Meet a Member, Maureen Gallagher

Maureen Gallagher, violist, is a member of Speculum Musicae, as well as a member of Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and the St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble.  She is co-principal violist of the Orchestra of St. Luke’s and Mito (Japan) Chamber Orchestra.  With members of Orpheus, she won a Grammy in 2001 for a recording of Stravinsky’s chamber music, and was also nominated with members of Speculum Musicae in 2004 for a recording of Elliott Carter’s Oboe Quartet.

Ms. Gallagher has recently been teaching at the Schwob School of Music at Columbus State University in Georgia.

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Meet A Member Speculum Musicae – Allen Blustine

Allen Blustine in a member of the New York Chamber Soloists and the award winning new music ensemble Speculum Musicae.  He has appeared at the Bath and Warsaw Autumn festivals as well as Festival Miami and the New York Philharmonic’s ‘Horizons’ series in the mid – 1980s.  He has been the principal clarinetist with the Japan Philharmonic, the American Ballet Theater orchestra, the Paul Taylor Dance Company orchestra as well as the Musica Aeterna orchestra at the Metropolitan Museum. He has performed often with the New York Philharmonic and has played with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.  A long time proponent of new music for the clarinet, he has premiered more than 100 new solo and chamber works including Milton Babbitt’s ‘My Ends Are My Beginnings’, Donald Martino’s ‘Triple Concerto’ and Elliott Carter’s ‘Gra’ (New York premiere); in addition, Pulitzer prize winner Wayne Peterson’s ‘Peregrinations’ and most recently, Pulitzer prize winner Mario Davidovsky’s ‘Synchronisms No. 12’.  He is currently the assistant artistic director of the Vermont Mozart Festival as well as the general director of the North Country Chamber Players (New Hampshire).  He has been on the faculty of Columbia University since 1983.

Meet a Member – Speculum Musicae David Huckaby

An advocate of contemporary music, David Huckaby has worked often with composers at NEC and Juilliard. As a member of the Axiom Ensemble at Juilliard, he performed the NY premiere of Elliot Carter’s opera, What Next?, and was recently in Zurich for a performance of Beyond the Machine 2.0.  Mr. Huckaby is also a member of the Boston Modern Orchestra project, and performs with the group regularly throughout the year.

David Huckaby has participated in the Aspen Music Festival and the Orford Arts Center in Quebec.  Last year he performed in Carnegie Hall with the Red Bull Artsehcro.  David is the recipient of a fellowship from the Virtu Foundation.  He has studied with Andres Diaz, Janos Starker, Bernard Greenhouse, and David Finckel.  Mr. Huckaby received degrees from the New England Conservatory studying with Paul Katz and Laurence Lesser, and Juilliard School with Joel Krosnick.

He will become the newest, and youngest, member of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra starting this Fall. He has performed live on National Public Radio’s “From the Top” young artists’ program and has also participated in television broadcasts playing chamber music on the “Good Day Atlanta” program.  Mr. Huckaby has toured in Italy and France playing with the North Carolina International Music Program Chamber Orchestra and in Chile with the University Cello Choir.

Meet a Member Speculum Musicae – Aleck Karis

For over thirty years Aleck Karis has been one of the leading pianists in the New York contemporary music scene. Particularly associated with the music of Elliott Carter, Mario Davidovsky, and John Cage, he has championed their works all over the world. He has released four solo piano discs on Bridge Records featuring music by Mozart, Stravinsky, Chopin, Schumann, Carter and John Cage. Other solo and chamber music recordings appear on Nonesuch, Tzadic, New World, Neuma, Centaur and CRI Records, featuring music by Glass, Babbitt, Martino, and Feldman, among many others. His most recent disc, Late Piano Music of Frédéric Chopin, on Roméo, was released in March 2009.

Karis has studied with William Daghlian, Artur Balsam and Beveridge Webster and holds degrees from the Manhattan School of Music and the Juilliard School. Currently, he is a Professor of Music at the University of California, San Diego.

Meet a Member Speculum Musicae – Curtis Macomber

Curtis Macomber is one of the most versatile soloists/chamber musicians before the public today, equally at home in repertoire from Bach to Babbitt.  As member of the New World String Quartet from 1982-93, he performed in virtually all the important concert series in this country, as well as touring abroad.  He is the violinist of Speculum Musicae and Da Capo,  and a founding member of the Apollo Trio.  His most recent recordings include: a solo recording (“Casting Ecstatic”),  on CRI; the complete Grieg Sonatas on Arabesque;  an all Steve Mackey record (“Interior Design”) on Bridge, and the complete Brahms Sonatas, also for Bridge.  Mr. Macomber is presently a member of the chamber music faculty of the Juilliard School, where he  earned B.M., M.M., and D.M.A. degrees as a student of Joseph Fuchs.  He is also on the violin faculty of the Manhattan School of Music, and has taught at the Tanglewood, Taos and Yellow Barn Music Festivals.

Hello world!

For almost 40 years, Speculum Musicae has been internationally recognized for its immaculately prepared and passionately rendered performances of the classical music of our time.  Since its formation in 1970, Speculum has maintained its position as the nations preeminent contemporary chamber ensemble.  They have been called “New York’s most important New Music group” by the Boston Globe.  The years have in no way diminished their commitment and in their 2000 season, their tribute to Elliott Carter was cited by the New York Times as one of the year’s ten best concerts.

The group is comprised of twelve of the most gifted musicians on the New York scene, working together in a democratic, musician-run organization.  Over the years, these artists have developed an unequaled rapport and ensemble sound.  Their artistry, combined with a deep and lasting commitment to new music, has made them important actors in the development of the contemporary repertoire.  In turn, these players have benefited from extensive collaboration and interaction with the composers whose works they present to the public.

Speculum Musicae has been in residence at leading universities including Harvard, Brandeis and as well as Rice University and has performed at numerous festivals, including the Bath (England) Festival and Warsaw Autumn.  In 2003, they represented New York City at the Venice Biennale. During 20007–2008 season, the group filled the Distinguished Professor’s chair at the University of East Carolina. They have recorded discs with Electra Nonesuch, CRI, New World, Columbia Masterworks and Bridge Records and can be heard at Andante.com.

Speculum Musicae’s original purpose remains its central objective: working together as performing musicians to bring new pieces of music to life in concert and on recordings; also, after three and a half decades, to work with young performers to pass on to them the extraordinarily rich repertoire and tradition that the group has helped form.