Renowned Island composer to perform free concert
Island pianist and composer Bruce Wolosoff will perform for the first time on the Island at a free concert on Saturday, April 9 at 7 p.m. at the Shelter Island Presbyterian Church, presented by Shelter Island Friends of Music. All of his own compositions that he will play were composed here.
The home he shares with his wife, artist Margaret Garrett, and their daughters, Juliet and Katya, was the first house built in Silver Beach, and survived the 1938 hurricane.
They moved to the Island from the city about 20 years ago to give their daughters a healthful place to grow up. Both daughters have followed in their parents’ creative footsteps, honing their talents in music, visual and literary arts.
The family thrives in the Island environment, Mr. Wolosoff said, noting that, “The people I’ve found on Shelter Island are the most interesting I’ve ever met.”
Growing up in the 1960s in the New York area, he felt the influence of rocker Frank Zappa. “He was a huge advocate of modern classical music,” Mr. Wolosoff said. “There was such great rock music in the 60s and 70s. As a teenager, composers like Debussy and Stravinsky became more important to me, as did the music of artists like Bill Evans, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane and Chick Corea, who all impacted me in a hugely significant way.”
As an American composer working in the early part of the 21st century, Mr. Wolosoff suggested that he’s working within the classical tradition and extending it by embracing some of these “folkloric” elements, the way that the composers of the past did with the music of their culture. “It’s very apparent in works by Schubert for example, or Haydn.”
He began his career as a professional pianist in New York City, performing classical recitals and concertos with orchestras. Finding himself drawn more and more to composing, by the age of 30 he decided to give up performing in public in order to concentrate on composing and teaching.
The fruits of his efforts were recognized recently, when a cello concerto he composed was recorded by cellist Sara Sant’Ambrogio and the London Philharmonic Orchestra; the recording climbed to the Top 10 in Billboard Magazine’s classical music chart.
A new album “Paradise Found: Music For Cello and Piano,” by Mr. Wolosoff featuring Ms. Sant’Ambrogio will be released on April 15. (Information available at brucewolosoff.com)
Asked recently to describe his process when composing, he said, “I listen for something. I empty my mind. That’s how it begins. What happens next is an act of will. I put myself in that open place. Then, it’s an act of reception.” Once he’s written a composition down, he said he’ll go through it “a million times, refining, making a laundry list when I find something wrong, even if I don’t know what it is at first.”
When, last year, he became the head of an innovative nonprofit called Reflections in Music that presents interdisciplinary programs of classical music, it became necessary for him to start performing classical music in public again. He realized that he enjoyed it, and is looking forward to the concert on April 9. A reception with the musician will follow the concert, which is free, although donations are appreciated. For more information, visit ShelterIslandFriendsofMusic.org.
