The concert began with a student group, The Folk Arts Quartet, a string quartet of fiddlers from Scotland, Canada, and the US. The FAQ (Hannah Read, Ivonne Hernandez, violins, Julie Metcalf, viola and Liz Davis on cello) charmed the audience with three original pieces showing their great grooves and stylistic mastery and diversity.

Then the orchestra took the stage with "Wonderwall" by Oasis, arranged by Berklee grad Helen Sherrah-Davies featuring rocking solos by our concertmistress Sue Buzzard and Canadian fiddler Trent Freeman.

Next came the premier of "Sapphire," a rollicking and melodic piece in 7/8 time I composed for my wife Wendy.

Our featured guest for the evening was Chris Berry, an amazing mbira (thumb piano) master, singer and drummer. We inserted into the program three pieces featuring Chris with Jamey Haddad on percussion, Dave Tronzo on electric guitar and myself on cello.

Then came "African Solstice" by Darol Anger with the strings together with Chris, Jamey and Dave featuring student violin soloist Tai Fitzpatrick. Tai played an enchanting solo where she doubled her improvised lines with her voice. Together with the magical colors from Jamey, Chris and Dave, this quiet groove became a very special musical treat.

Our finale was Ya-Una, a piece Chris brought back from an aged mbira master in Africa. Chris transcribed the many lines played by a traditional African mbira ensemble, and we crafted a version for strings and soloists which changed quite a bit with each performance. Using hand signals to direct each section of the orchestra to numbered parts, we were able to create a dynamic performance which had the audience clapping along to a thundering conclusion. Student soloists were Mariel Vandersteel - an Irish fiddler who improvised a very grooving jig inside the African 12/8 - and Chris Marion who offered a deep understanding of the 12/8 from a contemporary jazz viewpoint.

Throughout the performance, Chris's beautiful mbiras, fresh vocals and original music brought something quite new to the Berklee audience. Dave Tronzo created a multitude of other-worldy effects and great solos on slide guitar. Jamey Haddad always brings a mystical quality of music making to an event, everyone seems to play better when he just walks in the room and last night was a perfect example of that.

This fall's edition of the Berklee Jazz/World String Orchestra was really excellent with a variety of great soloists and ensemble players. The group continues to grow and I'm really excited that we are adding an extra rehearsal next semester which will make even more possible. We are also planning a spring tour, our first, for early May '09.

It was a great pleasure to perform with Oscar again, and he brought his extraordinary orchestrations, arrangements and original compositions to this evening with a fantastic rhythm section and full orchestra in the Berklee Performance Center. Oscar’s program included what people consider to be the first bossa piece, Jobim’s “Chega de Saudade,” and included many familiar tunes in brilliant new concert versions. We were joined by Jetro da Silva on piano, vocalist Teresa Ines, Oscar Stagnaro on bass, Bertram Lehman on drums, Fernando Brandao on flute, Ricardo Monzon on percussion along with the Berklee String Orchestra.

After six decades of traveling the world Oscar still has more energy and invention than anyone in the room, and his personal warmth and humor added a profound dimension to an unforgettable evening. Then, after traveling from California, two days of non-stop rehearsals, workshops, socializing, and a high energy performance, Oscar was surrounded by fans, but when he saw my wife Wendy he jumped off the stage and ran to the back of the hall so he could adore our two sleeping 7 year-old daughters!

This August was my third visit to the Rio International Cello Encounter. This year I was honored to solo with the wonderful string orchestra from Montreal, Quebec, I Musici de Montreal conducted by Yuli Turovsky. I performed a program of bossa nova classics scored for cello, piano and strings in Rio’s beautiful concert hall, Sala Cecilia Morales.

Wendy and I also had a chance to meet an impressive group of young dancers in a special arts program for under-privileged teens. Under the direction of director Roberto these kids performed an eleven minute piece to music improvised by Rio percussionist Silvio and myself. You can see more of this, and learn about our foundation, Sono Terra, at: http://sonoterra.org.

russell@chicagocelloworks.com

tel: 1-847-475-5110