SYMPHONY OF SOULS: Spontaneous River is an orchestra of over 35 string improvisers plus drum set. It is only in recent years that so many string players have engaged in the art of improvisational music. Spontaneous River is an ensemble and a community that represents this emerging movement. The power of Spontaneous River is drawn from both the sonic unity of strings and the undeniable individualism of each musician’s “voice.”

Mr. Hwang composition, Symphony of Souls is a spontaneous flow of notated passages and conducted improvisations that express stories abundant with flora, fauna and dreams of the human spirit.

Symphony of Souls was recorded on April 24, 2010, at Systems II in Brooklyn. The outstanding musicians of Spontaneous River donated their artistry to unite and create this extraordinary music. Mr. Hwang’s violin improvisation provides the preface and epilogue to Symphony of Souls, which is approximately one hour.

Spontaneous River has performed in New York City at Vision Festival, Living Theater, Galapagos and Project Reach.In Ann Arbor, a Spontaneous River of local and festival musicians, performed at Edgefest.

Spontaneous River includes Ken Filiano (string bass) and Andrew Drury (drum set), who are members of Mr. Hwang’s quartet EDGE.Spontaneous River, which is multi-generational and cultural, is only possible because of the faith these artists have in each other to inspire and create this extraordinary music.

Composer, Conductor, Violin:Jason Kao Hwang

Violin: Trina Basu, Sarah Bernstein, Charles Burnham, Julianne Carney, Fung Chern Hwei, Mark Chung, Rosi Hertlein, Jason Kao Hwang, Gwen Laster, Marlene Rice, David Soldier, Curtis Stewart, Midori Yamamoto, Helen Yee Viola: Leanne Darling, Nicole Federici, Judith Insell, Eric Salazar, David Wallace
Cello: Martha Colby, Loren Dempster, Daniel Levin, Tomas Ulrich, Shanda Wooley Acoustic Guitar: Cristian Amigo, Bradley Farberman, James Keepnews, Dom Minasi, David Ross, Tor Snyder, Hans Tammen String bass: Michael Bisio, Ken Filiano, Francois Grillot, Clifton Jackson, Tom Zlabinger, James Ilgenfritz Drum set: Andrew Drury

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EDGE

Jason Kao Hwang (composer, violin/viola) has created works ranging from jazz, classical, “new” and world music. Stories Before Within (Innova Records), the second release of his quartet EDGE, was included in the Top Ten Recordings of 2008 by Coda Magazine.All About Jazz selected their first CD, EDGE (Asian Improv Records), as one of the Top Ten CDs of 2006.Both CDs charted near the top of the CMJ (USA) and EARSHOT(Canada) college radio charts. Their third CD is currently in production. EDGE has performed at the Vancouver International Jazz Festival, Discover Jazz Festival (VT), Edgefest (MI), Vision Festival (NYC), An die Musik(Baltimore), Transparent Productions (Washington, D.C.), Brooklyn College and many other venues. Commitment, The Complete Recordings, 1981-1983, from a collective quartet that was Mr. Hwang’s first band, has been selected as the “2010 Reissued Recording of the Year” by All About Jazz / New York. His octet Burning Bridge, commissioned by ChamberMusic America / New Jazz Works, recently premiered at the 2010 Chicago World Music Festival. In 2007, Euonymus Records released Local Lingo, Mr. Hwang’s duets with Sang Won Park (kayagum, ajeng, voice). In 2005, New World Records released Mr. Hwang’s chamber opera The Floating Box, A Story in Chinatown, which was named one of the “Top Ten Opera Recordings of 2005 by Opera News. Mr. Hwang’s long-standing ensemble, The Far East Side Band (1990-2004) featuring taiko, kayagum, tuba and his violin,released two CDs, Urban Archaeology (1996, Victo Records) and Caverns (1994, New World Records). The Far East Side Band performed at the Beijing International Jazz Festival, Chicago Asian American Jazz Festival, Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art, Whitney Museum, Freer Gallery, Vision Festival, World Music Institute (NYC), Jazz Spektakel Wuppertal (Germany), duMaurier Ltd. International Jazz Festival (Vancouver), International Festival Musique Actuelle (Victoriaville), and many other stages. Mr. Hwang also recorded with his trio, Unfolding Stone (1990, Sound Aspects). Mr. Hwang’s composition Flight of Whispers, commissioned and performed by Music for Homemade Instrumentscan be heard on eXchange: China (1999, CRI), a compilation CD of Chinese American composers.

Mr. Hwang has also received support from US Artists International, the American Music Center, Meet the Composer/ New Residencies, the National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts, New Jersey State Council on the Arts, Rockefeller Foundation, New York Community Trust, Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust, Greenwall Foundation, and the Puffin Foundation. As violinist, Mr. Hwang has worked with Anthony Braxton, Pauline Oliveros, Henry Threadgill, Butch Morris, Reggie Workman, Vladamir Tarasov, Tatsu Aoki, Frances Wong, William Parker, Sirone, Dr. Makanda Ken MacIntyre, and many others.

Jason Kao Hwang has been artist–in-residence at the University of Southern Connecticut, the Museum of Chinese in the Americas, and the Asia Society. Mr. Hwang has lectured at Westminster, Brooklyn, and Queens College. Mr. Hwang taught Asian American Music, a course he originated for the Department of Social and Cultural Analysis at New York University. With Young Audiences/New York, Mr. Hwang created a grade school course on composition and improvisation that provided cross-curriculum tools.He later led a teacher’s workshop for Midori and Friends based upon his course.

Taylor Ho Bynum (coronet, various brass) is a composer and bandleader born in 1975, raised in Boston, and presently residing in Brooklyn. Bynum has established a reputation as a unique musical voice willing to take chances in a wide variety of artistic contexts. Projects range from ensembles in the jazz tradition, to work with DJs, contemporary classical composers, and world music ensembles, to composing for film and theater, to collaborations with dancers and visual artists. He leads a variety of small groups and the large ensemble SpiderMonkey Strings, and works with Anthony Braxton, Cecil Taylor, and the Fully Celebrated Orchestra.

Andrew Drury (drum set) is a drummer/composer whose work has been noted for its lyricism and expansive approach to form and technique. Drury can be heard on fifteen CDs (two as a bandleader) and he has performed in Europe and the Americas with Michel Doneda, Mark Dresser, Briggan Krauss, Myra Melford, Chris Speed, Jack Wright, Kenny Wolleson's Marching Band with Butch Morris, and others. A former student of Ed Blackwell, he photographs drum solos in desert and prairie settings, collaborates frequently with dancers, and has led over 700 junk percussion workshops across the U.S.

Ken Filiano (string bass) has fused the rich traditions of the double bass, bringing out the many voices inherent to the instrument. His solo bass CD, Subvenire (NineWinds), received unanimous critical praise, and was chosen by Cadence Magazine as one of the top ten CDs of 2003. Ken tours widely, performing at the DuMaurier International Jazz Festival, Banlieues Bleues Festival (Paris, France); and on many concert stages including Carnegie Hall. He was principal bassist with the Cascade Festival Orchestra from 1985 - 2002. Ken has also played and/or recorded with artists and orchestras including Bobby Bradford, Nels Cline, Vinnie Golia, Dom Minasi, Alex Cline, Ted Dunbar, and Joseph Jarman.