This past January I joined forces with cellist Leanne Zacharias, violinist Cristina Zacharias, percussionist Ed Reifel, and singer/songwriters Christine Fellows and John K. Samson to form the Correction Line Ensemble. We represent a wide range of musical backgrounds–composer, classically trained instrumentalist, rock star, songwriter, baroque specialist, freelance percussionist–and together we try to make music that synthesizes these backgrounds into something greater than the sum of our parts. Our first attempt, a series of shows in the Winnipeg area, was a whole lot of fun and by the reactions of the folks who came out to the shows some kind of a success as well. The show included Bartok string duos, re-harmonizations of a Bach Chorale, group arrangements of John and Christine’s songs, and one of my own compositions. It’s a pretty exciting group, with each member bringing considerable experience and accomplishment to the table. But more than being incredibly talented musicians, these guys are awesome, wonderful people. If I weren’t making music with them I’d probably trek up north anyway just to have a beer.
Plans are in play for a more extended tour of eastern Canada in Fall 2010.
Coming soon, CBC Radio 2 The Signal broadcast of our show at the West End in Winnipeg.