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Duo Orfeo guitar duo

Photo by Jenn Burdick

biography

Deeply enamored with the sonority of their cho-

sen instrument and relentlessly searching out the

music most in harmony with their expressive

sensibilities, Duo Orfeo brings to life a world of

sound that is intimate, charming, subtle and

haunting. Embracing a repertoire of compositions

from largely forgotten byways of western musical

tradition both past and present, and approaching

this rare and diverse music through the medium of

the classical guitar, Duo Orfeo creates perfor-

mances and recordings that composer David

Macbride has described as “the embodiment

of grace and beauty.”

Joseph Ricker and Jamie Balmer met in 2001 as

students of Phillip de Fremery, a pupil of Andrés

Segovia and a beloved and admired teacher of

the guitar. Discovering a musical kinship, the two began playing together. They recorded “The Grace Sessions” in 2005, which includes

music of Bach, Brahms, Boccherini and Albéniz. Following a brief hiatus during which Joe and Jamie finished their degrees, at the Hartt

School and Hampshire College respectively, they formed Duo Orfeo in 2007. Duo Orfeo has since performed throughout New England

and in New York City. They have been hosted on the concert rosters of Trinity Church in Hartford, CT, Grace Church in Amherst, MA,

Boston’s Taylor House, Bates College’s Tuesday Noonday Series, Brooklyn Emerging Artists, and the Brookline Library Music

Association. Additionally Duo Orfeo has appeared in art galleries, jazz cafés, farmers’ markets, and other venues not traditionally

associated with classical music performance. The duo has also been coached in master classes by maestros Oscar Ghiglia, Elena

Papandreou, and the Assad Brothers. The summer of 2009 saw the release of their album Duo Orfeo, featuring music of Federico

Mompou, Eric Satie, Frédéric Chopin, and others.

It is the vision of Duo Orfeo to be a voice unlike any other in the chamber music world, a vision actualized through their choice of

repertoire and their performance style. The duo sees the act of seeking out and selecting repertoire as deeply personal and essential—

literally as an act of composition. As such, it can only be bound by the limits of the imagination. With this creed in mind, Duo Orfeo

programs the works for guitar duo that speak to them most directly alongside boldly innovative arrangements. Whether playing pieces

from the repertoire of the Italian lute, French clavecin, impressionist piano, or Ukrainian art song, they view the arrangement of music

written for other ensembles as a vital communion with those works, never a diminution of them. In performance, Duo Orfeo is

committed to making a direct appeal to the audience. This commitment is rooted in their belief that anyone, with or without a

background in classical music, can come to a Duo Orfeo performance and connect with what is heard. Their programming choices

and performance style reflect that devotion.



program offerings for 2011/12 season

THE SUBTLE LURE OF EARTHLY THINGS: MUSIC OF DECADENCE AND DERANGEMENT

L. Couperin, Passacaille

Duphly, Rondeau (le Tendre)

Rondeau (le Gracieux)

J. S. Bach, Prelude and Fugue

Lhoyer, Duo Concertant in e minor (Opus 31, No. 3)

Poulenc, Mouvements Perpétuels

Gnattali, Schottish

Satie, Danses de Travers

Piazzola, Tango Suite

In this captivating program, Duo Orfeo presents music of utter

refinement, elegance and even delicacy alongside music that is

eccentric, bizarre and occasionally maniacal. Decadence in the

music-box simplicity of Jacques Duphly’s roccoco-esque dances

is placed alongside derangement in the dazzling dissonances of

Louis Couperin’s sprawling Passacaille. Decadence in the exqui-

sitely crafted charm of Francis Poulenc’s childlike miniatures

Mouvement Perpétuels accompanies derangement in the

vertigo-inducing chromaticism of the jocular Brazilian Schottish

of Radamés Gnattali. Both qualities combine in Astor Piazzolla’s

masterpiece for guitar duo, the Tango Suite, in which the extreme

style and poise of that Argentine dance is punctuated by

outbursts of passionate melodicism and wild polytonal melismas.

