DATE - Thursday March 23, 2023

TIME-  3:00 pm - 5:00 pm

LOCATION -  Messiah University, Calvin and Janet High Center for Worship and Performing Arts, High Foundation Recital Hall

COST -  Free and open to the public

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Market Square Concerts, Messiah University Department of Music will co-present a percussion masterclass with members of the Vesna Duo. This event is FREE & open to the public, and will take place in an acoustically superb High Foundation Recital Hall in the Calvin and Janet High Center at Messiah University, Mechanicsburg, PA. 
 

 

About VESNA DUO

 

Vesna  [ˈvɛsna] / - a goddess associated with youth and springtime in early Slavic mythology

 

Vesna Piano/Percussion Duo devotes its passion to bringing new and reimagined works to life. Their performances span a fiery new arrangement of The Rite of Spring, to premiering works by trailblazing international composers, to re-envisioning pieces by Avishai Cohen and Astor Piazzolla. Their performance and album Vesna Duo Presents: The Rite of Spring (arranged for marimba and piano) garnered rave reviews at the 2022 Chamber Music America Conference, the Percussive Arts Society International Conference 2022, as well as on their tour across New York, Texas, Alabama, and Indiana. 

Tim Page (The Wall Street Journal) said of the album "As a fresh perspective on a masterpiece, the Vesna Duo’s performance is smashingly effective." Kira Grunenberg (Throw the Dice and Play Nice, NPR) described it as "A masterclass in performative focus, as well as an exquisite demonstration of musician chemistry to the most natural and audibly entrancing of results... Unto itself, Vesna Duo’s take on the Rite of Spring, is impressive, unexpected, whimsical, and beautifully captured."

 

Hailing from The Republic of Georgia and Serbia, Dr. Liana Pailodze Harron (piano) and Dr. Ksenija Komljenović (percussion), embrace their dynamic backgrounds while exploring a diverse blend of musical traditions, cultures, and styles. Beyond arranging existing works, the ensemble seeks to transform the boundaries of what it means to be a pianist/percussionist, interpolating theatrical percussion works in their already vibrant repertoire. Between them, Dr. Harron and Dr. Komljenović share multiple international solo and chamber music awards.