Violinist Tara Ramsey is joined by collaborative pianist Daniel Pesca for this live Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert broadcast with works by Mozart, Brahms, and Gershwin.
Tara Lynn Ramsey enjoys a varied career as a chamber musician, new music interpreter, orchestral musician, and teacher. She performs as violinist and violist of the Chicago-based contemporary music ensemble Dal Niente and is a violin Fellow with the New World Symphony in Miami Beach, FL.
Encouraging people to tell their stories and connect with one another through the arts is a central part of Ms. Ramsey’s work. During the 2018-19 season, she developed a program that linked the New World Symphony with a South Florida juvenile justice organization. Musicians from the symphony met weekly with a small group of court-involved high school students to play and write music together, exploring connections between music-making, personal growth, and positive relationships. Previously, as a Fellow with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, she developed a public school chamber music program, designed interactive performances for a wide range of audiences, and taught in free music programs around the city. She has spoken about community involvement through the arts with groups ranging from high school students to the League of American Orchestras.
Originally from Cedar Falls, Iowa, Ms. Ramsey holds degrees from Northwestern University and the Cleveland Institute of Music, where her primary teachers were Blair Milton and David Updegraff.
Daniel Pesca, pianist and composer, is both a passionate advocate for contemporary music and a committed performer of the classical repertoire. He has played the world premieres of over fifty solo and chamber works, many of which were composed for him. In the process, he has shared the stage with many leading ensembles, including Ensemble Signal, the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble, and Ensemble Dal Niente. He has appeared in venues such as the Library of Congress, the Kennedy Center, Columbia University’s Miller Theatre, at June in Buffalo, and at festivals devoted to contemporary music in Spain, Italy, Greece, and Vermont.
Starting in Fall 2019, Daniel is Assistant Professor of Piano at University of Maryland Baltimore County. Prior to his appointment at UMBC, Daniel was Artist-in-Residence and Director of the Chamber Music Program at the University of Chicago. There, Daniel collaborated frequently with faculty and student composers and performed with ensembles-in-residence Imani Winds, Spektral Quartet, and the Grossman Ensemble. He is also a co-director and founding member of the new music ensemble Zohn Collective.
Daniel has appeared as concerto soloist at Carnegie Hall, at the Aspen Music Festival, and with the Oberlin Sinfonietta and Slee Sinfonietta. He can be heard on CDs from Urtext Classics, Centaur Records, Block M Records, and Oberlin Records. Recent world premiere recordings of solo pieces by Augusta Read Thomas, Bernard Rands, and Matthew Schreibeis are slated for release on Nimbus and Albany within the year.
Biographies courtesy of the IMF website.