Quarteto Nuevo
October 25, 2024 in A. J. Fletcher Recital Hall at 7:30 p.m.
Quarteto Nuevo merges western classical, eastern European folk, Latin and jazz with an organic feel that packs a wallop! Their diverse programs can be tailored to fit anywhere, from an intimate chamber music venue to a large outdoor festival. The ensemble’s razor-sharp precision is enhanced by jazzy interludes, lightly rumbling percussion motifs and mesmerizing rhythms. They effectively meld the music of ancient worlds and faraway places with a contemporary groove that enchants audiences of all ages!
Winners of the Beverly Hills National Auditions, Quarteto Nuevo’s master musicians create emotionally-charged soundscapes with instruments and sensibilities that represent very different world cultures. Their unique instrumentation – soprano saxophone/alto flute (Damon Zick), cello (Jacob Szekely), guitar (Kenton Youngstrom) and hand percussion (Felipe Fraga) – richly colors their wide-ranging repertoire, from Heitor Villa-Lobos’ “Bachianas Brasileiras” and Chick Corea’s “Children’s Song No. 6″ to Traditional Macedonian “Gadjarsko” and original works “Hector, Desmond and Titus”, “Rain Song” and “Dizer O Que”.
Quarteto Nuevo graces SRAPAS’s stage
““ Utilizing the sounds and instruments of ancient worlds and faraway places with a contemporary groove, Quarteto Nuevo’s music is complex in its structure and sophisticated time signatures but always melodic, accessible, and deeply communicative.”” – LA WEEKLY
About The Artist
Damon Zick
Damon Zick is a saxophonist, woodwind performer, composer and educator residing in Burbank, California. He was born and raised in Seattle before heading to the East Coast in 1993 to study saxophone, clarinet, composition and jazz at the prestigious Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. After two years in Miami Beach where he performed and recorded with the New World Symphony, Mr. Zick relocated to Los Angeles to complete a Masters degree in Jazz Winds from the California Institute of the Arts where he studied with Charlie Haden. Since then he has been straddling the worlds of jazz and classical music as an active freelance musician in Los Angeles.
Kenton Youngstrom
Kenton Youngstrom, guitarist, composer, arranger and educator is the first in a long line of prize-winning students of Jim Smith at the University of Southern California, where, while earning his Bachelor's and Master's degrees, he studied composition with Donald Crockett, arranging with Darniell Pershing and film scoring with David Raksin. His eclectic performing career has taken him around the world.
Jacob Szekely
Born in Brooklyn New York in 1979, Jacob Szekely grew up in a musical family where his talent was recognized early on. He was accepted to study classical cello performance at the prestigious Interlochen Arts Academy for high school before attending The Cleveland Institute of Music for his Bachelor’s Degree and The University of Southern California for graduate studies. Berklee cello professor and multiple Grammy winner Eugene Friesen has declared Jacob's playing to be to be “The first time a cellist has made the case as a leader in modern jazz!” In 2013 Jacob founded the Jacob Szekely Trio and released their debut EP which was hailed by critics from the Strad, Strings Magazine, International musician and artists from Yo-Yo Ma, and Chick Corea to Rush Bassist Geddy Lee as a "Quantum leap forward" in pushing the boundaries of the instrument.
Felipe Fraga
Los Angeles-based percussionist and drummer Felipe Fraga began playing percussion at age 9. Originally from Curitiba in the southern Brazilian state of Paraná, Felipe studied at the Fine Arts and Music School of Paraná (EMBAP), where he performed with local orchestras, big bands and marching bands, the MPB Orchestra of Curitiba and with artists such as Arthur Moreira Lima, Altamiro Carrilho, Joel Nascimento, José Canuto and Roberto Gnatalli. After moving to the United States in 2001, he has performed and/or recorded with Robert Irving III, Wallace Roney, Victor Goines, Yolanda Adams, Janelle Monáe, Stanley Clarke, Aloe Blacc, David Correy and opened for renowned acts including Vinicius Cantuária, Daniela Mercury and Bajofondo. After relocating to Los Angeles, Felipe also studied at Cornel School of Contemporary Music. Felipe has taught Brazilian percussion at the Chicago Public Schools, the Music Institute of Chicago, Capital University’s Conservatory of Music in Ohio and DePaul University’s School of Music
Individuals requesting accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) should contact ECU’s ADA coordinator at least 48 hours prior to the event at 252-737-1018 or ada-coordinator@ecu.edu.