the DBR & THE MISSION SQ
UNIT (string quartet), and DJ SCIENTIFIC (laptop/turntables).
I remember...
The graciousness of our presenters/hosts in each city; the
cold and open-field expanse of Oklahoma City; 200 excited
high school students storming the stage and dancing, rapping,
and head-banging alongside the band; the pride and dignity
of the St. Louis community and their insightful questioning
during the Q & A post-show (and
the receptive students in the cafeteria next door); the
beauty of the Lied Center, the majesty of bald eagles, and
the warmth of every shop owner along Massachusetts Avenue
in Lawrence, Kansas (and the break dancers who joined
us in the aisles during the show); in Fayetteville, Arkansas
was that rare and wonderful opportunity to meet with young,
eager string students and jam with them AND their parents;
the honor and distinction of playing in the fabled halls of
the Library of Congress; being allowed to hold in my
hands the original manuscripts of works by Mozart, Beethoven,
Brahms, Stravinsky, Ellington, and Barber; playing on Fritz
Kreisler's 5 million dollar stradivarius violin and being
informed after the concert, that I was the first African-American
to do so.
I remember all of this and more and never feeling more proud
to simply be an American Composer."
DBR
February 2007
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[Amherst, MA] February 15, 2007: DBR & THE MISSION at UMASS
Thursday, February 15, 2007 at 7:30PM
University
of Massachusetts - Bowker Auditorium
DBR & THE MISSION perform 24 Bits: Hip-Hop Studies
& Etudes
Inspired by Bach's Well-Tempered Klavier and Philip
Glass' Music In 12 Parts, these twenty-four musical
vignettes (one in each key) explain, examine and express
aspects of hip-hop music---from rhythm to timbre to form.
Hip-Hop Studies and Etudes represent DBR's compositional
view, his "take", on hip-hop music
Tickets: $15-$25
Available
online or by phone: (413) 545-2511
Student discount tickets also available.
More info
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[Orange, NJ] February 16, 2007: DBR & THE MISSION at SOPAC
Friday, February 16, 2007 at 8:00pm
South
Orange Performing Arts Center (SOPAC)
DBR & THE MISSION perform 24 Bits: Hip-Hop Studies
& Etudes
Tickets: $35
Available
online or by phone: (973) 313-2787
Directions: From NYC to SOPAC via N.J. Transit Train
South Orange is a quick 25 minute ride from New York City's
Penn Station. Take the Midtown Direct line to South Orange;
descend the stairs from the center of the platform to the
station lobby and exit through the door to your right. Walk
under the trestle; SOPAC's entrance is to your right. Elevators
from the platform open under the trestle; walk through to
SOPAC's entrance. Trains run regularly weekdays, weekends
and evenings.
Visit www.NJTransit.com
for more details and schedules.
For more routes and directions click
here.
More info
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DBR featured in Crain's New York Business annual 40
Under 40 issue
Crain's New Your Business Magazine's annual 40
Under 40 issue has just hit newsstands and features
DBR as one of this year's rising New York stars.
Read the article and see the exclusive video
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DBR's Seeds on MTV2 all month long!
DBR's Seeds is being used in numerous video spots
on-air and online
during the month of February on MTV2 in celebration of Black
History Month.
Listen and watch...
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Lawrence Journal-World PODCAST featuring DBR
DBR speaks with Terry Rombeck about cross-genre music,
how music affects race relations, and his vision for A
Civil Rights Reader.
Listen here
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The Ubyssey interview with DBR
"He claims that his music comes from the heart; indeed,
it is stirring and complex. While his bow sweeps wildly
up and down notes on his violin pouring out melodies..."
Read more...
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Washington University Report publishes an overview
of the Civil Rights Reader Tour
"Dedicated to creating socially and politically conscious
music, DBR blends funk, hip-hop and classical music to create
a personal sonic vision that critics have described as revolutionary..."
Read more...
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The St. Louis Post-Dispatch interviews DBR and discusses
A Civil Rights Reader Tour
"Sometimes instruments choose you, and I feel like the
violin chose me. It just kind of called my name. I took
to it. The violin is always with me."
Read more...
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Pulsing available on iTunes
***** [5 stars] - Amazon.com review
Got a glimpse of his music on the national news
and ordered a cd rather spontaneously - certainly no
regret there - this music is original and the range
is from soothing to "pulsing". I'm glad I found this
artist.
***** [5 stars] - CDBaby.com review
Roumain's new disk, "pulsing" merges the exploration
of pure sound with rich cultural references. It has
its roots in the minimalism of the New York School,
and the evolving history of black popular music. It
unfolds abstract sound, and wraps it onto a rich musical
tradition; a stunning package materializes. The violin
performance of Filter is riveting.
Pulsing is for sale at all of DBR's live
concerts, as well as these online retailers:
CD
Baby.com
Amazon.com
iTunes
Pulsing on iTunes
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Klap Ur Handz: DBR's 5th String Quartet now available
Lark Quartet has released a new CD "Klap Ur Handz"
on Endeavor Records. The CD is titled after one of the
movements from DBR's newly commissioned string quartet
"Parks" (named after Rosa Parks). In this work, the
players have to clap, a feature he says was inspired
by hip-hop rhythms but dates back to Cro-Magnon man.
"There's something really communal about that," he says.
Buy Klap Ur Handz
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Are
you a friend? Find DBR & THE MISSION on myspace
Photo of DBR by Leslie Lyons.
DBR is managed and published by:
DBR Music Productions, LLC
Rika Iino
+1 917.421.5552
music@dbrmusic.com
DBR live concerts are booked by:
ICM Artists, Ltd
Nicole Borrelli
+1 212.556.5778
nborrelli@icmtalent.com
Publicity by:
AMT Public Relations, Inc.
April Thibeault
+1 212.861.0990
april@amtpublicrelations.com |