LA MUSICA CALLADA, LA SOLEDAD SONORA: MUSIC EXPLORING SILENCE AND THE NIGHT

Mompou, three pieces from Musica Callada, Book I

“Planys” (Laments) from Impresiones Intimas

Frank Wallace, Duo Sonata

Satie, Nocturnes 1-3

V. Silvestrov, three selections from Silent Songs

F. Da Milano, Canon and Spagna

Brahms, three Intermezzi (Op. 117)

D. Macbride, Madrigal

Chopin, Nocturne, Op. 9 , No. 1

With this more contemplative program, featuring both acoustic

guitars and reverb-drenched electric guitars, Duo Orfeo invites the

listener to inhabit the space where music and silence meet and

to experience the musical evocation of night. Each half of the

program is a journey beginning with silence and ending, as so

much in this world ends, with the night. Starting off the concert

are the three opening selections from Federico Mompou’s late

masterwork for piano, Musica Callada (“Silent Music”). These

pieces are delicate cathedrals of sound built with few notes, but

creating vast spaces for silence to reign. The second half begins

with instrumental arrangements of three songs from Silent Songs,

the monumental song cycle for sotto voce baritone and piano by

Valentin Silevestrov. The stunning and timeless beauty of these

hushed melodies recalls an ancient quiet, conjuring a state where

memory can speak louder than the present. The little-known

Nocturnes of Eric Satie close the first half of the program. These

austere works are contrasted by the well-known and lushly

romantic Nocturne, Opus 9, No. 1 by Frédéric Chopin which brings

the evening to its end. The program is filled out by other works that

complement and amplify the singular mood that the guitarists

evoke.





additional offerings

GUITAR MASTER CLASSESDuo Orfeo offers master classes to guitarists and guitar

ensembles of all levels. As teachers, Joseph Ricker and Jamie

Balmer share an interest in seeing aspiring artists attain their full

potential. They accomplish this work by helping students to

clarify and attain their goals, and to find new meanings in old

texts. On a more general level, Joe and Jamie aim to broaden

students’ understanding of concert music as both field of inquiry

and social discourse: How do we come to know the dramatic

truth of a composition? And how do we marshal the guitar’s

resources toward a unique expression of that truth? The master

class is an ideal setting in which to explore these vital questions.

FORUM ON COMPOSING AND ARRANGING FOR GUITAR DUO Duo Orfeo maintains a vested involvement in expanding the

literature of great guitar duo music. This workshop, based in Joe

and Jamie’s work as arrangers, is suitable for composition

students or anyone interested in arranging music for guitars. With

their own examples and those drawn from the repertoire, they’ll

demonstrate the basics of effective guitar writing as well as

some issues peculiar to guitar duo.

INTERACTIVE CHILDREN’S CONCERT Duo Orfeo offers a short, highly accessible program geared toward

younger audiences. This program includes pieces from around the

world whose characters and components are easily grasped,

played on classical and electric guitars. It features stories about

the pieces played, when and where they come from, as well as

demonstrations of Joe and Jamie’s instruments and the differences

between them. Designed to catch the curiosity of young listeners,

this concert will expose them to new sound worlds and ways of

engaging with music, all while teaching by example the value of

collaboration and concentrated effort.




current & recent concert programs (selected)

THE GRYPHON AND THE GUILLOTINE:

FRENCH MUSIC OF 600 YEARS

Guillaume de Machaut (1300-1377), Rose, liz, printemps, verdure

Louis Couperin (c. 1626-1721), Passacaille

Jacques Duphly (1715-1789), Rondeau (le Tendre)

Rondeau (le Gracieux)

Allemande

Antoine de Lhoyer (1762-1858), Duo Concertant in e minor (Opus 31, No. 3)

