Sqwonk
Sqwonk
Genres: neoclassical, Classical, Contemporary, new music, bass clarinet
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About Sqwonk
Sqwonk is a San Francisco-based bass clarinet duo, consisting of Jeff Anderle and Jon Russell, dedicated to the creation of engagingly visceral new music for two bass clarinets. Though grounded in the classical tradition, Sqwonk plays music that draws on a wide range of influences, from klezmer to heavy metal to blues to improvisation to avant-garde, creating a repertoire that is innovative and contemporary, yet broadly accessible to a wide audience. Formed in the Spring of 2005, Sqwonk has given nearly twenty performances throughout the San Francisco Bay Area in the past two years at a wide range of venues and events, including Old First Church, the National Shrine of St. Francis of Assisi, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, the Berkeley Arts Festival, the Outsound Music Series at the Luggage Store, and Classical Revolution. Sqwonk has premiered five new compositions by four different composers, as well as its own arrangements of works by J.S. Bach, Steve Reich, and the Schorn-Puntin Duo. In the coming year, Sqwonk plans to commission and perform new works by several more composers including Marc Mellits, Ken Thomson, Dan Becker, Ryan Brown, James Holt, and Cornelius Boots. In 2006, Sqwonk received a Faculty Development Grant from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music to fund its first CD, which was recently released and features premiere recordings of new works by Ian Dicke, Damon Waitkus, and Jon Russell.
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