Shelter Island Friends of Music Welcomes Bruce Wolosoff and Reflections in Music

Shelter Island Friends of Music (SIFM) presents Reflections in Music, featuring pianist, composer and educator Bruce Wolosoff. He will be joined by violinist Michelle Ross and cellist Clarice Jensen, composers as well, in a program titled, “Paradise Found,” on Saturday, June 22, at 6 p.m. at Shelter Island Presbyterian Church. Solo and ensemble, they will perform their own compositions — including two “electro-acoustic” pieces — and works by Schubert and Piazzolla.

Reflections in Music is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to bring in new audiences of all ages and backgrounds to classical music. On Shelter Island, as in all their performances, Wolosoff not only performs, he explains the program pieces and their relationships to each other and to other art forms.

The name of the program, “Paradise Found,” refers to “Cello Sonata #1,” composed by Wolosoff during the pandemic. The concert will also include a world premiere of Clarice Jensen’s “In Holiday Clothing, Out of the Great Darkness,” featuring cello and electronics, as well as Michelle Ross’s “Canon,” for violin and looping pedal.

“One of the most significant developments in classical music in recent years is the creation of new instrumental timbres through sound-processing technology,” Wolosoff said. “This has given rise to a genre of electro-acoustic compositions in which traditional sounds are transformed and blended into unique combinations of sound colors that we may never have heard before.”

Wolosoff is a Shelter Island resident of 28 years and this is his second performance for SIFM. Lauded as “an authentic American voice” for his integration of classical, jazz, blues and contemporary influences, he often composes in collaboration with leading artists from dance to film, including with his wife, dancer and artist, Margaret Garrett. He was named artistic director of Reflections in Music in 2020.

Michelle Ross was a Perlman Music Program “Little,” and a protégé of Itzhak Perlman. She is perhaps best known for her debut album, pop-up project and blog, “Discovering Bach: Complete Sonatas and Partitas of J.S. Bach.” In addition to composing, she curates chamber music series in venues spanning from art galleries to mountaintops, and is artistic director of Chamber Music at Eleventh Street (New York City), which fosters dialogue between classical music, painting, and audiences.

Clarice Jensen’s music has been described as “incredibly powerful neo-classical pieces that seem to come straight from another astral plane.” Her work is deeply immersive, meditative, yet with a sharpness and rigor that come out of an elegant and precise vision. Jensen recently scored three award-winning feature films, and she is currently at work on several new film and television projects, as well as her next album.

Admission to the concert is free, but donations are appreciated. A reception with the musicians follows the concert. Shelter Island Presbyterian Church is located at 32 North Ferry Road (Route. 114) on Shelter Island. For more information, visit. shelterislandfriendsofmusic.org.