Eric Satie (1865-1925), Danses de Travers

Francis Poulenc (1899-1963), Mouvements Perpétuels

Federico Mompou (1893-1987), three pieces from Musica Callada, Book I

“Planys” (Laments) from Impresiones Intimas

Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992), Tango Suite

BEECHEN GREEN AND SHADOWS NUMBERLESS

Duphly, Allemande

Satie, 5 Gnossiennes

Chopin, Nocturne, Op. 55, No. 1

Mompou, Jeux sur la place from Scènes d´enfants

Fariñas, Musica para 2 guitarras

Gnattali, Suite Retratos

ON WITH THE DANCE

Bach, English Suite No. 3 (BWV 808)

Albéniz, Córdoba from Cantos de España, Op. 232

Brahms, 3 Intermezzi, Op. 117

Boccherini, Fandango from Guitar Quartet No. 4



recent concert appearances (selected, 2008-2010)

February 6, 2011 (upcoming)

Brookline Public Library Concert Series, Brookline, MA

July 16, 2010

O Camelo Restaurant, Hartford, CT (live DVD recording)

June 21, 2010

Trinity Episcopal Church, Hartford, CT

May 21, 2010

The Lily Pad, Cambridge, MA

October 4, 2009

Taylor House, Jamaica Plain, MA

May 14, 2009

Hampshire College Red Barn, Amherst, MA

March 18, 2009

The Lily Pad, Cambridge, MA

February 27, 2009

Hampshire College Recital Hall, Amherst, MA

January 27, 2009

Olin Arts Center, Bates College, Lewiston, ME

July 21, 2008

Farmers Market, Hartford, CT

May 31, 2008

House Concert, Newton, MA

May 24, 2008

Greenpoint Reformed Church, Brooklyn, NY

April 16, 2008

Berkman Recital Hall, Hartt School, Hartford, CT

April 6, 2008

House Concert, Northampton, MA




concert testimonials

It is always a pleasure to hear Duo Orfeo play. While both players are fine musicians in their own right, together, they have a synergy which transports the listener. This quality led me to hire them to perform at the national conference of the Association of Anglican Musicians. This distinguished audience was mesmerized by their playing and many commented that hearing Duo Orfeo was one of the highlights of the conference!

- Bert Landman, Music Director Trinity Episcopal Church, Hartford, CT

It is with a great deal of pleasure and anticipation that I recommend the newly emerging classical guitar team Duo Orfeo whose two members, Joseph Ricker and Jamie Balmer, though each in full possession of the capabilities and understanding necessary for independent solo careers, are choosing instead to pool their magnificent resources and bring to us repertoire which could not be played by a soloist.

For many years I have known them both as highly talented and disciplined individual players, and I have witnessed more recently the gradual expansion of their vision for Duo Orfeo.

This is an ensemble of very high value. I congratulate them on their great promise, for marvelous deeds already done, and especially on the deep commitment they have unflinchingly established together. Bravo.

- Phillip de Fremery, classical guitarist

To collaborate with these artists of the highest sensitivity was a great pleasure. The Duo Orfeo embodies grace and beauty, playing a distinctive repertoire from both the past and present.

- David Macbride, composer

Duo Orfeo played at my art gallery and it was the perfect concert for the venue. The intertwining melodies and harmonies were thrilling. I loved how Joe and Jamie’s easygoing and friendly manner helped make the audience relaxed and happy. They also graciously chatted with my guests before and after the show. I would certainly have them again for both ambient music as well as for formal concerts.

- Kalman Gacs, Founder and Director of True Gallery, Needham, MA

The most encouraging aspect of Duo Orfeo performances is the tangible sense that each and every time they play they are determined not only to engage each listener but also entertain them! For me, this is one of the few young guitar ensembles to watch and listen for in the next few seasons. I would encourage any arts presenter with an appropriate space for classical guitar to find a creative way to challenge, advance and ultimately book this duo as soon as possible... - Seth Warner, Manager The Olin Arts Center, Bates College, Lewiston, ME

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