NMM Live! | Ross McIntosh & Benjamin Tufte

Description

Featuring the NMM’s Da Salo (NMM 03368) and Mason and Hamlin grand piano (NMM 15722), this performance will include the viola music of Johannes Brahms and Joseph Joachim. Based in the Mountain West region of the United States, Ross McIntosh directs the Wyoming International Chamber Music Festival (WICMF), teaches viola and chamber music at the University of Wyoming, and serves as the Assistant Principal Violist of the Boulder Philharmonic. Recent orchestral engagement includes a period as Guest Principal Violist of the BBC Concert Orchestra. An active chamber musician, he performs regularly throughout the United States and Europe, and is delighted to appear frequently as part of the Swiss Chamber Concerts series in Geneva, Switzerland. Ross has shared the stage with artists such as Atar Arad, Joanna Blendulf, Daniel Blumenthal, Alexander Gebert, Stephanie Gurga, Annette von Hehn, Tomo Keller, David Lai, Tony Nys, Timothy Ridout, and Gyula Stuller; and has worked with composers that include Cheryl Frances-Hoad, Don Fruend, Kian Ravaei, Sir John Rutter, and Claire-Mélanie Sinnhuber. In addition to his work as a violist, Ross is an active organist, performing regularly in both sacred and secular settings. He serves as organist at the Cathedral of St. Mary in Cheyenne, Wyoming. His compositions have been performed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, spanning orchestral, chamber, and solo works, art songs, and popular arrangements. Through composing, he seeks to expand his musical voice beyond that of the classical violist. Benjamin David Tufte takes a multi-faceted approach to music ranging from performance and composition to education and outreach. Mr. Tufte maintains a passion for exploring all the repertoire that the piano has to offer, with a particularly keen interest in giving light to underperformed works. Recent solo performances include pieces by standard composers like Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, and Ravel sharing the stage with Margaret Bonds, Toru Takemitsu, and Heitor Villa-Lobos. Notable chamber music performances include the complete duo sonatas by Dmitri Shostakovich, his piano quintet, and the piano quintet by Edward Elgar. Taking place at the Jacobs School of Music, Mr. Tufte has participated in concerts celebrating the 150th birthdays of composers Julián Carrillo (featuring a simulated 1/16th-of-a-tone piano!) and Charles Ives and the 100th birthday of Aurelio de la Vega. As a composer, he has also received commissions from the Boston-based duo Transient Canvas and the Utah Museum of Fine Arts (UMFA). The UMFA commission, titled "Two Pines. Manitou, Colorado", based on a painting of the same name by Birger Sandzén, was named a finalist in the New York City Contemporary Music Symposium’s 2021 call for scores. This performance will be livestreamed at https://www.nmmusd.org/nmm-live-video