Have You Ever Had This Much Fun with an Accordion?

Lauren Cook plays clarinet and accordion in the United State Navy Band, as well as in the New Orchestra of Washington. In addition to her tremendous talents as a performer, she is one of my favorite people to put in front of my camera, as this photo clearly shows. 

In the Studio with the New Orchestra of Washington

When the New Orchestra of Washington (NOW) launched its Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for the group's first-ever studio recording, the musicians weren't the only ones excited. Fans of this chamber orchestra, now in its second season, have been more than enthusiastic, and why shouldn't they be? NOW is bringing a new generation to classical music, as well as former fans who had grown bored with the tame offerings often heard in classical concert halls. NOW's programming is creative, engaging, and unexpected. The individual virtuosity of the ensemble's players is what makes NOW so nimble and flexible in their performances, breathing new life into orchestral standards, and creating new classics with contemporary composers. The group is hard at work on its first recording at Omega Recording Studios, featuring a chamber version of Gustav Mahler's Symphony Number 4 and Julian Wachner's Chamber Symphony (commissioned by NOW), and here are a few photographic highlights!

Cellist Lauren Weaver 

Producer Geoffrey Silver consults with conductor Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez

Soprano Linda Mabbs gets last-minute instructions from Geoffrey Silver

Grace Cho, pianist and one of the founding members of NOW, making a few tweaks before taping resumes

Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez, conductor and founding member of NOW, addresses the players

With his score and stopwatch at the ready, producer Geoffrey Silver begins

Soprano Linda Mabbs' Mahler score, music stand and headphones are ready to go

Portrait of the Artist: Conductor and Organist J. Reilly Lewis

Renowned Bach performer and conductor J. Reilly Lewis has spent most of his life in the world of classical music. The production of sound and the perfecting of that sound has consumed him and he has one of the best ears in the business. And so it was a moment of silence that caught my attention. Moments before Reilly was to head out on stage and conduct his Washington Bach Consort, I noticed him, silent and still as a statue, head bowed, eyes closed, in a moment of quiet. Maybe it was reflection, maybe it was prayer, but it was a moment of unspeakable beauty.

Still: Portrait of J. Reilly Lewis, June 2014, Washington, DC

Artist Spotlight: The New Orchestra of Washington is What's Happening NOW!

The New Orchestra of Washington (NOW) is on a musical mission to bring a new generation into the concert hall, with a fresh take on classical music. The ensemble, led by artistic director Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez, featuring pianist Grace Cho, recently presented a concert of Debussy and Mahler at the First Congregational UCC in downtown Washington, DC, featuring Debussy's "Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun" and a chamber orchestral setting of Mahler's 1st Symphony. NOW's next concert, on May 17th in Washington, DC, will highlight the music of East Asia!

Portrait of an Artist: Baritone VaShawn Savoy McIlwain In Black and White

Washington, DC may be known mostly for its occupant of a certain white manse at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, but it is also home to a thriving community of performing artists. When I first met baritone VaShawn McIlwain, he looked like a nice young man with a brilliant smile. And then I heard him sing and it was like someone turned on every light in the room. There is a buoyancy to his delivery that draws you in, and a depth that keeps you there. This young man is an old soul and I can't wait to hear more from him.

VaShawn, photograph by Shannon Finney, Washington, DC, August 2013

Portrait of an Artist: Lyric Soprano and Classical Rockstar Marlissa Hudson

I've learned that when Washington, DC-based organist/pianist Marvin Mills calls you, good things follow. So when my telephone rang, and I heard his voice on the other end, I was curious and excited. And while I can't remember what he said line by line, I do remember the words "classical" and "lust" and I was hooked. Marvin has been collaborating with lyric soprano Marlissa Hudson who is shaking up classical music and making it weak in the knees with her latest project, "Lust." With her lush coloratura voice, Marlissa takes listeners on a sensual sonic ride, making classical music for the "grown and sexy." Below are a couple of my favorite images from a portrait shoot I did with this dynamic duo!

Pianist Marvin Mills and Lyric Soprano Marlissa Hudson, June 26, 2013, Kensington, MD

Lyric Soprano Marlissa Hudson, June 26, 2013, Kensington, MD

Portrait of the Artist: The Singer

Baritone VaShawn McIlwain, photographed March 2012, Washington, DC

An opera stage might not be the most likely place to search for a local hero,

but for music lovers in Washington, DC, that's the perfect spot, especially

when the hero in question is baritone VaShawn McIlwain. Since graduating

from DC's Duke Ellington School of the Arts, McIlwain and his booming

baritone have been thrilling listeners and critics alike. A finalist in the

Metropolitan Opera's national auditions in 2007, he's been featured in the

Washington National Opera, the Maryland Opera Studio, and the Aspen

Opera Theater Center. He's sung for First Lady Michelle Obama and was

most recently featured in the Washington, DC premiere of "Fortune's Bones:

A Manumission Requiem", written by Dr. Ysaye Barnwell of the famed Sweet

Honey in the Rock and based on the epic poem by poet/children's

author Marilyn Nelson. The photograph above was taken at his concert

at the Arts Club of Washington.

Portrait of the Artist: Composer/Conductor Julian Wachner



Photograph by Shannon Finney, July 2010, Washington, DC

It's always fun when a portrait shoot takes an unexpected twist, and when

the shoot involves Julian Wachner, well let's just say that it wasn't all

THAT unexpected:) Julian sports lots of titles: doctor, maestro, composer

organist, pianist, professor, and, the most recent addition, Director of Music

and Arts for the renowned music program at Trinity Wall Street Episcopal

in Lower Manhattan. But behind all of the genius is a generous man

with a great sense of humor, and hence the photo above. While it

may not make his next CD cover, it's got a place of honor on my wall.