“Our Music, Our Stories”: Connecting Creative Communities

May 16, 2021 • 5pm (pst) • Presented Virtually

The UCR Concert Band under the direction of Lauren Wasynczuk joins forces with UCR’s Experimental Acoustics Research Studio Founder, Music Professor and featured composer, Paulo C. Chagas in a transnational telematic performance in collaboration with University of São Paulo’s Flute Professor Cassia Carrascoza Bomfim and LaFlauta Ensemble.

This cross-cultural exchange fosters a community, in which creativity exists through collaboration and develops connections between audience and performers, but also strengthens the relationships between the performers themselves. When you experience this ensemble, you are a part of sharing new ideas and exchanging perspectives, opening a dialogue through music. The ensemble will present Paulo C. Chagas’ Virtual Studies, which embraces the telematic performance art form and all of its idiosyncrasies to enhance the art itself to present new possibilities of many different outcomes.

Biographies

The UCR Concert Band (MUS 165), directed by Lauren Wasynczuk, is committed to creating an environment of inclusiveness, equality and diversity, and deepening engagement with communities and creative partners through music. Enrollment in this ensemble is not limited to music majors. Participation in the ensemble is open to all UCR students, alumni, faculty, staff affiliates and community members by audition.

Members experience a holistic approach to the study and performance of a wide variety of repertoire including classic wind band repertoire, orchestral transcriptions, contemporary wind band literature and chamber music, as well as personalized experiences working in a masterclass/workshop setting. Through participation in the UCR Concert Band, members experience growth in their creative potential and how they can use their artistic voices to impact their communities. Critical thinking, curiosity, creativity and resilience are hallmarks of the UCR Concert Band experience.

The UCR Concert Band rehearses on Monday and Wednesday evenings from 6:00-7:20pm and performs each quarter on campus and in the communities it serves.

Auditions are held on the Sunday prior to the start of each new quarter. Admitted members are expected to enroll for MUS 165 for credit (1-2 units); exceptions will be reviewed on an individual basis. Visit our website to learn more: https://music.ucr.edu/ensembles/concert-band/

A native of Los Angeles, Lauren Wasynczuk leads an active career as a conductor, saxophonist and music educator dedicated to engaging audiences and performers of all ages. A staunch advocate for arts education and community engagement, Lauren has shared her artistic leadership through masterclasses, workshops and conducting engagements. Her teaching and conducting experience spans from working in primary and secondary schools to professionals in wind orchestra, symphony orchestra, opera and vocal ensembles. Ensembles she has conducted include the Young Musicians Foundation Debut Orchestra (Los Angeles), Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Youth Orchestra, Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic Orchestra (Zlín, Czech Republic), London Classical Soloists, Miami Symphony Orchestra, and Saratoga Orchestra (Whidbey Island, Washington).

Elsewhere in California: Cal State University, Northridge TEMPO New Music Ensemble (Los Angeles), Irvine Classical Players (Irvine), Marina del Rey Summer Symphony (Los Angeles), Santa Monica Symphony (Santa Monica), Hollywood Chamber Orchestra, San Luis Obispo Wind Orchestra (San Luis Obispo), and the Caltech-Occidental Wind Orchestra (Pasadena).

In January 2020, Lauren was appointed Director of the University of California, Riverside Concert Band. Previously, she served as Artistic & Ensembles Director of Young Musicians Foundation, Assistant/Cover Conductor of Opera San Luis Obispo, Assistant Director of the Yevshan Ukrainian Vocal Ensemble (Hartford, Connecticut), Guest Conductor of the Westlake Village Symphony (Westlake Village) and Guest Conductor of the San Luis Obispo Wind Orchestra. For the 2019-2020 season, Lauren was awarded Conducting Fellow with the Allentown Symphony Orchestra (Allentown, Pennsylvania). Her multifaceted work has provided her opportunity to appear in concerts and music festivals throughout North America and Europe.

Lauren holds a Master of Music degree from The Hartt School (West Hartford, Connecticut), graduating as a member of the Pi Kappa Lamba National Music Honor Society, and a Bachelor of Arts in Music from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. In addition to her conducting engagements, Lauren serves on the Board of Directors of Chamber Music Palisades.

Cássia Carrascoza is Professor in the Music Department at the Faculty of Philosophy, Sciences and Letters of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo (USP). She is currently visiting scholar at the University of California, Riverside, working on a research on telematic performance under the supervision of Prof. Paulo C. Chagas. From 1999 to 2018 she was principal flutist of the Symphonic Orchestra of the Municipal Theater of São Paulo and, from 2000 to 2014, principal flutist of the São Paulo State Symphonic Jazz Orchestra. She was member of the Brazilian contemporary music ensemble Camerata Aberta since its foundation in 2010. She received the APCA Contemporary Music Award (São Paulo Association of Arts Critics) in 2010 and the 8th Bravo Award in 2012. As a soloist, she performed with several orchestras in Brazil and abroad and gave concerts in many countries such as Hungary, Holland, France, Portugal, Belgium, the United States and Argentina. She premiered in Brazil and abroad many pieces by Brazilian composers such as Silvio Ferraz, Alexandre Lunsqui, Rodolfo Coelho de Souza, Flo Menezes, Mathias Kadar, Eduardo Alvares, Arrigo Barnabé, Mikhail Malt, Danilo Rossetti, and Paulo C. Chagas. In 2017, he released the CD Tempo transversal – expanded flute (SESC label), recorded in São Paulo and at IRCAM, Paris with works by Brazilian composers, which was nominated one of the 10 unmissable CDs of classical music of the year by the magazine Bravo. Currently, Cassia Carrascoza develops research in collaborative composition, telematic performance and improvisation with electronics. Since December 2020 she has been a member of NowNet Arts Lab Ensemble, an international group directed by Sarah Weaver dedicated to telematic performance. She has been invited to research and perform at international institutions such as IRCAM (Paris), University of California – Riverside, and Pontificia Universidad Católica (Chile).

The Flute Laboratory – LaFlauta aims to teach different repertoires and techniques for flute. Research on the flute family, technology associated with the study of sound and musical performance are also the focus of our activities. Ensemble LaFlauta, a group formed by flute students from the Music Department of ffclrp of the University of São Paulo is working on telematics music projects, promoting virtual concerts and the socialization of young musicians to act in person, virtually and in a hybrid way. The Group is coordinated by Professor Cássia Carrascoza Bomfim.