Ekstasis: Ecstatic music-making

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Music that lifts the spirit can be intensely joyful, profoundly moving, and unforgettable. Ekstasis is committed to creating juxtapositions and similarities through daring programming. We thrive on the contrast, intensity, and passion that we find in these compositions. We aim to share music that electrifies our audience and offers every possible emotion on the spectrum.

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Natasha and Eliran met as students years ago at Juilliard. After some exciting performances in New York City and upstate NY, the two decided to embark on a new mission: to create compelling programming celebrating masterpieces alongside the secret jewels of lesser-known works.

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With a focus on storytelling that pinpoints an aspect of the human condition or creates an atmosphere through sound, their concerts offer solo and chamber music works, and occasionally incorporate multimedia, readings, video, and visual art. In recent seasons, the duo promoted the music of minority composers with two programs called "Women's Voices" and “...From the Shadows.” These initiatives also included lectures, audio and video recordings. 

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Additionally, the duo is very excited to premiere a double concerto by renowned Israeli-American composer, Avner Dorman. Commissioned by a consortium that includes the Fredonia Foundation and the Sewanee Summer Music Festival, the duo began performances of this piece in the summer of 2022 at the Sewanee Summer Music Festival and in fall of 2022 at the SUNY Fredonia School of Music. 

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The 2022-2023 season will also include a chance to workshop and perform music with composer Chen Yi, and performances of "...From the Shadows" with music by George Walker, Henriette Bosmans, Lili Boulanger, Alexander Zemlinsky, and Alma Mahler. The duo will appear at Chautauqua’s Lenna Hall, Buffalo’s Friends of Vienna series, Grand Valley State University in Michigan, and at Arts in the Village series in Rehoboth, MA. Previous concerts with “...From the Shadows” included engagements with Arizona’s Del E. Webb Center for the Performing Arts, Ohio’s Holland Theater, and Maryland’s Resonance Chamber Music Series.

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Since their debut in 2018, The Ekstasis Duo has appeared on distinguished series such as New York City’s Merkin Hall, Eastman's Morning Chamber Music Series, and Rochester’s "Live from Hochstein." During the summer of 2020, the duo recorded music for their upcoming debut CD, "Women's Voices," projected for release in 2023. This program inspired Ekstasis to give lectures online and in person both nationally and at an international conference in Lucca, Italy. A multimedia project involving live music and video occurred in 2021 as a result of winning Fredonia’s Kasling Award and a paper on women’s compositions for cello and piano was published in 2021 in the College Music Society Symposium. Postponed engagements due to COVID-19 include California’s L'Ermitage Foundation in Los Angeles and Tateuchi Hall at the Finn Center at Mountainview, New York’s Community School of Music and Arts, Bard College, The Eastman School of Music, and GetClassical Revelation Gallery. 

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Ekstasis Duo to Premiere

New Work in Spring 2022

Rare double concerto for cello and piano is one of the few works in this idiom

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A one-of-a-kind new work by award-winning composer Avner Dorman written for the Ekstasis Duo (cellist Natasha Farny and pianist Eliran Avni) will receive its premiere in the 2021-22 season. Made possible by a generous donation from Chris Granger and the Fredonia Foundation, and consortium member Sewanee Summer Music Festival, the double concerto for cello and piano and orchestra is one of the few concertos specifically written for cello and piano.

“I am thrilled to have the opportunity to write a concerto for the Ekstasis Duo,” stated Avner Dorman. “It’s rare to hear such a high level of musicianship paired with technical prowess from two performers, and to write for both of them is a dream come true. I look forward to how this piece comes together, and I have no doubt that we will create exciting, expressive, and heartfelt music together. It’s particularly exciting to collaborate again with my dear friend Eliran Avni, for whom I’ve written many pieces and who has recorded many of my piano and chamber works.” 

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Click here for the complete press release

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