Federico Bonacossa: Elettroarmonico

Federico Bonacossa

Composer and guitarist Federico Bonacossa spent his early teenage years playing punk music and skateboarding before suddenly falling in love with classical music after listening to a recording of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition played on the classical guitar. He studied classical guitar at the Conservatorio Statale G. P. da Palestrina in Italy before moving to the U.S., where he pursued a master’s degree at the Peabody Conservatory and a doctorate at the University of Miami in classical guitar performance and music theory. Additionally, he holds a master’s degree in music composition from Florida International University, where he studied composition and electronic music.

His creative interests range from electronic and computer-assisted composition to purely acoustic and improvisational works. Much of his diverse output explores alternative tunings and involves electronics in some form. Recent venues where his work has been featured include the ProART Festival in Brno (Czech Republic), the Monastery of San Martiño Pinario (Spain), Villa Strozzi in Florence (Italy), the Marian Anderson Theater in New York, and the RHI Festival in Cascais (Portugal). Additional venues where his works have been performed include the Museo Iconográfico del Quijote (Mexico), University of Guanajuato, Mexico City Italian Cultural Center, University of Music and Performing Arts Graz (Germany), Peabody Conservatory, University of Massachusetts Amherst, University of Oklahoma, University of Miami, and the University of Kentucky. He has presented his work at numerous international conferences, including SEAMUS, Electronic Music Midwest, MOXsonic, the National Flute Convention, ISSTA (Ireland), New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival, University of South Florida New Music Festival, and N_SEME conference.

His fascination with the way music and movement can inspire each other has led to numerous collaborations with dancers and choreographers, particularly Hannah Baumgarten and Diego Salterini (Dance Now Miami), and Lazaro Godoy (GoPra Performance). This has resulted in over a dozen projects, many of which have been performed internationally.

As a performer, he is involved in promoting new music for guitar, especially works that feature electronics and alternative tunings.

He currently serves as Associate Teaching Professor of Music Theory and Musicology at Florida International University. He is also a co-founder of The Last Hundred Ensemble, dedicated to music written in the last one hundred years. The group recently released its first album, featuring his work “Omaggio a Marinetti,” an eclectic composition for soprano, harp, electric guitar, and percussion (including balloons), based on Marinetti’s futurist poems.

Regarding the driving energy behind his creative work, he writes: ‘Composition is, for me, a process of discovery, a way to engage in a dialogue with the many mysterious things I do not understand. Perhaps for these reasons, I have a deep fascination with divination and meditation, and really any technique that involves a kind of surrendering, observing, listening, and describing.’

John Antisz

John Antisz is an active orchestral performer, woodwind doubler, educator, and chamber musician. Most notably, Antisz served as the 3rd/Bass Clarinet of the Florida Grand Opera and The Palm Beach Symphony from 2017-2019 and performed as guest Principal with the Vero Beach Opera. Equally important to Antisz’s performance career is educating the next generation of musicians. Through the Palm Beach Symphony, John acted as head teacher where he taught woodwind lessons and coached underprivileged students in Title IX school districts across south Florida. Antisz began his education as a Jeffrey Carollo Scholar at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. John was the first woodwind player to be selected to participate in the program. He currently serves as the general music, choir, and band teacher in the Harrison NJ School District at Hamilton Intermediate School. Antisz holds degrees from the Lynn Conservatory of Music and Rutgers University. His previous teachers include Jon Manasse, Jessica Phillps, and Dan Gilbert. Relocating back to New Jersey in 2020, John is excited to teach and perform in his home.

Karlyn Viña

Praised by the South Florida Classical Review for her “dazzling” and “incisive” performance, Karlyin Viña is a dynamic and creative percussionist based in Virginia. Viña serves on the faculties of Shenandoah Conservatory in Virginia during the academic year and at Interlochen Arts Camp in Michigan during the summer. Karlyn maintains a busy schedule as an orchestral, chamber, and solo percussionist, and has a particular interest in contemporary music. Performance highlights include several seasons with Palm Beach Symphony and Florida Grand Opera, as well as performances with Madera Viva, a bassoon and percussion duo with Dr. Carlos Felipe Viña.

Jason Calloway

Jason Calloway has performed to acclaim throughout the world as soloist and chamber musician. Currently cellist of the Amernet String Quartet, Ensemble-in-Residence at Florida International University, Mr. Calloway was previously a member of the Naumburg award-winning Biava Quartet, formerly in residence at the Juilliard School. Mr. Calloway gave his Carnegie Hall recital debut under the auspices of Artists International and has also been heard at Jazz at Lincoln Center, the 92nd Street Y, Disney Hall, and the Kennedy Center. He has recorded for the Bridge, Naxos, and Albany labels. A devoted advocate for new music, Mr. Calloway has collaborated with Ensemble InterContemporain and alongside members of Ensemble Modern, Klangforum Wien, and the Arditti and JACK quartets and given hundreds of premieres by composers including Berio, Birtwistle, Hosokawa, Lachenmann, Pintscher, Tulve, and Tüür. He is also artistic director of Shir Ami (shiramimusic.com), an ensemble dedicated to the preservation and performance of Jewish art music suppressed by the Nazis and Soviets. Mr. Calloway performs on a 1992 Michèle Ashley cello, a copy of the famous Sleeping Beauty of Montagnana, formerly owned by his teacher, Orlando Cole. Mr. Calloway is a native of Philadelphia.