For this 40th anniversary celebration of the String Trio of New York, guitarist/leader/composer James Emery has created some new pieces. Come listen to them on Friday, March 29, 2019 at 7:30pm at Morrison Hall Mansion where chamber jazz is ‘up close and personal.’ Raves JazzTimes, “No individual or ensemble has done more to demystify chamber jazz, and to realize its potential for warmth, sensuousness, and beauty ... than the String Trio of New York.”

James Emery has been acclaimed by Glenn Astarita in All About Jazz as “one of the world’s finest guitarists as [he] possesses an encyclopedic jazz vocabulary as a technician and composer.” In addition, Emery has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the News York Foundation for the Arts, and the Cary Trust. As a composer, he writes pieces for chamber groups, jazz ensembles, solo guitar, chamber orchestra, and symphony orchestra. His commissioned compositions have been funded by Chamber Music America, and the Meet the Composer -- Rockefeller/AT&T, Composers Commissions USA, and Lila Wallace Jazz Programs.

Violinist Rob Thomas, who is a Berklee College of Music (Boston) professor, is a highly regarded jazz multi-instrumentalist, fluent on violin, cello, and bass. He has held the violin chair of the String Trio of New York since 2001. JazzTimes calls him “a violinist of exceptional creative resources... riveting as a solo voice with a rich complex tone.”

Michael Formanek, bass (Photo Credit: Brian Cohen, 2015)'Michael Formanek is a veteran bassist, composer, improviser, educator, and leader of various bands including quartet and 19-piece ensemble. The New Yorker has described him as “a bold and unclassifiable bassist and composer.” He has received commissions, awards, and grants from the Peabody Conservatory, the Maryland State Arts Council, the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation, and the Chamber Music America Doris Duke Foundation.

Morrison Hall Mansion is the centerpiece of the Middletown campus of SUNY Orange. This magnificent marble building is located at 115 South Street.

Admission: $15 adults; $10 senior citizens, faculty, staff, alumni; free for all students. Doors and Box office open at 6:45 pm. Also, online purchase with a $ 2.50 service charge for each ticket is available. Nearby parking is available free in college lots. For more information, contact Cultural Affairs at (845)341-4891 or cultural@sunyorange.edu

Photos, top to bottom: James Emery, guitar; Rob Thomas, violin; Michael Formanek, bass (Photo Credit: Brian Cohen, 2015)'