Bent Frequency

Hailed as “one of the brightest new music ensembles on the scene today” by Gramophone magazine, Atlanta-based Bent Frequency (BF) has established itself as the Southeast’s premiere contemporary music ensemble. Founded in 2003, BF brings the avant-garde to life through adventurous and socially conscious programming, cross-disciplinary collaborations, and community engagement. A champion of historically underrecognized composers, BF’s events aim to be inclusive of their diverse and dynamic community, ushering the contemporary music experience from the strict formality of the concert hall into the fresh air of artistic expression and experimentation.

At the heart of the ensemble is the unparalleled musicianship of BF performers, an eclectic mix of the most adventurous and impassioned players from the greater Atlanta area. BF does not have a fixed instrumentation. Instead, it is a modular group, flexible enough to present largescale productions to smaller, more intimate chamber performances. BF’s extensive programming ranges from formal concert-hall performances to productions in museums, galleries, movie theaters, bike trails, and even on the Atlanta Streetcar! BF has partnered with internationally acclaimed ensembles, dance groups, and visual artists across the world and has been supported by prestigious grants to fund the creation and promotion of New Music. Bent Frequency is an ensemble in residence at Georgia State University and is run by Co-Artistic Directors Jan Berry Baker and Stuart Gerber.

As Co-Artistic Directors of Bent Frequency, percussionist Stuart Gerber and saxophonist Jan Berry Baker are The BF Duo Project. Stuart and Jan have commissioned over 50 new works for their duo since 2013 and have given countless performances across the United States, Mexico, and Europe. They have been guest ensemble in residence at the MATA Festival in Oaxaca, Mexico, Sam Houston State University in Texas, Tage aktueller musik festival in Nuremberg, Germany, Charlotte New Music Festival, The University of Georgia, and New Music on the Point. Their debut CD, Diamorpha, is available on the Centaur Label.

www.bentfrequency.com

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Canadian American saxophonist, Jan Berry Baker, has performed as a soloist, chamber, and orchestral musician on many of the world’s great stages. An advocate of cross-disciplinary collaborations, socially conscious programming, and community engagement, she is Co-Artistic Director of contemporary chamber ensemble, Bent Frequency. She and percussionist Stuart Gerber are The BF Project and together have commissioned over 50 new works for saxophone and percussion. They have given countless performances of these news works at artist residencies, international festivals, and schools of music across the US, Mexico, Germany and France.

Jan regularly performs with the LA Philharmonic and was the principal saxophonist for almost two decades with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Grant Park Festival Orchestra, Chicago Philharmonic, Atlanta Ballet, and Atlanta Opera. She has also performed with the Chicago and Atlanta Symphony Orchestras. Jan’s recording projects include chamber music albums on the Centaur and Albany labels, as well as American Orchestral Works with the Grant Park Orchestra and Atlanta Opera’s world premiere recording of The Golden Ticket.

As an educator, Jan is Professor of Saxophone, Woodwind Area Head, Vice Chair of the Department of Music, and Special Assistant to the Dean for Faculty Mentoring at the Herb Alpert School of Music at UCLA. Highly sought after as a masterclass teacher and speaker, she has given presentations on contemporary music, nonprofits and grant writing, community engagement, socially conscious programming, career development and mentoring. Jan is a founding member of the Committee on the Status of Gender Equity in the North American Saxophone Alliance and the CGE Mentoring Program. She earned a Doctor of Music degree from Northwestern University and is a Selmer Paris, Vandoren, and Key Leaves performing artist.

Lauded as having “consummate virtuosity” by The New York Times, percussionist Stuart Gerber has performed extensively throughout the North America, Europe, and the Pacific Rim. Recent engagements include: The Kuala Lumpur Experimental Film, Video, and Music Festival, the Montreal New Music Festival, Electronic Music Malta Festival, The Eduardo MATA Festival in Oaxaca, Mexico, the KLANG Festival at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Cervantino Festival in Gunajuato, Mexico, the Now Festival in Tallinn, Estonia, the Chihuahua International Music Festival in Mexico, the Gulbenkian Center in Lisbon, Portugal, the South Bank Centre in London, the Ultraschall Festival in Berlin, Germany, the Melbourne Recital Centre, Australia, the Spoleto Festival, and the Savannah Music Festival.

As an active performer of new works, Stuart has recorded for Centaur, Innova, UR-text, Aucourant, Bridge, Capstone, Code Blue, Mode, Albany, Telarc and Vienna Modern Masters labels. He is currently an artist-faculty at the Summer Institute of Contemporary Performance Practice (SICPP) held annually at the New England Conservatory, and has taught at New Music on the Point, the Charlotte New Music Festival, and the Stockhausen-Kurse in Germany, and has given masterclasses at many esteemed institutions in the US and abroad (including the Curtis Institute, Manhattan School of Music, Oberlin Conservatory, and The Southbank Center).

Stuart studied at the Oberlin College Conservatory, the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and the Hochshule für Musik in Hannover, Germany. He is Professor of Music at Georgia State University and co-artistic director of the Atlanta-based contemporary music ensemble Bent Frequency.