STRING TRIO OF NEW YORK
Spawned from the richly diverse adventurous music scene on New York’s Lower East Side in 1977, the String Trio of New York (S3NY) delights, surprises and inspires audiences around the world with its unique improvisations and compositions for acoustic violin, guitar and bass. The group is one of the most active and visible of the original late 20
thcentury ensembles playing new music in the jazz tradition. A true pioneer of the genre-busting, unclassifiable music that blossomed in New York in the 1980s, S3NY plowed the path for future explorers, combining jazz, western classical, world-music and experimental forms into a cohesive palette of sonic textures and adventurous energy that opened the ears and minds of the public for what eventually became known as New York’s Downtown Sound.
NEW SEEDS PROGRAM
Sound Directions’ “New Seeds” program is dedicated to introducing new audiences to music that they have never heard before. Through this program, for more than thirty years the String Trio of New York (S3NY) has presented numerous concerts to audiences outside the major cities who rarely experience the kind of innovative “chamber jazz” S3NY has pioneered.
Free to the public and funded in part through the ongoing support of the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) – which has lauded S3NY for being “Johnny Appleseeds of art” – the New Seeds Program is an intrinsic and deeply valued activity in every season of S3NY’s annual programming. Funding for these events is also provided by the Orange County Arts Council. The members find that their audiences are invariably delighted and awakened, their lives enhanced and society at large made more whole.
In addition to the performance, this program also includes lively discussions and Q & A sessions. The musicians value the group dialogue as much of the directions is unpredictable and enlightening. The audience comes away with a new-found understanding of the processes of improvisation and ensemble dynamics, and the priceless experience of their exposure to the pursuit of transcendence through music.