With just 48 hours left in my Kickstarter campaign, I wanted to highlight the musicians that will be contributing to my album 2020. They’re all incredibly talented and creative, and I can’t wait to hear their recordings (all recorded at home studios due to COVID-19). Thanks to those of you who’ve donated to bring this dream team together!
Ashley Ng – Violin
I met Ashley when she played in our Film Score Fest orchestra. Since getting her doctorate from the U of M, she has been Associate Principal Second Violinist with the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra and Concertmaster of the Minnetonka Symphony Orchestra. She also plays with the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra, La Crosse Symphony Orchestra, and Kenwood Symphony Orchestra. She is a founding member of 10th Wave Chamber Collective and Stone Arch String Quartet.
Basil Considine – Harp
Basil is a composer, multi-instrumentalist, award-winning musicologist, and opera director. I met him when he scored a film for Film Score Fest. During his doctorate studies, he did field research in the island of Mauritius, and studied the musical history of the island in his dissertation “Priests, Pirates, Opera Singers, and Slaves: Séga and European Art Music in Mauritius, the Little Paris of the Indian Ocean.”
Ben Osterhouse – Cello
Ben is a fellow film composer, and he creates virtual instruments with his cello. He got his doctorate at the U of M, and he has been teaching cello and performing with various ensembles around Minnesota, including the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, Two Rivers Chorale, and 10th Wave Chamber Collective.
Bethany Gonella – Flute
I’ve collaborated with Bethany on multiple film scores and compositions–she’s my go-to flutist! She’s a sub for the Minnesota Orchestra and Minnesota Opera Orchestra, and she plays in the Chione Quintet, South Dakota Symphony, La Crosse Symphony, and Winona Symphony. Bethany got her masters at USC and is a doctoral candidate at the U of M. She also teaches flute and co-runs the quINTENS!VE chamber music day camp.
Cy Dodson – Guitar
In addition to being a creative guitarist, Cy is an award-winning filmmaker that I collaborated with on his documentary “Beneath the Ink.” He’s a humble dude, so he probably won’t tell you that he was nominated for a 2019 National Emmy and won a Midwest Regional Emmy.
Dylan McFarling – Guitar
Dylan is one of my favorite guitarists of all time, and he’s also an amazing singer/songwriter. I met Dylan through the awesome St. Ben’s / St. John’s music community. Dylan also does Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and codes video games.
Eri Isomura – Percussion
Eri is our rock-solid Film Score Fest percussionist. She got her masters in percussion performance at Boston Conservatory, and has performed with the Minnetonka Chorale Society, Wayzata Symphony Orchestra, Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Symphonic Winds, Blue Waters Brass Ensemble, and others.
Franco Holder – Keyboard
Franco and I met through the New Age Art Salon, an experimental meetup that inspired dozens of random artistic collaborations. Since then, Franco has been my go-to pianist, playing with the Film Score Fest orchestra, performing my score for the Nimbus Theater production of Ghost Sonata, among many other collaborations. Franco plays for the St. Paul Ballet and teaches at Hopewell Music Cooperative North.
Jason Wells – Bass
Jason’s our Film Score Fest bassist. He’s played with several orchestras throughout the midwest, including the Des Moines Symphony, Sioux City Symphony, and Mankato Symphony. He also plays with the bluegrass/newgrass band Barbaro.
Mara Syman – Saxophone
Mara is the sister of my longtime friend Nick Syman, and the wind instrument skills run strong in the Syman family. Mara teaches band and plays jazz, including with her brother Nick in the modern jazz ensemble Northing.
Nick Syman – Trombone
Nick and I went to high school together, and due to a chance encounter in the school hallway, he’s the reason I ended up visiting and going to St. Ben’s / St. John’s! We became great friends there, working on our music majors and collaborating on freeform electronic jazz in our group Cagetones.
Pete James Johnson – Drums
Pete is the most talented and creative drummer I’ve ever met, so I’m thrilled that he’ll be playing on several of my tracks. He’s also a recording engineer up in St. Cloud at his studio The Skeleton Room, and he built the vintage tube mic that I’m recording all my vocals on for the album.
Andy Thompson – Production
Andy is one of Minnesota’s musical gems. He produces, orchestrates, composes, engineers…he does it all. He regularly works with Dessa and Jeremy Messersmith, and he has contributed to albums by Belle and Sebastian, Jason Mraz, and Taylor Swift.
Doug Van Sloun – Mastering
I met Doug when I joined my friends Mitch Johnson and Tyler Tholl on a one-day road trip down to Omaha, to get their Spencer McGillicutty album mastered. I was so impressed by Doug’s method and attention to detail, I knew I wanted to work with him someday. Doug has mastered hundreds of albums for artists like Maria Taylor, She & Him, and Bright Eyes.
