If you like the clarinet, you'll love this CD! Frankie Kelly is one of the greatest clarinetists of all time. In fact, she's so good, you will probably love this CD, even if you think you don't like the clarinet! Frankie Kelly has carefully chosen compositions of the Americas by 6 brilliantly gifted composers. This Eroica CD takes you on a musical tour throughout the Americas. The music is a mixed bag of multi-cultural influences. Frankie Kelly's sumptuous sound is professionally and breathtakingly backed by chamber musicians in various combinations, including: clarinet violin and piano; clarinet violin and double bass; clarinet, piano and vocals (by Patricia Repar and Frankie Kelly who takes a breather from the licorice stick). There is also a violin solo featuring Adrian Justus, and the set closes with a rousing rendition of Five Pieces for Three Players, featuring the clarinet, saxophone and marimba. Fasten your seat belts. It's going to be a beautiful ride! BIOGRAPHIES: Clarinetist Frankie J. Kelly is Assistant Professor of Clarinet at SOutheastern Louisiana University in Hammond, Louisiana. She has extensive orchestral, chamber, and solo experience in the Southeastern and Midwestern states and has performed in Mexico, Germany, Austria, Italy, Costa Rica, and Honduras. Tapestry, Music from the Americas is her attempt to bring these experiences to a logical and thoughtful conclusion. The other artists participating in this project are: Adrian Justus, violin Eric Segnitz, violin Patricia Repar, vocals Elena Abend, piano Jayne Latva, piano Jonathon Helton, saxophone Michael Cameron, doublebass Eliot Wadopian, doublebass Linda Siegel, marimba About This Eroica CD Argentinean-born Pablo Ortiz was first trained in his native Buenos Aires, where he received a degree from the Universidad Catolica Argentina. At 27, he came to New York to study with Mario Davidovsky at Columbia University. He also studied composition with Jack Beeson, Chou Wen Chung, Jacques Louis Monod, Fred Lerdahl, Gerado Gandini, and Roberto Caamano. At present, he is Associate Professor of Composition at the University of California, Davis. He taught composition and was co-director of the Electronic Music studio at the University of Pittsburgh from 1990 to 1994. He has received commissions from the Fromm and Koussevitzky foundations, and is the recipient of Guggenheim and Charles Ives fellowships. His works include chamber and solo music, vocal orchestral, electronic compositions, as well as music for plays and films. Yehuda Yannay is a composer, conductor and professor of composition at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. A musician of international repute, he is the creator of more than 100 works for virtually all musical media. Yannay is the co-author and performer in several films, videos and stage works. In 1994 he formed with visual artist Marie Mellott the intermedia performance duo Mindbender Theater. Yannay is also devoted to the organization and conduction of performances of music by living composers. In 1971 he founded the 'Music From Almost Yesterday' concert series and continues to present every season numerous concerts of 20th Century music to the Public. His music is published by Levana Music, The Israel Music Institute, and Media Press. Patricia Ann Repar was born in the Niagara Region of Ontario, Canada. She earned her B.F.A. (composition/ethnomusicology) from York University in Toronto. The pursuit of this degree, however, was frequently interrupted with performance tours as a professional musician: rock and roll, piano bars, musical theatre and jazz. Returning to academia, she earned an M.A. (composition) from Brown University and a D.M.A. (composition/theory) from the University of Illinois. Alongside her study of music she has gained substantial experience in contemporary theatre, dance and video production. Having traveled in Cuba, Eastern and Western Europe, the Middle East, Central and South-East Asia, her pieces reflect not only an interest in multimedia but in multiculturalism. Challenging traditional relationships (composer-performer, and performer-audience), her works are also frequently collaborative in nature, employ alternative performance spaces, and require virtuosity on the part of the performers in non-traditional ways. Leonardo Velazquez (b. Oaxaca, 1935) is considered to be one of Mexico's 'nationalistic' composers. The major influences in his writing can be traced to Rodolfo Halffter, Blas Galindo, Jose Pablo Moncayo, Morris Ruger, and Carlos Jimenez Mabarak. He studied later in the National Conservatory of Music of the City of Mexico and in the Conservatory of Los Angeles, California. In addition to music for concert, he has composed for theater, dance, television and cinema (including over 22 film scores). Matthew Nicholl has been a member of the faculty at Berklee College of Music since 1996, teaching courses in harmony, arranging, music production and ensembles. Nicholl was a member of the faculty of Western Carolina University, in North Carolina, where he developed a new program in applied music technology. CPP/Belwin published his textbook on music technology, Introduction to MlDI/Synthesis, in 1993. Since 1980, Nicholl has worked as a composer/arranger and keyboardist. Composed soundtracks for films by the National Geographic Society, NASA, Postal Service, the Marriott Corporation, and Blue Cross/Blue Shield, and scored station ID and promotional packages for PBS, as well as numerous local television and radio stations. He has provided music for the national advertising campaigns of Maybelline, Radio Shack, Subway Sub Shops, and United Way. He also composed scores to TV spots for the presidential campaigns of Bob Dole, Michael Dukakis, and George Bush.