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Ufonia
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Musical Director: Benjamin Verdery
Benjamin Verdery formed Ufonia in 1992 during a recording session of original compositions for his acclaimed CD Some Towns and Cities. For this CD Benjamin invited the talents of many colleagues from John Williams and Paco Peña to Leo Kottke and Glen Velez as well as the members of Ufonia. Though primarily a trio Verdery, guitars, percussionist John Marshall and flutist Keith Underwood Ufonia continues the spirit of Some Towns and Cities with frequent guest musicians at their performances.
Of their music, composer Ingram Marshall states, "Its a kind of chamber music which lies not solely in the Brahms-Mozart tradition but is informed also by other music. The playing is always precise, beautifully intoned and phrased by players who inhabit New York's classical music performance world and those of jazz and world music as well."
Ufonia has performed across the USA including concerts in California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Virginia, Washington, DC and Wisconsin and has appeared on NPR and PBS. In addition to their performances, the members of Ufonia are all dedicated pedagogues and conduct master classes wherever possible. To date, Ufonia has released Ben Verdery Ufonia (Mushkatweek).
BIOGRAPHIES
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BENJAMIN VERDERY, guitar
Distinguished as "one of the classical guitar world's most foremost personalities," by Classical Guitar Magazine, "an American original, an American master," by Guitar Review Magazine, and "iconoclastic" and "inventive" by The New York Times, Benjamin Verdery has enjoyed an innovative and eclectic musical career.
Since 1980, Benjamin has released over 15 albums, his most recent, Branches, features works by J.S. Bach, Strauss, Jimi Hendrix, Mozart and the traditional Amazing Grace. His recording, Start Now, won the 2005 Classical Recording Foundation Award for his unique gifts as performer and composer, and his recording, Some Towns and Cities, won the 1992 Best Classical Guitar Recording in Guitar Player Magazine. Benjamin has recorded and performed with such diverse artists as Andy Summers, Leo Kottke, Anthony Newman, Jessye Norman, Paco Peña, Hermann Prey and John Williams (with whom he recorded Vivaldi's Concerto in G Major for Two Mandolins for Sony Classical).
A prolific composer, Benjamin Verdery's compositions have been performed and recorded by John Williams and John Etheridge, The Los Angeles Guitar Quartet and David Russell among others. Benjamin's Etudes for guitar orchestra was commissioned by the Tidewater Classical Guitar Society and premiered at the 2004 Virginia International Festival. Doberman-Yppan (Canada) is currently publishing his solo and duo works for guitar and Alfred Music has published the solo pieces from Some Towns & Cities as well as instructional books and video.
Since 1985, Mr. Verdery has been the chair of the guitar department at the Yale University School of Music and is the Artistic Director of the Yale Guitar Extravaganza, a one-day guitar conference featuring guitarists and artists in concert and lectures. In 2005, Benjamin was also appointed curator of 'The Guitar' at the prestigious 92nd St Y, NY, NY.
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KEITH UNDERWOOD, flutes
Keith Underwood has had a diverse career as a flutist and teacher. His principal teachers were Salvatore Amato and Thomas Nyfenger (with whom he studied at the Yale School of Music). He is solo flutist for Parnassus and Ufonia, and has performed with most of the major musical organizations in the New York area, including the New York Philharmonic, the American Composer's Orchestra, and the Orpheus Ensemble. He has recorded extensively for such labels as New World, CRI, Columbia, and Musical Heritage, and has done a great deal of recording for motion pictures and television in NY and Los Angeles. He has appeared as a soloist and recorded with such diverse artists as Benjamin Verdery, Anthony Newman, Milton Nascimento, Bobby McFerrin, Rod Stewart, Kathleen Battle, the Four Tops, and Celine Dion.
Keith is well-known as a flute teacher and teacher of general techniques for wind players and singers. Many people who have studied flute, and other instruments with him play in or have gone on to play in orchestras throughout the United States and abroad. Keith has served as a wind-playing consultant to the New Jersey Symphony, the New World Symphony, the Houston Symphony, the Oregon Symphony, the Honolulu Symphony, the San Francisco Opera Orchestra, the Toledo Symphony and the the Orquestra Sinfonica de la Universidad de Guanajuato in Mexico. He teaches at the Mannes College of Music and New York University, the Aaron Copland School of Music, and CUNY graduate center and has taught many masterclasses and seminars in the United States and abroad, including Brazil (where he taught on a Fulbright Lectureship Grant in 1986), Japan, Italy, and Mexico at such well-known institutions as the Eastman School, the Juilliard School, Rice University, New England Conservatory, North Texas State, the University of Iowa, the University of New Mexico, the University of Minnesota and the Berklee School of Music. Each summer Keith gives masterclasses all over the world, most recently in Ravello, Italy, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Carmel Valley, Maui, and Mushashino Academy in Tokyo.
