RUSSELL KOTCHER

VIOLIN

ELISE FRAWLEY 

VIOLA

Whimsical Sounds

Russell Kotcher, violin
Elise Frawley, viola
(members of the ATLANTIC COLLECTIVE)

​at 

PAC • MoCA L.I.
20 Terry Street, Patchogue, 11772
 

October 13th, 2024, at 6:00pm

This is a community event promoted by Patchogue Arts Council in Patchogue where iconic buildings of the town are enlightened with projection of images and lights of visual artists.
The performance is planned to be outdoors. The backdrop is the back of Patchogue library's wall with a painted mural and projected of images.

RoSMF as a partner of MOCA Lights invites you to perform for about 50 minutes with classical and contemporary music.
​

FREE CONCERT / make a reservation

Program

Reena Esmail, "Nadiya" (transcribed from flute and viola) 

Augusta Read Thomas, "Mansuoto Tribute, 'double helix'
 
Selections from the Bach Partitas and Sonatas for Violin 

Kaija Saariaho, "Aure" 

Selections from the Bach Cello Suites for Viola 

Martinu, "Three Madrigals" 


Description
A special performance curated by the Rites of Spring Music Festival in collaboration with Patchogue Arts Council
Featuring Russell Kotcher on violin and Elise Frawley, on viola. This performance is inspired by the annual thematic mural, "Octopossible" which will be animated through projection and serve as the backdrop to this to the event.


Octopossible
Laura Kessler, Visual Artist 2024

ABOUT OCTOPOSSIBLE
The octopus is the epitome of creative genius. One of the oldest most miraculous creatures on earth; it is an expert in color theory even though it cannot see in color, the beauty of this the ability to literally feel and express not only their color but their shape and texture, if that is not true artistry I don’t know what is. Not only is the octopus an amazing artist visually is also an awe-inspiring escape artist. As creatives we all metaphorically attempt to fit the square peg in a round hole by thinking outside the box. Well, this alien-like creature can fit its thirty foot, six hundred pound body through a space the size of a quarter, they quite literally have mastered thinking outside the box.

My piece illustrates, although what seems whimsical and fantastical, could actually be a reality. This is why you never give up on your dreams, and dream big! By thinking smart, working hard and getting creative one can achieve what seems to be the impossible. My octopus, Pollock, saw a little girl who was visiting the aquarium eating orange jelly-like candy in the shape of Os, they looked something familiar to him, he was infatuated. A few weeks later Pollock noticed a crack in the wall and decided to check it out, he then discovered an abandoned vending machine outside, there they were, a bag of Peach Os0! Pollock then began to explore and dreamt of how he could get there to find this treat that seemed perfect for him. Using his big brain and long mating arm he knew he could make it there. Even in captivity, he could do just as all octopuses must to in the wild to work hard and reach out to achieve their goal.
​
This is a production of 
Rites of Spring Music Festival
in collaboration with
Patchogue Arts Council​

This project is made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature and administered by Huntington Arts Council.

​Russell Kotcher, violinist
Russell Kotcher, a native of Detroit Michigan, has been featured as soloist in Germany at the Bodensee Festival, Isny, and Munich; in Philadelphia with the Prometheus Chamber Orchestra; in Brooklyn with the Brooklyn Symphony; and at Carnegie Hall with the Chamber Orchestra of New York. His violin students have soloed at Carnegie Hall, have won competitions, and are members of the Philadelphia Youth Symphony. A former member of the Mühlenberg Piano Quartet, Russell was awarded several grants and commissions to premier original compositions at The Juilliard School and The Curtis Institute of Music. Currently, Mr. Kotcher is Associate Concertmaster of the Chamber Orchestra of New York, section violinist with the Academy of Vocal Arts Opera Orchestra, and violinist and pianist of Murmuration, a classical improvisational ensemble. Murmuration was awarded the Subito Grant from the American Composers Forum to help fund their first album "Revised Notes." Russell Kotcher also tours regularly and has been the featured soloist with Josh Groban.
Elise Frawley, violist
Elise is a New York-based violist who performs and records classical, contemporary, and popular music. Her performances have taken her across the country and to concert venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Radio City Music Hall, The Beacon Theatre, New York's Town Hall, SXSW, as well as downtown clubs and performance spaces. She has appeared on various major and independent label albums, as well as Saturday Night Live, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Live from Here, America’s Got Talent!, and the Amazon Prime Original Series Mozart in the Jungle.Elise has performed with a number of orchestras throughout the country including the American Ballet Theatre, the American Symphony Orchestra, the Albany Symphony, the New Haven Symphony, the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic, among others. She also performs on Broadway and off-Broadway as a substitute musician. She recently held the viola chair for the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, the longest-running Yiddish theatre company.​
Artists she has performed with include Paul Simon, St. Vincent, Danger Mouse, Alessia Cara, Julia Michaels, Jon Batiste, Kygo, Halsey, Meghan Trainor, Andrew Bird, Pharaohe Monch, Jacky Cheung, Kelis, Shallou, Pink Martini, Shoshana Bean, Cynthia Erivo, Grace McLean, Santino Fontana, Nathan Gunn, Lady Lamb the Beekeeper, Falls, Landlady, Cassandra Jenkins, and the Airborne Toxic Event. ​ An active recording musician, Elise has appeared on multiple major and indie label albums, including Jon Batiste's Hollywood Africans (Verve Records), Danger Mouse's Resistance Radio: Man in the High Castle (30th Century Records), among others. She records frequently for artists on Mason Jar Music and Likeminds Music. She has also appeared on numerous orchestral recordings. She is a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music and NYU and holds a faculty position at the 92nd Street Y School of Music.