Keith Underwood has been active in New York musical life since he received his Masters Degree from Yale School of Music in 1976. He is also flutist of the New York Chamber Soloists, the Contemporary music groups Parnassus and Musical Elements, JazzAntiqua, the Arcadia Baroque Ensemble and the Riverside Symphony. He has appeared extensively with many of New York's most prominent musical organizations, including the New York Chamber Symphony, the American Composer's Orchestra, the Orpheus Ensemble, the Orchestra of Saint Luke's, the Brooklyn Philharmonia and the New York Philharmonic (with which he toured the Far East in 1984). Keith Underwood has appeared at the Spoleto Festival, the Madeira Bach Festival and the Vermont Mozart Festival. Since returning from Brazil, Keith Underwood has been active as a teacher of breathing techniques, working with both wind instrumentalists and singers privately and in classes.
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JOHN MARSHALL, percussion
John includes the drumming traditions of the Middle East, North and South India, Egypt, West Africa, the Caribbean, and Central Asia in his repertoire. Performing on frame drums,table, doumbek, diembe, congas, rig, pandiero, conventional Western percussion, and all manner of hand-held percussion. John Marshall's music has been featured on National Public Radio's All Things Considered, Echoes, Hearts Of Space and the BBC. He has performed and recorded with such artists as the Paul Winter Consort, Michael Brecker, Glen Velez, Rhonda Larson, Danny Gottlieb, Harvie S, Robert Gass, Steve Gorn, Omar Faruk bTekbilek, Paco Peña, David Darling, Eugene Friesen, Benjamin Verdery, Yevgeny Yevtushenko, George Benson and Marc Anthony.
With numerous CD credits to his name, Marshall has recorded on DMP, Ellipsis Arts, SONY, Jazzheads, Spring Hill, Windham Hill and Virgin Records labels. The recipient of several awards, he has been recognized for excellence in percussion music education by the Pro-Mark Drum Corporation. In 2004 he was commissioned to compose original music for the ASAP Community dance project in collaboration with Pilobolus Dance Theatre. Marshall's instructional books and CDs, Hand Drums for Beginners, (5 Star Rating: Percussion.com), and World Beat Encyclopedia, are available everywhere through Alfred Publications.
John the country with his adult seminar and Workshop Series, performs through Young Audiences of America, ASAP After School Arts Program, Arts Magnet School Systems, Hartford Intercity Arts Outreach, and during the summer of 2004, was Percussion Instructor in Residence at the Punahou School in Hawaii. He performs with the classical/jazz/world ensemble Ufonia, composes for and performs with numerous percussion groups, including Framework and WoMaDe, and is much sought after in the freelance arena. He has released his own CDs featuring his original compositions, and is at work on creating online hand percussion instruction for Warner Brothers/Alfred. Currently John enjoys performing with the experimental improvisational trio, Bridges and Poems, and is studying North Indian tabla with Subhankar Banerjee.
For information on the CD Ben Verdery Ufonia go to Benjamin Verdery, click on Recordings and Ufonia.
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PRESS
His carefully constructed, harmonically adventurous compositions have heart and soul, two elements often missing in contemporary classical music.
PULSE MAGAZINE
At no point does one performer outshine another; each has an essential role to play. Ufonia are obviously great fun live, and this superb recording makes you want to witness that.
CLASSICAL GUITAR MAGAZINE
The unusual quartet of musicians known as Ufonia got the Roper Performing Arts Center audience tapping its toes, rocking back and forth and, at the end, standing in an enthusiastic ovation.
THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Fantastic, Terrific. Hot, really hot. These were just a few of the words the audience used to describe the rhythmic sounds of Ufonia. They brought a diverse menu of classical, jazz, and a mix of ethnic tones and rhythms together through 11 very different musical pieces. The music was uplifting and performed with an enormous amount of enthusiasm. Marshall's drum solo captivated the audience, taking them to a foreign land with his assortment of Middle Eastern and West African drums, rattles, and Brazilian shakers.
VOICE (Santa Cruz, CA)
The concert had the feel of personal music shared among friends. The delight they took in their work, and their way of welcoming the audience into their circle, made this a warm, human experience in addition to a fine concert. This music is about the sparkling, dazzling moment.
THE MILWAUKEE JOURNAL
Every few years a band comes along that defies all those rigid categories known as classical, jazz, pop, folk, worldbeat and new age. Crackling with energy and overflowing with musical know-how, Ben Verdery's Ufonia is such a group. These seasoned musicians love playing live and those of us in the audience can't help but feel their infectious spirit. A Ufonia concert has something for everyone, and I urge you to treat yourself to the extraordinary talents of this ensemble. Just leave your expectations out in the lobby with the coat check person and get ready for a truly unique musical experience.
RAY WHITE (formerly with WQCD/CD 101.9, NY, NY)
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